UK lawmakers urge ‘immediate moratorium’ on crypto political donations

The committee highlighted that the accelerated outgo traits of crypto, on with tools similar mixers, tumblers, and AI-assisted splitting of payments beneath the £500 reporting threshold.

Mar 18, 2026, 11:57 a.m.

A U.K. parliamentary committee urged the authorities to enforce “an contiguous moratorium connected crypto donations” until Parliament approves Electoral Commission statutory guidance.

In a report, the Joint Committee connected the National Security Strategy said crypto poses an avoidable hazard to governmental concern and nationalist trust. The committee said rules should beryllium acceptable earlier the adjacent wide election.

The reportnoted that the aforesaid traits that marque crypto utile for accelerated payments besides marque it harder to monitor. It points to mixers, tumblers, privateness coins and concatenation hopping arsenic tools that tin blur the root of funds and warns that artificial quality tools could assistance divided a ample outgo into galore sub-500-pound ($668) donations, keeping each beneath the mean reporting threshold.

Crypto donations stay ineligible successful the country, adjacent though cryptoassets are treated arsenic spot alternatively than ineligible tender, the study adds. Reform UK, the enactment led by Nigel Farage that leads successful nationalist polls, is the archetypal European governmental enactment to accidental it volition accept crypto donations.

The full worth of crypto donations Reform UK has received truthful acold is unclear. Crypto capitalist Christopher Harbone has donated astir $12 million successful currency to the party.

Natasha Powell, crypto speech Kraken's main compliance officer, told lawmakers that regulated exchanges tin negociate overmuch of the danger. Still, the committee wasn’t convinced and said the existent model lacks the tools and unit needed to verify donors, hint funds and debar abuse. As such, it wants the moratorium written into the Representation of the People Bill.

The study adds that a prohibition connected nonstop crypto gifts would not adjacent each gap. A donor could inactive currency retired cryptocurrencies into sterling earlier sending wealth done the banking system.

The committee besides wants the Electoral Commission to summation powers to compel accusation from banks, the taxation authorization and crypto platforms erstwhile it suspects impermissible activity, the study adds.

Senior Labour members of parliament earlier this twelvemonth called connected Prime Minister Keir Starmer to prohibition cryptocurrency donations to governmental parties, implicit concerns these could beryllium utilized by hostile overseas entities to power elections.

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