Labour MPs Push to Make UK Crypto Donation Ban Permanent

The amendment push

Liam Byrne, Labour chair of the business select committee, led the crypto ban amendment with at least 20 signatures by midday Thursday. Byrne said Reform UK politicians appeared willing to go to "extraordinary lengths" to avoid scrutiny of their finances, and urged colleagues to back the changes as a safeguard for UK democracy.

The UK imposed a moratorium on crypto political donations in March following the Rycroft Review's warning about the anonymity of digital-asset transfers. That review, authored by Philip Rycroft, a former senior civil servant, cautioned that such anonymity could be used to channel foreign money into British politics. Rycroft himself called for a temporary interlude rather than a permanent ban, to give regulation time to catch up.

Lawmakers aren't stopping there. Former cabinet minister Anneliese Dodds tabled an amendment cutting campaign spending limits by nearly a third, from £34 million to £24.4 million. Yuan Yang, an ally of the incoming prime minister, wants limits on how much money a party can hold when it is first set up, after Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain launched with £2.5 million without declaring its source. A fourth amendment, from Mark Sewards, would introduce checks on whether donations risk being part of a foreign attempt to undermine British democracy.

Reform UK and the Harborne donations

The urgency is tied to one party's willingness to break ranks. Reform UK became the first major British party to accept crypto donations in June 2025. The party has received donations totalling millions of pounds from expat crypto billionaires Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo, though none were made in cryptocurrency form.

That distinction matters less than the scrutiny it's triggered. Nigel Farage faces investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner over his acceptance of a £5 million gift from Christopher Harborne made shortly before he announced his decision to run as an MP in June 2024. The gift triggered a suspicious activity report from bankers who could not trace the ultimate origin of the funds. Farage has denied wrongdoing and triggered a byelection in his Clacton seat, which none of Reform's main rivals will fight.

What comes next

Ministers have separately promised to toughen the elections bill when it returns to the Commons on July 14, with a £100,000 cap on donations from expats for their first year back in the UK. Labour's Stella Creasy floated a £100,000 cap on all individual donations, though this is understood to have less backing than other amendments.

Campaigners have pressed for a full ban for months, arguing the Electoral Commission lacks the tools to trace crypto. They've pointed to outright bans on crypto donations already in place in Ireland and Brazil as precedent. The debate now hinges on whether lawmakers see the moratorium as temporary (Rycroft's view) or permanent (Byrne's amendment).