‘It’s the Trump playbook’
Speaking at a crypto conference in London yesterday, Nigel Farage declared himself the sector’s champion, promising to “bring crypto in from the cold”.
Farage’s words mirror Donald Trump’s attempt at attracting donations and political support from crypto investors in the run-up to the 2024 US Presidential Election.
The Reform leader told crypto investors at the Digital Asset Summit in London: “When it comes to your industry, when it comes to growth in this industry, then I am your champion. We will effectively bring crypto in from the cold.”
Referring to Farage’s pitch, one attendee told the Financial Times: “It’s the Trump playbook”.
Reform has proposed a Cryptoassets and Digital Finance Bill, which it says Farage would enact if he becomes prime minister.
The bill proposed setting a flat rate of capital gains tax on crypto gains at 10%, rather than tax being dependent on the type of activity and an individual’s income.
Reform has also said they’d establish a national Bitcoin reserve worth around £5 billion using bitcoin seized from criminal operations.
Farage spoke at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas in May, receiving £7,410 for his appearance. In his speech, he announced that Reform UK would become the first political party to accept donations in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
He also spoke at Bitcoin’s Amsterdam conference in 2020, where he said he advocated that “people should have a bit of Bitcoin as part of their portfolio”.
The Observer’s Whitehall editor Catherine Neilan reported that the Electoral Commission has recently been notified of a crypto donation to Reform – the first to a major political party. It has yet to be declared.
There are concerns that crypto donations can be made anonymously by illegal donors.
Farage’s approach mirrors Trump’s wooing of crypto investors before the 2024 presidential election. Trump spoke at a Digital Asset Summit conference in New York in July 2024.
According to CNBC, a Trump political action committee (PAC) raised around $7.5 million (£3.5 million) in cryptocurrency for his election campaign.
During the middle of the presidential campaign, he also launched a crypto firm, World Liberty Financial.
According to a CBS News article, Trump’s family has made $2.9 billion from crypto investments, which now represent nearly 40% of his net worth.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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