Nikolas Sargeant
The UK government is pressing ahead with a temporary ban on political donations made through cryptocurrencies, after Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed the measure during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday.
The decision follows the Rycroft Review, an independent inquiry into foreign financial interference in UK politics, which recommended a moratorium on crypto donations to political parties. Several members of parliament, including the chair of the security committee, had been pushing for a full ban, citing concerns that crypto payments could be used by foreign states to covertly influence UK elections.
The ban will prohibit crypto political donations until the regulatory environment is deemed robust enough to prevent untraceable funds and foreign interference. It will not be lifted until both Parliament and the Electoral Commission are satisfied that sufficient safeguards are in place, a threshold with no fixed timeline, and one that sits against the backdrop of a general election that must be held by August 2029.
Implementing the moratorium requires amending the Representation of the People Bill, currently at committee stage in the House of Commons. The government said the changes will take retrospective effect from March 25. Once the legislation passes through both Houses and receives royal assent, political parties, candidates, and MPs will have 30 days to return any unlawful donations received in the interim before enforcement begins.
The move directly affects Reform UK, which became the first UK political party to accept crypto donations in May last year, with leader Nigel Farage announcing the policy at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas.
