Crypto donations face UK ban push over foreign influence fears

A cross-party Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy on Wednesday urged the UK government to impose an immediate moratorium on cryptocurrency donations to political parties. The pause would last until the Electoral Commission issues statutory guidance ahead of the next general election, due by August 2029, the committee’s report states.

The report recommends amending the Representation of the People Bill to implement the halt. It proposes creating a Political Finance Enforcement Unit to monitor donations and campaign spending involving digital assets, lowering the disclosure threshold for gifts tied to political donations from £11,180 ($14,900) to £500 ($668), and raising the maximum prison term to three years for offenses involving foreign financing.

The committee described crypto donations as presenting an “unnecessary and unacceptably high risk” to the integrity of political finance and public trust without strong safeguards. “We see no democratic imperative to permit the use of crypto in political finance until adequate safeguards are in place,” the report states.

The report cites attempts by foreign states to influence the UK’s stance on relations with the United States, the European Union and Ukraine, and notes that Ireland has barred party members from accepting crypto in political fundraising.

Under current rules, political donations in crypto are permitted in the UK when they come from permissible sources under Electoral Commission guidance.

Parties have begun to test new fundraising methods. Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, began accepting crypto donations in 2025. The party disclosed a $4 million contribution from crypto investor Christopher Harborne in the fourth quarter of 2025, after a $12 million gift in the previous quarter.

Calls for tighter controls have grown in Parliament. In January, seven senior Labour MPs urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to prohibit crypto for political donations. In a letter, business and trade committee chair Liam Byrne wrote, “Crypto can obscure the true source of funds, enable thousands of micro donations below disclosure thresholds, and expose UK politics to foreign interference.” Matt Western, who chairs the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, has previously pressed for a temporary halt to crypto donations on national security grounds.

If adopted, the proposals would require changes to election law and a clear mandate for the Electoral Commission to set and enforce rules before voters go to the polls by August 2029.