Reform UK has become the first political party in Britain to accept bitcoin and other cryptocurrency donations, Nigel Farage announced during a high-profile appearance at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas.
Farage told the audience that Reform UK had updated its website to accept crypto donations from eligible UK donors, marking what he called an “innovative” step for British politics. “My message to the British public, and particularly to young people, is to help us to help you bring our country properly into the 21st century,” he said. “Let’s recognise that crypto and digital assets are here to stay.”
The former UKIP and Brexit Party leader used the speech to unveil his party’s planned Cryptoassets and Digital Finance Bill, which includes a pledge to slash capital gains tax on cryptoassets from 24% to 10%. He also proposed creating a bitcoin digital reserve within the Bank of England and promised legal protections for users of cryptocurrency by making it illegal for banks to “debank” individuals who trade or hold crypto.
Farage told the conference—where he was introduced as a “UK presidential candidate”—that he wanted to make the UK a “crypto powerhouse”. He contrasted his party’s ambitions with what he described as inaction from both the current Labour government and the previous Conservative administration.
“Rishi Sunak, when he was briefly prime minister, made one speech about crypto and how London used to be a global financial centre. One speech and nothing else,” said Farage. “Labour? Well, we have 25 men and women in cabinet and not a single one of them has worked in private business.”
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