Calls are intensifying for the UK government to ban political donations made in cryptocurrency, with Labour MP Rushanara Ali warning they expose British democracy to foreign interference.
Ali, a former minister involved in the government’s elections bill, urged ministers to block what she described as the use of digital assets to funnel money into domestic politics.
Ali said crypto donations are a vehicle for “foreign interference in our democracy,” and called for an outright prohibition on their use in political funding.
She argued that multiple wallets, fragmented crowdfunding contributions and privacy coins could enable donors to circumvent reporting thresholds and obscure the true source of funds.
“Cryptocurrency donations carry huge risks of dirty money and foreign interference, but the Electoral Commission does not currently have the necessary powers to properly regulate these risks,”
Said Spotlight on Corruption executive director Susan Hawley, adding that other jurisdictions including Ireland and Brazil have already imposed bans without major disruption.
The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy has recommended a temporary moratorium on crypto donations until the Electoral Commission issues statutory guidance, though anti-corruption groups argue that non-binding guidance would fail to address enforcement gaps and limited information-sharing powers.
Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, remains the only major party to accept cryptocurrency donations, though evidence submitted to a parliamentary inquiry indicated it had not received any crypto contributions above the £11,180 reporting threshold as of June 2025.