The British government has announced a moratorium on political donations in digital assets, with retroactive effect from March 25.
The United Kingdom government has confirmed its intention to proceed with a temporary moratorium on political donations made in digital assets. Prime Minister Keir Starmer made the decision public during Wednesday’s parliamentary Question Time, stating: “I can tell the House that we will act decisively to protect our democracy. This will include a moratorium on all political donations made via cryptocurrencies.”
The measure stems from the recommendations of the Rycroft Review, an independent inquiry into foreign financial interference in the country’s political and electoral systems. Several MPs, including the chair of the security committee, had already pushed throughout the year for a complete ban, warning that foreign states could exploit digital asset payments to influence British politics.
From a technical and legislative standpoint, the ban requires an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, currently in the committee stage in the House of Commons. The government clarified that the changes will have “retroactive effect” from March 25. The measure will need to pass through both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, before receiving Royal Assent from King Charles III to become law.
Once the legislation comes into force, political parties, candidates and MPs will have 30 days to return any unlawful donations already received during the interim period, after which enforcement measures may be triggered. The government specified that the moratorium will remain in place until “Parliament and the Electoral Commission are satisfied that the regulatory framework is sufficiently robust to ensure confidence and transparency in donations made in this way.”
Against this backdrop is also the case of Reform UK, the first British party to accept cryptocurrency donations starting from May of last year. Leader Nigel Farage had announced the initiative at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, declaring that the party would accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from eligible donors. The next general election in the United Kingdom must be held by August 15, 2029.
