Reform UK's Crypto Ties Raise Concerns Over Party's Policies and Image

Reform UK's ties to the crypto industry are raising concerns about the party's policies and image. The Independent reported that Reform's funding is almost exclusively from donors who made their money in cryptocurrencies, including Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, who donated £36m each.

The party proposes to cut capital gains tax on crypto assets from 24% for higher-rate taxpayers and 18% for basic-rate taxpayers to a flat 10%. This would be worth around £100m a year to crypto investors. Paul Johnson, former director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies, argued that there is 'no feasible economic rationale' for treating crypto more leniently than other economically productive assets.

Reform's association with the crypto business could be a serious weakness for the party. While enthusiasm for digital currencies is limited in the UK, where only 8% of people own cryptocurrency, it has been linked to libertarianism and is popular among some on the right who see it as a store of value independent of the state.

The party's two mega-donors, Delo and Harborne, have been accused of using their donations to influence policy. The fact that they both appear to have moved back to the UK from abroad specifically to avoid Labour's new restrictions on donations from citizens living abroad has raised eyebrows.