Key Takeaways:
- Liberal Democrats urged the FCA to probe Nigel Farage over a $2 million bitcoin promotion video on April 13.
- A record $12 million crypto gift to Reform UK sparked new U.K. bans on untraceable election donations.
- The FCA may review whether Stack BTC promos mislead fans into risky assets, mimicking Donald Trump’s 2024 tactics.
Allegations of Market Abuse
The U.K. opposition Liberal Democrats have called on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to investigate opposition leader Nigel Farage’s cryptocurrency dealings. In a letter to FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi, the party cited a Stack BTC promotional video featuring Farage buying $2 million worth of bitcoin.
Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrats’ deputy leader, said the video raises “extremely serious” questions about market abuse and conflicts of interest because Farage only invested $288,000 (£215,000) weeks earlier. According to a Bitcoin.com News report in late March, Farage became a significant shareholder in Stack BTC—chaired by former Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng—after purchasing 4.3 million shares.
Cooper also pointed to an approximately $12 million cryptocurrency donation Reform UK, the party Farage leads, received from businessman Christopher Harborne. The donation has been described as the largest of its kind in U.K. history.
“Taken together, these facts beg the question whether Mr Farage is promoting cryptocurrencies through his political platform in order to inflate crypto values for his own financial benefit, as well as that of his party and his inner circle of donors,” Cooper wrote in the April 13 letter.
Cooper claimed that Farage, whose party reportedly leads in polls, has already admitted Reform UK’s support of the crypto industry was a mutually beneficial trade.
The Liberal Democrats’ push for an FCA probe came weeks after the Keir Starmer government banned cryptocurrency donations to “prevent bad actors using untraceable means of influencing elections.” The ban followed weeks of pressure from lawmakers urging the government to act.
Beyond conflict-of-interest concerns, Cooper’s party argued that Farage’s crypto dealings may be an attempt to replicate U.S. President Donald Trump’s playbook. Cooper also warned that Farage’s position as an opposition leader could persuade supporters to invest large sums in volatile crypto assets, exposing them to significant financial risk.
