British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has ordered an urgent review of foreign interference in British elections amid growing concern about opaque funding channels, including cryptocurrency donations. The inquiry, announced this week, could lead to restrictions or an outright ban on crypto contributions to political parties.
UK Election Finance Reform Inquiry Puts Crypto Donations Under Scrutiny
18 December 2025 - 09:10 CET
The review is due to report by the end of March 2026 and will assess whether existing safeguards are sufficient to prevent overseas actors from influencing UK politics through non-transparent funding mechanisms.
While the government has not named any party explicitly, the focus is widely understood to be Reform UK. A former senior member of the party was recently jailed for accepting bribes from Russia, and earlier this month Reform disclosed it had received a £9m ($12m) cryptocurrency donation from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based billionaire.
Crypto donations account for only a small share of political funding but pose a particular challenge for regulators because of the difficulty of tracing wallet ownership without rigorous oversight.
Mainstream versus populist
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has criticized any attempt to restrict crypto donations, framing proposed measures as politically motivated. Reform has embraced digital assets as part of its anti-establishment positioning, echoing Donald Trump's playbook in the US.
The main parties are less sympathetic. “The probability is that we will be getting ever-larger sums of money . . . unless they’re curtailed in some form,” Robert Hayward, a Conservative member of the House of Lords, the UK Parliament's upper chamber, told Bloomberg earlier this month.
The inquiry will also examine donations to think tanks, currently outside the formal political finance regime, as well as online influence campaigns, including overseas social-media operations and the use of automated bot accounts.
Cooling enthusiasm?
The announcement coincides with new data from the UK's financial regulator showing a decline in retail crypto ownership. The proportion of UK adults holding crypto assets fell from 12 per cent in 2024 to 8 per cent in 2025, with the drop concentrated among those holding less than £100, the Financial Conduct Authority said in a consumer research report conducted by a third party between 5 Aug and 2 Sept 2025. Larger investors, by contrast, have become more committed, according to the report.
“The proportion of UK adults holding crypto assets has declined compared to last year, the typical value held by investors has increased,” the FCA said. “Those participating in these activities tend to be more knowledgeable, more comfortable with risk, and more aware of our warnings than the average crypto user.”
Next steps
The inquiry will be led by Philip Rycroft, a former senior civil servant. While it will not have powers to compel evidence, the team will have access to the security services and is expected to hold detailed discussions with party leaders.
Officials say the findings will be published in full and are likely to inform future legislation on election financing and political transparency.
