The UK government is adding tighter restrictions to its rules on political donations made by electors who live overseas, on top of the moratorium on donations made to cryptocurrencies announced in March.
New UK Donation Rules Catch Reform UK's Overseas Crypto Backers
6 July 2026 - 18:00 CEST
There is already a £100,000 cap on overseas donors. The new regulations mean individuals must live in the UK for a full calendar year before the cap is lifted. A government spokesperson confirmed to Sandmark that the requirement will apply retrospectively, from 26 Mar 2026.
Reform UK, crypto
The timing has fuelled claims the rules are aimed at Reform UK, which has received substantial donations from two figures in the crypto sector, both former overseas residents who have recently returned to the UK.
Reform UK has the UK's most crypto-friendly agenda. Its policies, which prioritize growth and innovation over precaution, include cutting taxes on crypto transactions and starting a Bank of England Bitcoin (BTC) reserve.
Nigel Farage, the party's leader, is widely reported to have lobbied the Bank of England on digital-asset policy, arguing against plans for a UK central bank digital currency and against proposed restrictions on stablecoins.
That engagement is now under formal scrutiny. On 2 Jul, Labour MP Phil Brickell referred Farage to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, alleging that a private September 2025 meeting with Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, at which Farage pressed the case against the digital pound, amounted to lobbying on behalf of Christopher Harborne, a Reform donor and major Tether shareholder, within the 12-month window parliamentary rules impose after a donation. A dropped digital pound would leave Tether's USDT with one fewer state-backed rival. Farage denies wrongdoing; both he and Harborne say nothing was sought in return, and a Reform UK spokesperson called the complaint "utter rubbish". The commissioner has not said whether he will open a formal inquiry.
Harborne, Delo
Harborne, who holds joint UK/Thai citizenship and is a long-term resident of Thailand, owns 12% of Tether, the company behind the largest stablecoin.
According to filings in a defamation case he has brought against the Wall Street Journal, Harborne began buying Bitcoin in 2011 and Ether (ETH) in 2014, and the latter "now accounts for a major portion of his net worth". A 2014 Ether purchase would refer to Ethereum's crowdsale, which ran that year and was paid for in Bitcoin; the network itself did not go live until July 2015. His interests also span aviation and, per the court papers, "steel, telecoms, real estate, international payments, and wellness hospitality".
He has donated £15m to Reform UK since 2025, and in 2024 gave £5m to Farage before Farage was elected as a Member of Parliament. In June, The Times reported that Harborne had recently registered to vote in the UK.
Ben Delo, a co-founder of the cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX, was pardoned by the Trump administration in March 2025 after pleading guilty in 2022 to failing to maintain adequate anti-money laundering controls at the exchange. He donated £4m to Reform UK in the first quarter of 2026, and in April 2026 said he was moving to the UK from Hong Kong, citing the £100,000 cap.
Neither Harborne nor Delo has donated cryptocurrency to Reform UK, according to Electoral Commission filings, so the crypto moratorium does not affect their support. The new residency requirement could. Neither is suggested to have breached any donation rules.
More stringent checks
A further measure will require candidates to declare any donations of more than £2,230 received before they became a candidate, and to ensure the money comes from legitimate sources. Parties will also have to carry out "Know Your Donor" risk assessments for all donations over £11,180. The £2,230 figure is the Electoral Commission's standard reporting threshold for donations via parties' local associations; £11,180 is the threshold for the central party.
Targeting Reform
"They [the regulations] are largely aimed at Reform," James Bowater told Sandmark, adding the move is "clearly politically motivated" and that it "is completely obvious that the lawfare is intended for Nigel [Farage]". Bowater is chief executive of the Digital Commonwealth, a networking organization focused on digital assets, Web3 and emerging technologies.
The government has framed its target as foreign influence, not any single party. "These tough new rules will shut down dodgy funding, stop foreign money influencing our elections and keep our democracy strong," said Steve Reed, the cabinet minister responsible for the regulations. "If you want to donate to our politics, you need to have legitimate and longstanding roots in our country," added Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister.
Reform UK did not respond to a request for comment. Harborne and Delo did not respond to requests for comment.
Tightening corporate rules
The rules will also require companies making political donations to prove they are legitimate businesses, with donations assessed against post-tax profits over the previous five years rather than revenue. The change follows a recommendation of the Rycroft Review, backed by the Electoral Commission.
The regulations will be introduced through the Representation of the People Bill, which is likely to become law in late 2026 or early 2027. They form part of a package recommended by the Rycroft Review into strengthening UK electoral law against foreign interference, which called for tighter donation controls, stronger transparency and the cryptocurrency moratorium. The same bill is the vehicle for lowering the UK voting age to 16.
