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Donations made in cryptocurrencies to UK political parties will be banned with immediate effect, with a cap placed on all donations coming from overseas voters, as Keir Starmer’s Government responds swiftly to a landmark review into foreign interference in British politics.
The Philip Rycroft review into foreign interference in British politics, was launched in the wake of Reform UK’s former Welsh leader Nathan Gill being jailed last year for taking pro-Russian bribes.
Published on Wednesday, the report calls for “robust action” to counter the threat of meddling in UK politics from hostile foreign actors.
Rycroft wrote: “I am not pressing the panic button…But I am ringing the alarm bell. If Government does not act swiftly to gear up to counter these threats, there is a real risk they will run away from us.”
He pointed to recent allegations of attempted foreign interference in the electoral process in Moldova and Romania which “should serve as cautionary tales”, adding: “It is a truism, but one apt for our times: the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”
Starmer’s Government has welcomed the report, and in a surprise move, pushed forward several changes recommended to apply from today.
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Ministers say the rapid action is to avoid the threat of ‘malign actors’ using a window of opportunity to rush in compromised cash or crypto into UK politics.
Communities secretary Steve Reed told the Commons on Wednesday afternoon: “We will introduce an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill to place a moratorium on all political donations made through cryptocurrency.”
The action follows investigations by Byline Times into the funding of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Reform is so far the only major party which accepts donations in crypto, though as Byline Times first reported, two smaller parties also accept them – the far-right Homeland Party and the tech-focused Other Party.
Questions over the source of these donations have been raised, after this publication revealed that Farage’s party has not shared the addresses of any of its digital crypto ‘wallets’ with the Electoral Commission, drastically limiting the election watchdog’s ability to monitor where it is getting its money from.
Despite announcing their intention to accept crypto donations, no such donations over the £500 threshold have been reported by Reform to the regulator so far.
However, the indefinite ban will also apply to crypto donations in any amount – including those which fall below the current £500 threshold for funds to count legally as a donation.
In his statement Reed pointed to “specific risks” posed by cryptocurrency donations, “such as the risk of rapid, multiple, small donations being made just below our current thresholds.”
There remain questions over whether the new ban will prevent all crypto donations from reaching Reform. Recent reporting by the Observer suggests that the party has been converting donations from crypto to cash, before accepting them, therefore potentially hiding the original source of the donations.
A report by the Times earlier this year also raised questions about whether the party has been funneling donations through third parties, in order to sidestep electoral rules. According to the report, a churchwarden who works for the family of a Kazakhstan-born billionaire was revealed as the man behind £200,000 worth of donations to Farage’s party, despite not obviously having sufficient funds to fund the donations himself.
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The ban on crypto donations is initially being implemented as a moratorium. In his statement, Reed said “This moratorium [on crypto donations] will remain in place until the Electoral Commission and this Parliament are satisfied there is sufficient regulation in place to ensure full confidence and transparency in donations being made in this way.”
It will be applied retrospectively to any crypto donations received from today by any political parties and regulated entities, assuming the Representation of the People Bill passes as expected.
“Once the provisions are in force, if a political party or regulated entity has received a [crypto] donation in the interim, they will have 30 days to return it, after which enforcement action can be taken and criminal penalties will apply. This will again apply to all elections in the United Kingdom,” Reed said.
The Government will place another amendment to the Representation of the People Bill to place an annual cap on the total political donations an overseas elector can make. The cap will be set at £100,000 a year.
It comes after Thailand-based Reform UK donor – and crypto investor – Christopher Harborne – donated £12 million to the party over the past year from abroad, making him the largest ever individual donor to a UK party.
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Secretary of state Reed added: “In light of the gravity of the issues raised in the report, I am not prepared to allow any window of opportunity in which malign actors based overseas can funnel dark money into our politics. This cap will therefore apply retrospectively, so it includes all donations from overseas electors received from today, and all regulated transactions entered into from today.”
Parties will have 30 days to return donations made over that cap – for any donations in breach of the £100,000 made from today – once the legislation comes into force.
Dr Susan Hawley, Executive Director of Spotlight on Corruption said: “The publication of the Rycroft review should be a line in the sand for UK politics. It lays bare what’s long been obvious – our politics is too exposed to the huge risks of undue influence of wealthy donors and foreign interference.”
She added however that there were areas where the Rycroft review has not gone far enough. “For example, he recommends that donation caps only apply to people abroad – but there’s no good reason the cap shouldn’t also apply to people in the UK. This critical loophole must be closed,” she said.
The Rycroft Review was commissioned by Government in December 2025 to provide an in-depth assessment of current financial and bribery related rules and safeguards that regulate political parties and political finance.
The ban on crypto donations will apply “until such point that Parliament and the Electoral Commission are satisfied that there is sufficient regulation in place to ensure confidence and transparency in donations being made in this way,” according to the Government.
Transparency International UK called for a “meaningful annual cap on donations” across the board, not just from foreign donors, calling it “the most robust safeguard against both foreign interference and the outsized influence of big money in our politics.”
The Liberal Democrats have responded to the report by calling for Reform UK to return any crypto donations he’s received from anonymous overseas sources or “admit he’s happy to let foreign sources of money poison our politics in the UK.”
“Reform taking untraceable secretive crypto donations to fund their Trump-style politics here in the UK should never have been allowed,” Liberal Democrat Cabinet Spokesperson Lisa Smart MP said.
The Electoral Commission said that Rycroft’s recommendations “go to the heart of what is needed to better protect our democracy from foreign interference — closing loopholes and strengthening safeguards around the source of money donated into our politics.”
Vijay Rangarajan, Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission, said: “The Government has today announced its intention to immediately implement the crypto ban and overseas voters’ donations cap, with legislation to follow. We are working quickly to understand what this means in practice and will provide guidance and support as soon as possible.”
A more extensive response from the Government to other recommendations in the review is expected soon.
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