Canada's bill to ban cryptocurrency political donations in federal elections passes second reading.

CoinFeed reported on April 27th that, according to CoinDesk, Canada's Strong and Free Elections Act (Bill C-25) passed its second reading in the House of Commons with cross-party support and was sent to committee consideration. One provision proposes banning the acceptance of cryptocurrency political donations at the federal level. The bill treats cryptocurrency, along with money orders and prepaid payment instruments, as an untraceable form of funds, applicable to registered political parties, riding associations, candidates, party leaders and nominated candidates, and third-party advertisers. Those receiving illegal cryptocurrency donations must return or turn them over to the federal finance department within 30 days. The report points out that while Canada has technically allowed cryptocurrency political donations since 2019, mainstream political parties rarely accept them publicly; in contrast, the United States still allows such donations, while the United Kingdom has legislated against them.