London Drops Heavy Gavel on Crypto Election Funding

The move follows the publication of the Rycroft Review into party political funding which recommended a moratorium on political donations made in cryptoassets among its 17 recommendations, but stopped short of suggesting an outright ban. The same action was called for earlier in March by the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy of Parliament.

The new ban will come into law through an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, which is currently making its way through the parliamentary process. The legislation will be retrospective enabling the ban to start immediately. Institutional compliance departments will need to overhaul their political engagement strategies rapidly as this retrospective ban creates immediate legal liabilities. 

Temporary ban pending regulatory maturity

The ban on crypto donations will remain in place until Parliament and the Electoral Commission are satisfied that the regulatory environment is robust enough to ensure confidence and transparency, government officials said.

Former senior civil servant Philip Rycroft was commissioned to carry out the review following concerns about foreign interference in UK elections. The imprisonment of former Reform UK politician Nathan Gill for taking bribes from Russian sources was a significant catalyst for the review.

A ban on cryptocurrency donations is vital to stop hostile foreign states and others who want to weaken and exploit the UK by stoking division and hatred, cabinet minister Steve Baker said. It is a patriotic duty to safeguard the right of the British people to freely choose their own government, he added.

The growing prevalence of cryptocurrencies was recognized and the immutability of the blockchain was acknowledged to make transactions potentially far more transparent than transactions in fiat currency by Rycroft in the report. While illicit fiat continues moving through traditional banking channels with relative ease, the transparent nature of the blockchain apparently proved too intimidating for the British political establishment.

The lack of an international regulatory framework and the difficulties in tracing ultimate ownership exacerbated by the proliferation of different cryptoasset vehicles were highlighted by the author. The ease of using artificial intelligence technologies to break down crypto donations into small amounts potentially below the declaration threshold was a further concern.

The resulting recommendation for a pause allows the regulatory environment to catch up with the reality of cryptoassets, so the Electoral Commission, political parties and other actors can invest in the capability necessary to allow safe use in the political process, the Rycroft Review detailed.

Global perspective on political crypto donations

Other countries are asking themselves the same questions.

The payment of election expenses with virtual currencies was prohibited in 2024 by the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court. That decision is now under review in the run-up to the October elections of the country given the increasing popularity of the crypto sector by the Supreme Federal Court.

Bans on crypto donations for state and local campaigns exist in some US states, including Michigan, North Carolina and Oregon.

A donation of whatever value in the form of cryptocurrency is explicitly prohibited by the Irish Electoral Reform Act of 2022. The rule that a candidate is prohibited from accepting a donation in the form of cryptocurrency was reiterated in guidelines for the presidential election in October 2025 by the Standards in Public Office Commission.

No ban is being suggested in Czechia despite a major scandal in 2025 when the government accepted a donation of 468 Bitcoins ($32mn) from someone convicted of involvement in the drug trade, fraud and illegal possession of weapons.