UK review recommends crypto donation pause over foreign interference risk

A UK review led by Philip Rycroft recommended a temporary moratorium on crypto political donations until stronger safeguards and statutory guidance are in place.

Philip Rycroft, a former senior civil servant, recommended that the UK government impose a temporary moratorium on political donations made in crypto assets in an independent review published on Wednesday.

“The government should legislate in the Representation of the People Bill to introduce a moratorium on political donations made in cryptoassets,” Rycroft wrote in the report, which was commissioned by the government in December 2025.

The review said crypto assets could provide a route for foreign money to enter the UK political system because of incomplete regulation, the difficulty of tracing the “ultimate ownership” of some assets, and the possibility of breaking larger donations into smaller transfers. It noted that donations below 500 British pounds ($669) fall outside the normal permissibility test, while formal reporting thresholds for political parties are higher.

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