Ireland Wants Political Parties Banned from Receiving Crypto Donations

Russia has revealed itself time and time again that it would stop at nothing to achieve its goals. Half a decade ago, it had a huge influence in American presidential elections, and in February 2022 it invaded Ukraine to stop it from joining NATO, the EU, and potentially achieve other goals that are still not officially confirmed.

This kind of behavior has put numerous countries on a state of high alert against Russia, including Ireland, which now revealed concerns about Russia influencing its own political parties. This forced the country’s authorities to implement new integrity rules, effectively prohibiting political donations in the form of crypto.

Not only that, but all foreign donations to political parties and political purposes, in general, will be put under stricter rules.

Russian aggression and history of interference cause growing concerns

Russia’s activities in 2022 have put the entire world on edge, and this has been going on for nearly two full months now, since the country invaded Ukraine. The so-called “special military operation,” as Russia insists on calling it, was taken by the rest of the world as an act of aggression and an open declaration of war against Ukraine, which has since received help and support from most countries in the world, but was ultimately left to defend itself due to Russia’s threats of going to the extremes if anyone tries to interfere.

The attack has influenced the entire world in one way or another, partially due to sanctions imposed on the country, and partially due to the market sentiment. Prices of most goods and materials have already grown quite a bit, with many expecting it to continue climbing further up. Not to mention many deaths on both, the Russian and Ukrainian sides, plus all who joined the war as individuals from foreign nations.

As the situation progresses, countries around the world fear that Russia might continue influencing the rest of the world through some of its old tricks, whether by supporting favorable politicians in countries where elections are approaching or through hacking attacks, as was the case in the US.

This forced Ireland government’s hand, leading it to ban the usage of cryptocurrencies for political donations for the country’s upcoming elections. The fears were boosted by unconfirmed reports that the Russian oligarchs have switched to crypto to avoid sanctions which are becoming more and more severe with every new week.

The Ireland Government Minister Darragh O’Brien is only one of many who share these concerns, which is why he will propose amendments to the Electoral Reform Bill 2022, stating that the changes are meant to protect against malicious online interference. The changes will also overhaul political funding laws to prevent foreign interference in how individuals and political parties are being supported.

Ireland’s relationship with crypto

Until now, Ireland’s relationship with the crypto industry was seen as a relatively positive one. The country doesn’t seem to share the negative views of its neighbor, the UK, and this even led to the Wall Street giant, BNY Mellon, launching a crypto custody service in Ireland in 2021.

Following this move, PayPal, which started opening itself to crypto and expanding crypto support throughout the world, also started working on assembling a crypto team in Ireland. And, finally, Binance and Gemini, two major crypto exchanges — with Binance being the largest one in the world by volume, and Gemini being one of few fully regulated US exchanges — also opting to expand into the country.

Binance came to Ireland with the intention to establish a global headquarters, while Gemini even managed to obtain an electronic money license from Ireland’s central bank.