‘Bitcoin is the free speech of money’: fears grow over far right’s embrace of crypto

It highlighted the arrival in Britain of a global pattern: the embrace by extreme rightwing movements of decentralised digital currencies.

Athena Bitcoin Global, one of the main sponsors of the event, which saw up to 150,000 people gather in central London, has been accused of profiting from cybercrime in the US.

This month, the attorney general for the District of Columbia (DC) accused the company, which makes bitcoin ATMs that exchange the cryptocurrency for cash and vice versa, of knowingly profiting from scams targeting elderly victims for “life-altering” sums of cash.

In a lawsuit filed against Athena, DC attorney general Brian Schwalb alleged that 93% of the deposits in that district in its first five months were “the product of outright fraud”.

One elderly victim is alleged to have lost $98,000 (£72,000) over the course of three days after being exploited by scammers. The average age of the victims was 71.

“Not only has Athena done little to nothing to prevent this fraud,” the lawsuit stated, “but it has instead pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars in undisclosed fees on the backs of scam victims and adopted policies to prevent these victims from recovering any of their losses.”

Authorities have long warned that cryptocurrencies pose an urgent challenge to the UK’s democracy by enabling hostile state actors and foreign nationals to secretly donate to political parties.

Tom Keatinge, director of the Royal United Services Institute’s Centre for Finance and Security, said: “The average person in the UK might think of it as being a marginal thing, but in that [far-right] community – which is a growing community – it’s mainstream.

“Historically, there’s been one form of money. It’s been issued by the central bank, and that’s been controlled by the government. That isn’t the case any more.”

Athena has also come under scrutiny for its operation in El Salvador. It charged millions of dollars to install and maintain hundreds of bitcoin ATM terminals, despite little uptake of the scheme. In 2022, the company settled a lawsuit with a contractor that had alleged it went unpaid after helping address failures in developing an app to go with Athena’s Chivo-branded ATMs in El Salvador. A deposition stated that flaws in the Chivo app had led to 400,000 fraudulent accounts receiving government stipends that cost the local taxpayer between $12m and $24m

Matias Goldenhörn, Athena’s chief executive, declined to answer specific questions but said in a statement: “Athena believes the UK must break free from anti-free speech tyranny if it is to endure as a western nation. We were proud to sponsor the rally.”

Alleging a smear campaign, he said bitcoin was “the free speech of money” and added: “Attempts to suppress speech or financial freedom only prove why it matters.”

Two other crypto companies sponsored the event. Fomo, a crypto coin, and V-Social, mooted as an X-style social network that promises crypto rewards.

Ashley Ward, owner of Fomo and V-Social, said: “I have no interest in politics. My opinion is really simple – I don’t like to see our country being eroded in terms of free speech.”

“I don’t believe that Islam is our real enemy. I believe all religions and ideas should be protected and that radicalised individuals from either religion or politics are the true threat,” he added. Ward also confirmed he used a smaller Robinson march on 1 June last year, when an estimated 15,000 people gathered in central London, to promote an earlier version of the Fomo coin, bragging on Telegram messenger of “access to the biggest names in the political space”.

Advance UK, a new political party announced by former Reform UK co-deputy leader Ben Habib also sponsored the rally last weekend. Robinson, 42, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is an Advance UK member.

Cryptocurrency transactions can be easy to obscure and there are fears their involvement in the UK’s political system could lead to uncontrolled levels of cash from hostile states or organised crime.

In Moldova, its president, Maia Sandu, has warned that Russia is planning an “unprecedented” interference campaign in the country’s forthcoming election, including deploying $100m of crypto.

In May Reform UK’s leader, Nigel Farage, announced at a conference in Las Vegas that his party would be the first in Europe to accept cryptocurrencies as donations.

Senior Labour MPs have expressed concern about the prospect of crypto-based political donations and are pressing ministers to delay the much anticipated elections bill, designed to change electoral oversight laws, so that it can include a clause banning them.

Ireland, Brazil and Greenland have all banned crypto donations.

MPs fear that crypto can be manipulated to artificially lower valuations, so that political donations fall below the reportable thresholds – which can be as low as £500 – or that AI could be used to make thousands of sub-threshold donations at a given moment.

They plan to use the forthcoming Labour party conference to “crystalise” the approach, one said.

Labour MP Liam Byrne, who sits on the joint committee on national security strategy, said: “Ministers should not present the bill until they have put in place platinum-plated provisions around crypto.”