At the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas on Thursday evening, the leader of Reform, Nigel Farage, pledged to introduce a Crypto Assets and Digital Finance Bill if he becomes Prime Minister.
Farage said Reform will campaign for the bill and put it in place if the party wins the next UK general election, which must be held no later than Aug. 15, 2029. Though that is still likely a few years away, if the party is successful and the legislation is enacted, it would mean the creation of a “bitcoin digital reserve” in the Bank of England, a reduction in capital gains tax from 24% to 10%, and making it illegal for any bank to close customer accounts simply because they send or receive funds from crypto exchanges or trade legal cryptocurrencies, Farage explained.
Recent aggregated polling data from Statista has Reform on 29% of voting intention for the next general election, with the current Labour government trailing on 22%. The Conservatives are on 17%, the Liberal Democrats 16%, and the Green Party commands 10% of the election polling.
The UK already has the third-largest known bitcoin holdings among sovereign nations with 61,245 BTC ($6.4 billion), behind just China and the U.S. with 190,000 BTC and 198,012 BTC, respectively, according to Bitcoin Treasuries data.
Launching a ‘crypto revolution’
“Seven million people in Britain have got crypto assets,” Farage said — equating to over 10% of the country’s approximate 68 million population. “One in four people under 30 have got crypto assets. And yet our outdated Labour and Conservative governments have done nothing in this space at all. And what I want to do when we win the next election is bring us into the 21st century. We are going to launch in Britain a crypto revolution. We’re going to make London one of the major trading centers of the world. We’re deadly serious.”
Farage acknowledged the Trump administration’s embrace of the crypto industry in the U.S. as part of the impetus for Reform’s policy, calling it “fantastic” and suggesting the UK tends to be “a little bit behind.”
Referring to the emergence of “globalist structures” like the European Union in the 1990s and his pivotal role in the UK’s Brexit vote to leave the EU in 2016, Farage said he believed in national sovereignty but also worried that governments across the Western world had become too big. “It interferes and tries to control virtually every aspect of our lives. So I believe in individual sovereignty as well — and Bitcoin is the ultimate freedom from big government.”
The UK’s approach to crypto
The current center-left Labour government and center-right Conservative party have traditionally dominated UK elections.
Reform is a relatively new political entity that emerged from key figures previously involved with the UK Independence Party (UKIP), including Nigel Farage. It was established in 2018 under the name The Brexit Party and later rebranded as Reform UK in 2021.
Despite Reform’s success in recent local and mayoral elections, dominating the results, voters have historically reverted to Labour or Conservatives come general elections regardless of any surge in popularity of other parties.
Farage acknowledged it is not going to be easy, but believes if Reform can build on that recent success, grow its party membership (which is now the second-largest in the UK behind Labour), and establish its credibility, it can win. Referencing his career as a commodities trader, radio and television host, and in politics, Farage added, “Frankly, I think I’m much better qualified than a bunch of Oxford-educated human rights lawyers to run the country.”
None of the major UK political parties mentioned crypto in their prior 2024 election manifestos, nor did they return requests for comment from The Block regarding any crypto-specific policy ideas or plans for the industry in the country at the time.
There have been some positive signs for the industry, however. In 2023, then UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed a desire to provide regulatory clarity regarding how crypto businesses should register and operate in the UK, announcing plans to turn the country into a “web3 hub.”
More recently, the UK Treasury said it is eager to work with the crypto-friendly U.S. government to better support innovation across the burgeoning industry, following discussions between UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — contrasting a more hostile approach from the EU. However, the UK Treasury also confirmed it has no plans to adopt a strategic bitcoin reserve.
The UK has adopted a phased approach to crypto regulation, aiming to position itself as a global hub for digital assets while prioritizing consumer protection and financial stability.
Beginning with anti-money laundering oversight in 2020, the regulatory framework has expanded to include a ban on the sale of crypto derivatives to retail consumers in 2021 and the extension of financial promotions rules to crypto assets in 2023. Comprehensive regulations covering stablecoins, trading platforms, lending, staking, and custody are currently under consultation, with full implementation expected in 2026.
There’ll be a CBDC ‘over my dead body’
Additionally, the UK has been exploring a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC), though the Bank of England and the Treasury Department remain undecided on its necessity.
“This would be the ultimate form of tyranny,” Farage said on Thursday — echoing similar remarks from President Trump. “I can tell you, as I go around the country, people have woken up to what’s going on here. When we win the next election, there’ll be a CBDC over my dead body.”
Farage also reflected on an issue particularly close to his own heart as one of the most high-profile figures in the UK to have previously been debanked. “It was, I’ve got to be honest, a very, very, very scary experience,” Farage said. “I went to 10 banks, all of whom refused me an account. It’s like they’re trying to force me out of the country. But I fought back. I fought back publicly, and I won. But I was able, through my media contacts and my profile, to have that fight and win it. Most folks aren’t. I mean, even last year in the United Kingdom, 400,000 people were debanked.”
While an influential figure, Farage would only be able to implement these policies if he were to become Prime Minister, but he stressed the importance of starting the debate now. “What is in my power now is to change the whole debate,” Farage said. “My appearance with you on stage is going to spark a massive national debate. There are many people now watching this in the United Kingdom. I’m sure the Labour and Conservative parties will say, oh, dear, why didn’t we think of that? So I think in the short term, we could change at least the national argument.”
“In government, you have to have a majority in the House of Commons,” Farage continued. “You have to have a majority of MPs by winning the individual districts, constituencies. And once you’ve done that, you have a mandate you can pretty much do within reason what you want. So this isn’t going to happen overnight. I wish the election was sooner than 2029, but it gives us a long time to build up the activist base, what I call the People’s Army. The People’s Army of folk who want real fundamental change. The People’s Army who say we want politicians not who just want to be Prime Minister or have a ministerial car, but actually want to affect real, genuine radical change.”
First UK political party to accept crypto donations
Farage also confirmed on Thursday that Reform would accept crypto donations from eligible UK donors.
“We are the first political party in Britain who can accept donations in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies,” Farage said. “So once again, we’re being innovative. And again, we’re way behind you in America. But as of now, people with bitcoin can give us money, provided they’re eligible. And my message to the British public, my message, particularly to young people, is to help us to bring our country properly into the 21st century. Let’s recognize that crypto, bitcoin, and digital assets are here to stay.”
“It’s really funny because when I first advocated this five years ago, I had the Financial Times, the governor of the Bank of England all saying the whole thing was a Ponzi scheme and you’d lose all your money,” Farage added. “It just goes to show the establishment, nearly always, all through history, gets pretty much everything wrong. It’s all about disruptors. It’s all about innovators. It’s all about freedom fighters.”
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