UK lawmaker calls for FCA probe of Farage's crypto promotion, citing 'Trump playbook'

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper has asked the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, citing a Stack BTC promotional video in which the company said he executed a £2 million ($2.7 million) bitcoin (BTC) purchase on its behalf, weeks after investing £215,000 ($291,283) in the firm.

In a letter to FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi, Cooper said that the sequence of events raises questions about potential market abuse, a conflict of interest, and retail investor harm. 

Cooper also alleged that Farage’s crypto advocacy may be following what she called a “Trump playbook,” referencing a Bloomberg investigation that found Donald Trump and his family have generated roughly $1.4 billion from crypto projects during his second term.

The letter said Farage has “long campaigned” for policies that would expand cryptocurrency use, including intervening in regulation, creating a new “bitcoin reserve fund,” and “forcing” HMRC to accept crypto for tax payments.

The lawmaker also raised concerns about political donations. Reform UK received a £9 million ($12.2 million) donation from Christopher Harborne, a major investor in Tether, at the end of last year, Cooper noted. 

That contribution, she wrote, is the largest political donation of its kind in UK history. Cooper told the FCA the 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.”

Concerns about Farage’s statements 

Cooper said she is equally concerned about statements Farage has made that could encourage his audience to invest in crypto assets without acknowledging the risks. 

She pointed to a 2022 video in which Farage interviewed a self-described cryptocurrency analyst, highlighted “huge financial returns,” and asked how to “fight back” against financial authorities that warn people about risks. 

Cooper noted that Farage did not challenge his guest’s claim that bitcoin could reach “well over a million dollars plus long term,” and that Farage added crypto could follow a trajectory similar to mobile phones. More recently, Cooper said, Farage has described cryptocurrency as “the ultimate freedom.”

“Beyond his broader advocacy of cryptocurrencies, the Reform UK leader has made a series of statements explicitly presenting crypto assets as attractive investments, going as far as discouraging people from listening to the advice of financial regulators,” Cooper wrote in the letter.

Cooper urged the FCA to determine whether Farage’s actions amount to attempted interference in the cryptocurrency market, whether they constitute attempted market abuse, and whether his public statements may have exposed ordinary people to financial harm, according to the letter.

The Block reached out to Nigel Farage's office for comment.