Event

Cryptocurrencies in UK politics

This event hosted by UK think tank RUSI discusses the risk of opaque, foreign or malign influence entering UK politics via cryptocurrency donations.

As cryptocurrencies become more integrated into the global financial system, questions are growing about how their use could affect the integrity and transparency of political finance. Much of the debate has focused on whether political parties should be permitted to accept donations directly in cryptocurrency, but direct donations represent only part of the risk. Cryptocurrency can also be used at an earlier stage to move or conceal funds, before being converted into fiat and entering the political system as an apparently permissible donation.

A new research paper, written by RUSI Senior Research Fellow Eliza Lockhart and supported with funding from the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, examines how the UK can protect against opaque or foreign money entering its political system through financial donations involving cryptocurrencies.

The paper considers both direct cryptocurrency donations and the less visible risks created when crypto is used to move funds before conversion to fiat. Drawing on interviews with electoral regulators, policymakers, law enforcement officials, foreign-interference specialists and blockchain investigators across several jurisdictions, it sets out recommendations for strengthening the UK’s political-finance framework as cryptocurrency technology and regulation continue to evolve.

The event will include an overview of the research paper’s findings and recommendations, followed by an expert panel discussion and an audience Q&A session chaired by CFS Director Tom Keatinge.

Speakers

Sam Hartley – Director of Policy, Research and Voter Engagement, Electoral Commission

Carmel King – Partner and Head of Digital Asset Recovery, Grant Thornton UK

Eliza Lockhart – Senior Research Fellow, the Centre for Finance and Security, RUSI

Philip Rycroft – author of the Rycroft Review into Countering Foreign Financial Influence and Interference in UK Politics