Reform UK Wants To Turn Britain Into The World's Premier Hub For Crypto

Forbes

2 days ago

Nigel Farage holds up a copy of his proposed Cryptocurrencies and Digital Finance Bill at The ... More Bitcoin Conference at The Venetian Convention & Expo Center on May 29, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage unveiled his party's plan to turn Britain into a crypto powerhouse if it gets elected.
'We are going to launch in Britain a crypto revolution,' Farage said. 'We're going to make London one of the major trading centers of the world. We're deadly serious, and here it is.'
He was holding up a copy of the party's 'Crypto Assets and Digital Finance Bill' during an appearance at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas on Thursday.
The party's bill promises to cut the capital gains tax on crypto investments to 10% from the current rate of 24%. The legislation also would mandate the creation of a Bitcoin digital reserve at the Bank of England and make it illegal for banks to close the accounts of people who trade in cryptocurrencies or digital products.
Farage also announced that his Reform UK party will now accept donations in crypto.
His comments come just over a week after bitcoin hit an all-time high near $112,000. Despite retreating from that level, it's still up 15% for the year.
Farage thinks the U.K. is falling behind. He said that 7 million people in Britain already have crypto assets, and one in four under the age of 30 have crypto assets. 'And yet, our outdated Labour and Conservative governments have done nothing in this space at all,' he added.
The finance ministry declined to respond directly to Farage's comments, pointing instead to the draft legislation for regulating crypto assets that was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves at the end of April.
The government's new law promises to extend existing financial regulation to crypto exchanges, dealers and agents in an effort to crack down on bad actors while supporting legitimate innovation.
'Crypto firms with U.K. customers will also have to meet clear standards on transparency, consumer protection, and operational resilience—just like firms in traditional finance,' the finance ministry said in a statement at the time.
Reeves said she had discussed crypto regulation with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during her most recent visit to Washington, and that the two countries planned to discuss this further in June.
U.S. President Donald Trump was initially a critic of crypto, but he later embraced cryptocurrencies and digital assets during his presidential campaign, vowing to roll back regulatory curbs on the industry.
After Trump came to office, securities regulators have dropped or put on hold investigations and prosecutions of about a dozen crypto companies. Last week, the U.S. President held a private dinner for the top buyers of his personalized meme coin, known as $Trump.
Trump's sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr., who are both been involved in crypto ventures of their own, appeared at the same Bitcoin 2025 conference, as did Vice President JD Vance.
Britain's efforts to align with the U.S. on regulating crypto currencies and digital assets is also a source of concern for the EU. The European Central Bank (ECB) thinks that Trump's support for the crypto industry heightens the risk of a financial crisis that could spread to the European economy.
It's worth noting that Reform UK currently has only five lawmakers in Britain's 650-seat parliament, but its popularity has soared over the past year. The governing Labour Party has dropped behind Reform UK in recent polling.
Eric and Donald Trump Jr. spoke at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 28, ... More 2025.