uk

The UK is once again at the center of a heated debate over the role of cryptocurrencies in politics. On January 11, 2026, the chairs of seven parliamentary committees submitted a joint letter urging the government to consider a total ban on cryptocurrency donations to political parties. This bold move reignited concerns around transparency and foreign influence in election financing.
Lawmakers warn that crypto donations threaten transparency and traceability. Liam Byrne, chair of the Business and Energy Committee, emphasized that crypto can obscure the real source of funds, enable small fragmented donations to dodge disclosure rules, and expose British politics to foreign interference. The letter also highlights how modern technology makes regulatory enforcement much harder.

Labour and Ministers Acknowledge the Risks – But Legal Action Still Lacking
The idea of banning crypto donations isn’t new. Back in July 2025, Labour’s Patrick McFadden admitted the government was already evaluating the issue. Now, however, pressure is mounting, with cross-party officials raising alarms about threats to election integrity.
Several UK ministers agree the risks are real — particularly around tracking crypto origins — but admit that technical and legal complexities could prevent the ban from being included in the upcoming Electoral Law package.

Reform UK Under Fire After £9M Crypto Donation from Tether Investor
Tensions peaked in December 2025 when the Electoral Commission revealed that Reform UK had accepted a crypto-linked donation worth £9 million (around $12 million) from crypto investor Christopher Harborne, who owns a 12% stake in Tether.
Although the donation itself was reportedly made in fiat currency, its origin raised serious questions. Both the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats launched internal investigations into whether the gift breached any political finance laws.

Crypto Donations Under Scrutiny as UK Develops Broader Regulatory Framework
The controversy comes as the UK works to establish a comprehensive crypto regulatory regime. In December, Parliament passed a law recognizing cryptocurrencies as property, and the government aims to regulate digital assets like traditional financial instruments by 2027.
Lawmakers now warn that crypto donations could be used to bypass transparency rules and erode public trust. The push for a total ban shows just how seriously British officials are taking the intersection of technology, politics, and democracy.

Summary
As the UK shapes its crypto rules, the proposal to ban all political crypto donations underscores the growing unease around digital assets and election integrity. With public pressure rising, the coming months may prove pivotal for how Britain handles this modern political risk.

#Tether , #UK , #CryptoRegulation , #DigitalAssets , #CryptoNews

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📅 January 9 | London and Digital Payments
While much of the crypto industry remains trapped between lawsuits, legal loopholes, and contradictory messages from regulators, some players are beginning to play a different game: formal integration with the global financial system. On this playing field, the UK is positioning itself as one of the most ambitious regulatory hubs in Europe, and Ripple has just taken a step that many projects can't even imagine.

📖Ripple secured formal authorization from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), clearing the way for a significant expansion of its platform in the country. The regulator approved both its Electronic Money Institution license and its crypto asset registration, a double endorsement that positions the company within the regulated core of the British financial system.
The Electronic Money Institution license allows Ripple to issue digital money and offer payment services under direct supervision, while the crypto registration obliges the company to comply with strict anti-money laundering and customer verification standards. In an environment where many projects still operate in gray areas, this level of compliance places Ripple in a distinct category, closer to traditional financial infrastructure than to an experimental startup.
Monica Long, Ripple's president, described the approval as going beyond operational efficiency. In her view, it's about unlocking trillions of dollars of idle capital and moving toward a system where value can move almost instantaneously on a global scale. This aligns with Ripple's historical narrative, which focuses on cross-border payments, on-demand liquidity, and reducing friction in the financial system.
The timing is not coincidental. The UK is moving forward with building a comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto assets, aiming to treat them as fully regulated financial products by 2027. The FCA has indicated that its priorities will be in sensitive areas such as stablecoin payments, market integrity, and consumer protection, moving away from the piecemeal approaches that have prevailed in other jurisdictions.

Topic Opinion:
Ripple isn't betting on a rebellious narrative; it's betting on becoming critical infrastructure. In a world where global payments remain slow, expensive, and fragmented, having licenses, oversight, and regulated access can be worth more than any market hype.
💬 Is Ripple getting ahead of the rest of the industry with this regulatory strategy?

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#Ripple #xrp #UK #digitalpayments #CryptoNews $XRP