Reform to accept donations in Bitcoin, Farage says
Reform UK are now accepting donations in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Nigel Farage has announced.
The party leader told the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas he would 'launch in Britain a crypto revolution' and make London 'one of the major trading centres of the world'.
The plans are part of Reform's Crypto Assets and Digital Finance Bill, which they would put into effect if they won the next general election.
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Farage told the conference: 'As of now, provided you are an eligible UK donor (…) we are the first political party in Britain that can accept donations in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.'
'Once again, we're being innovative,' he added.
On the Reform UK website on Thursday evening, it was possible to make a donation using cryptocurrency.
There was also a disclaimer stating that all donations are subject to Electoral Commission rules and that anonymous donations are not permissible.
Farage said: 'My message to the British public, my message particularly to young people, is help us to help you bring our country properly into the 21st century.
'Let's recognise that crypto, Bitcoin, digital assets, are here to stay.'
Announcing the crypto legislation that his party have drawn up, he also said 'we're going to have a Bitcoin digital reserve in the Bank of England'.
In a video posted on his X account, Farage said: "America is leading the way in crypto and digital assets - what's happening in the UK? Nothing.
"The Labour and Conservative parties don't even understand it, yet there are seven million British people that own crypto," he said.
Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have increased in popularity in recent years, with research suggesting around 12% of adults in the UK own or have owned cryptoassets, up from 4% in 2021.
Last month, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to regulate cryptoassets in a bid to make the UK a 'world leader'.
She told a fintech conference that she would back the builders as she announced plans to make crypto firms subject to regulation in the same way as traditional finance companies.
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