PANews reported on March 26 that, according to The Block, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the government will suspend accepting cryptocurrency political donations to address risks of illicit finance and foreign interference. This proposal is a temporary measure designed to buy time for regulators to develop transparency rules. Once the rules take effect, political parties will be required to return any cryptocurrency donations already received, and violators may face criminal penalties after the grace period.
This move stems from a government-commissioned review report that warned cryptocurrency transactions could obscure the origins of funds and increase the difficulty of enforcing donation rules and identifying foreign sources. This comes after the Reform Party accepted tens of millions of pounds in cryptocurrency donations, prompting cross-party MPs to call for an "immediate ban" on cryptocurrency political donations, arguing that they pose an "unacceptably high risk" to electoral integrity.

