Calls are growing for greater transparency in political funding after the first known cryptocurrency donation to a major UK party was reportedly received but not yet declared.
According to several sources, the Electoral Commission was given prior notice that a party, understood to be Reform UK, had accepted a crypto donation in recent weeks.
Reform is currently the only major political party in Europe to accept crypto contributions. Its leader, Nigel Farage, announced the policy at a bitcoin conference in Las Vegas earlier this year, and its recent party conference in Birmingham was sponsored by several alternative finance groups, including at least two crypto firms.
The value of the donation has not yet been disclosed. Under existing rules, parties only need to notify the Electoral Commission if they receive more than £11,180 in central donations. Individual MPs must declare contributions over £2,230 on their registers.
A Reform spokesperson said: “All donations above the reporting limit will be disclosed in the usual way.” There is no indication that the deadline for declaring the donation has been missed, and there is no suggestion that the party has breached any rules.
However, politicians and transparency advocates have raised concerns about the introduction of crypto into political finance, warning that regulators may lack the expertise and resources to properly assess the risks.
Tom Keatinge, director of the Centre for Finance and Security at the Royal United Services Institute, warned: “We are in a naive place where I don’t believe the government has properly thought about the implications of crypto in the context of political donations. Is it right or appropriate to say the controls we have for pounds and pence are also the right controls for bitcoin?” He called for a temporary freeze on crypto donations while policymakers assess what additional safeguards may be required.
Reform’s crypto payments are processed through Radom, a Poland-based firm that is not regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, meaning it currently falls outside anti-money-laundering supervision. Radom’s chief executive, Christopher Wilson, said there was “no requirement for us to take any FCA steps” but added that the company would “align with any requirements once they become law”. He stressed that Reform was “responsible for ensuring [the party’s] compliance with Electoral Commission rules.”
Campaigners are warning that the move creates new vulnerabilities in British politics. Susan Hawley, executive director of Spotlight on Corruption, said: “This is a watershed moment for political donations in the UK which is fraught with risk.” She added that the current system “leaves the UK extremely vulnerable to interference from hostile foreign powers and even organised crime gangs,” and called for urgent interim rules and a complete ban on crypto donations in the upcoming elections bill.
Veteran Labour MP Liam Byrne is currently building a cross-party campaign to push for a full prohibition on cryptocurrency contributions to political parties.
A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission confirmed that it has not yet received any formal reports of crypto donations.
They said: “To date, no political party has reported any donations that they have identified as cryptocurrency. Political parties … are required to report donations and loans over £11,180 to us on a quarterly basis… We do not routinely share details of unpublished donations before quarterly publications.”
