{"id":531954,"date":"2026-04-15T09:53:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T09:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/531954\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T09:53:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T09:53:08","slug":"how-a-2m-bitcoin-order-made-nigel-farage-the-political-face-of-uk-crypto-nigel-farage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/531954\/","title":{"rendered":"How a \u00a32m bitcoin order made Nigel Farage the political face of UK crypto | Nigel Farage"},"content":{"rendered":"

A thumping electronic beat provides the soundtrack to the video as Nigel Farage<\/a> appears in front of a bank of screens.<\/p>\n

At first glance, it could be yet another of the Reform UK leader\u2019s \u201csecond jobs\u201d \u2013 whether promoting gold as a pension fallback<\/a> or recording Cameo videos<\/a>. And in a sense, it is: Farage is promoting a \u00a32m cryptocurrency purchase by a company in which he has \u00a3215,000 invested, Stack BTC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we are about to place our bitcoin order,\u201d says Farage with a smile, drawing on the communication skills honed as a politician and GB News anchor.<\/p>\n

After pressing a button, he shrugs theatrically as a bugle marks the \u201cpurchase\u201d before the clip cuts to him standing on a roof with Kwasi Kwarteng<\/a>, the former Tory chancellor known for his disastrous 2022 mini budget in the government of Liz Truss.<\/p>\n

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The promotional video \u2013 filmed last week at the London offices of the online digital currency wallet Blockchain.com, and released on the morning the Reform UK<\/a> leader held his latest weekly press conference \u2013 drew new attention to Farage\u2019s relationship with Stack BTC. The crypto business is chaired by Kwarteng, who previously described the currency as a \u201ctotal crapshoot\u201d, but has since undergone something of a conversion.<\/p>\n

The business proposition is an unusual one. It is a \u201cbitcoin treasury company\u201d, and describes its strategy as \u201cbecoming a listed investment vehicle with a primary focus on bitcoin\u201d.<\/p>\n

In simple terms, it exists to accumulate the digital currency. When the price of bitcoin rises, its share price would generally be expected to follow suit; when the price falls, so would the share price.<\/p>\n

Investors, such as Farage, therefore make paper gains when bitcoin does well without buying the currency directly. And Kwarteng, Farage and any others with an interest in Stack are incentivised to see bitcoin do well, with much less reason to note any downsides.<\/p>\n

Hours after Stack posted the video, the Liberal Democrats asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to investigate whether Farage\u2019s promotion of cryptocurrencies amounted to attempted market abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo politician should be exploiting their platform to potentially enrich themselves or specific vested interests,\u201d wrote the party\u2019s deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, who pointed to Reform\u2019s history of campaigning for policies that would expand the use of cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n

Farage and Kwarteng stand on a rooftop in the promotional video. Photograph: X\/Stack BTC<\/p>\n

Farage or his party have previously called for deregulation, and proposed a new \u201cbitcoin reserve fund\u201d<\/a> and the forcing of HMRC to accept crypto as a payment for taxes. Cooper also highlighted the \u00a39m donation Reform received last year from Christopher Harborne<\/a>, an investor in the cryptocurrency firm Tether, making it the largest donation of its kind in UK history.<\/p>\n

And it wasn\u2019t just the usual centrist and left-leaning suspects raising concerns about Farage\u2019s link with Stack.<\/p>\n

Fraser Nelson, the former editor of the Spectator, last month described it<\/a> as \u201ca scandal hiding in plain sight\u201d, adding that most politicians sell shares to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest. He also argued that if investors concluded that Farage was within reach of No 10, and believed his party would promote crypto, \u201cthe upside becomes self-fulfilling. The investment is not just a bet on bitcoin but on political power itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nelson confronted Kwarteng on Times Radio on Monday, claiming that Farage was buying shares to personally profit and that the company had given him a bonus deal that could pay millions. This has been rejected by Stack, which said Farage had invested on the same terms as every other shareholder.<\/p>\n

