Nigel Farage has profited by producing Cameo videos that endorsed or provided support to cryptocurrencies which later collapsed in value.<\/p>\n
The videos were discovered by the Guardian within a collection of more than 4,000 clips he has created on the Cameo platform, which allows public figures and celebrities to sell personalised recorded messages to members of the public.<\/p>\n
Farage\u2019s use of Cameo has already come under intense scrutiny after it was revealed<\/a> he had recorded videos supporting a rioter, repeated extremist slogans, and endorsed a neo-Nazi event.<\/p>\n The Reform UK<\/a> leader has produced videos that appear to have been used to drum up interest in memecoins, with names such as \u201cStonks Finance\u201d, \u201cNIG Finance\u201d, \u201cTrump Mania\u201d and \u201cFarage coin\u201d.<\/p>\n Memecoins are cryptocurrencies whose value is driven largely by social media hype and celebrity backing. If and when the hype runs out, investments can be rendered worthless. Farage has repeatedly endorsed such cryptocurrencies in exchange for as little as \u00a372 from Cameo users who pay him to back their product.<\/p>\n Farage\u2019s embrace of cryptocurrencies is partly ideological. He has said<\/a> his experience of being \u201cdebanked\u201d \u2013 when the private bank Coutts, which is owned by NatWest Group, closed his account<\/a> \u2013 turned him into a crypto advocate because he saw it as \u201cfree from authoritarian government\u201d. He has called the cryptocurrency bitcoin \u201cthe ultimate freedom, the ultimate liberty\u201d.<\/p>\n But the cryptocurrencies Farage has backed on Cameo are for the most part far more obscure than bitcoin. Their backers appear to have been swift to use Farage\u2019s Cameo videos as effective advertisements for their tokens.<\/p>\n On X, the account behind the Stonks Finance coin posted Farage\u2019s video endorsement<\/a>, which cost \u00a373, alongside a message that said: \u201c$STONKS Finance airdrop. Tomorrow, 2,000 of you will get 150 STONKS each. Are you ready to \ud83d\ude80\ud83d\ude80\ud83d\ude80with Solana x Mirror? We think @Nigel_Farage knows what\u2019s up \ud83d\udc40.\u201d<\/p>\n The X account behind the Trump Mania token superimposed Farage\u2019s Cameo clip, which cost \u00a397, in front of an American flag and a cartoon depiction of the US president. The caption said: \u201c#TrumpMania<\/a> continues with a special vote of confidence from @Nigel_Farage.\u201d<\/p>\n Farage charged \u00a3133 for a supportive message in which he told the makers of Celsius Network\u2019s CEL token to \u201cfight\u201d for the product, telling them that \u201cif the technology is good enough, it will survive\u201d.<\/p>\n Celsius Network has since gone bankrupt; its founder and former chief executive, Alex Mashinsky, was sentenced to 12 years in prison<\/a> for securities fraud and commodities fraud. Prosecutors said he had artificially inflated the value of the CEL token.<\/p>\n Farage\u2019s spokesperson said he used the platform \u201cin good faith and without knowledge of the individuals involved beyond what is written for him in the prompt. If individuals or groups subsequently choose to misuse or repurpose a Cameo recording, that is clearly outside Mr Farage\u2019s knowledge or control.\u201d<\/p>\n Farage\u2019s cryptocurrency-related videos, which he has sold for a combined \u00a31,087, do mention some more mainstream currencies. In one video uploaded in May 2021 he said: \u201cKeep the faith. Hold the line. XRP to the moon.\u201d XRP was one of the assets Donald Trump announced<\/a> in March he would be including in a new US digital asset stockpile. Farage also produced a video saying \u201cI am told you must invest in Dogecoin\u201d \u2013 a memecoin favoured by Elon Musk.<\/p>\n A month later, Farage urged viewers to sell Dogecoin and instead invest in Gabecoin, which like Dogecoin is based on an image of a dog.<\/p>\n The Guardian analysed historical price data for the six cryptocurrencies referenced by Farage for which data is available. All of them have lost value since he made a Cameo clip about them.<\/p>\n Graph showing value of the cryptocurrencies <\/a><\/p>\n In a \u00a378 pep talk recorded for the \u201cFarage Crypto Community\u201d in June 2024, Farage seemed philosophical about fluctuations in value. \u201cI know so many of you out there are interested in memecoins. Look, you know, some of these coins do well, some don\u2019t,\u201d he said. \u201cBut here\u2019s the point. This is something that matters. You know, Brexit means Brexit, but crypto means freedom from government control. Take it from somebody who was debanked. Crypto\u2019s got a huge future.\u201d<\/p>\n Farage\u2019s backing of cryptocurrencies on Cameo reflects his close ties with the sector. His party, Reform UK, was the first to accept donations in cryptocurrency. Its biggest donor, the tech investor Christopher Harborne<\/a>, is a major shareholder in the cryptocurrency Tether.<\/p>\n Farage has also said that if he gets into power he will permit taxes to be paid in crypto, create a sovereign wealth fund holding digital assets and slash capital gains tax on crypto investments. Earlier this month, he invested \u00a3215,000 in Stack BTC, a crypto business chaired by the former Conservative chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.<\/p>\n