To laughter, the former Tory MP insisted it was not guaranteed that he or Farage were going to make \u201ca tonne of money\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a $2tn market, the bitcoin market. The idea that Farage can influence it is ridiculous,\u201d said the former MP, who added that he was sure the Reform leader would put his shares in a blind trust, sell them or recuse himself from decisions on crypto if he entered government.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Kwarteng said that buying shares instead of bitcoin directly meant Farage was being maximally transparent. Regarding the Reform leader\u2019s motives, Kwarteng noted: \u201cEveryone who buys shares intends to make some sort of money from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some may ask why Farage is prepared to countenance a brand promotion alongside a former politician associated with economic catastrophe. Whatever his reasons, he appears to be earning what he has described<\/a> as \u201cgood money\u201d that started to come his way after years in politics, having previously complained of being \u201cskint\u201d.<\/p>\n

Indeed, his investment in Stack appears to have benefited from his own profile. After he took a 6.3% stake in March, the share price of what was a relatively small company quadrupled at one point; while the price has dropped, the shares are still worth almost double what Farage paid. He has since bought an additional \u00a360,650 stake at a higher price. On paper, the total value of his stake appears to have increased by more than \u00a3200,000.<\/p>\n

Listed on the UK \u201cchallenger\u201d stock exchange Aquis, Stack is one of a number of bitcoin companies building up a portfolio and channelling surplus cash into the digital currency. It was co-founded by Paul Withers, the owner of Direct Bullion, which has already paid Farage \u00a3226,200 for his promotional work as a brand ambassador for the gold company.<\/p>\n

At another level, there is a constituency of wealthy crypto enthusiasts seemingly rewarding Reform for its role as the foremost cheerleader in British politics for the currency.<\/p>\n

As well as Harborne, there is Ben Delo, a British billionaire who last week<\/a> said he had given \u00a34m to Reform since the start of the year, before the government\u2019s cap on donations<\/a> to political parties by British citizens living abroad came into effect.<\/p>\n

Farage has cultivated a relationship with the crypto community for some time, where many share the distinctive libertarian ethos of key Reform figures, such as Zia Yusuf and Richard Tice.<\/p>\n

In the case of Stack, the company has not been shy about wading into the political mire. On X, it told the broadcaster and activist Narinder Kaur that she was \u201ccompletely ignorant on the subject\u201d after she described bitcoin as a pyramid scheme, and it congratulated the Reform activist Matthew Goodwin on sales of his new book, describing it as a \u201cwonderful accomplishment\u201d.<\/p>\n

Farage attended various crypto conferences last year, although at times appeared less than sure-footed in front of a diverse young audience. At one, jokes about the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, (\u201cRachel from accounts\u201d) and the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, which might have caused laughter at a Reform rally, fell flat.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the raising of bitcoin\u2019s profile by Farage has been welcomed by major figures including Andrew Webley, the founder and chief executive of the Smarter Web company, a much larger bitcoin treasury and digital services business than Stack BTC.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a political person but it is clearly a good thing for the sector to have somebody that might end up as prime minister taking bitcoin seriously,\u201d said Webley, whose company is listed on the London Stock Exchange.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I walk down a street in, say, London, people won\u2019t recognise me. It\u2019s a different matter with Nigel Farage. Whatever you think about him, he has got people talking about bitcoin. This is about normalising things, starting a conversation and educating people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been the best performing asset in the world over the last 20 years so they should have some exposure to it, if not put every penny in it,\u201d added Webley, who has invited Farage and other politicians to the \u201cbitcoin treasuries unconference\u201d his company is hosting in his home town of Bristol in May.<\/p>\n

At the same time, it is not hard to find unease in the bitcoin community about the involvement of Britain\u2019s most polarising frontline politician. \u201cIt is not entirely helpful in some ways,\u201d said one.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Farage has described the Stack event as a \u201cphotocall\u201d, adding: \u201cMr Farage is embracing the 21st century. He bought the [\u00a32m of] crypto on behalf of Stack and not personally.\u201d They added that Farage would do \u201cwhatever is appropriate\u201d with his Stack shares if he entered government.<\/p>\n

As for donations, Reform\u2019s website says it does not accept anonymous donations and any above \u00a3500 are checked. A spokesperson for Reform told the BBC that \u201call parties need donations to run campaigns\u201d and \u201cLabour taking money from the trade unions is just one example\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A thumping electronic beat provides the soundtrack to the video as Nigel Farage appears in front of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[84,59,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-531954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-gb","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}