Cash Is No Longer King? 

Nigel Farage last night promised to lead a ‘crypto revolution’ in Britain that would see the Bank of England build up a Bitcoin reserve’.

The Reform leader, who is facing accusations of having ‘fantasy’ economic plans, used an appearance at a digital currency conference in Las Vegas to vow to ‘bring our country properly into the 21st century’.

He used his time on stage in the Nevada gambling resort to reveal Reform UK is now taking donations in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Mr Farage, a long-term supporter of electronic money, promised to make London ‘one of the major trading centres of the world’ and said his party had drawn up a Crypto Assets and Digital Finance Bill to bring in if they win the next election.

‘My message to the British public, my message particularly to young people, is help us to help you bring our country properly into the 21st century,’ he said.

‘Let’s recognise that crypto, Bitcoin, digital assets, are here to stay.’

However, Mr Farage’s long-term support for crypto appears to sit at odds for his well-publicised support for the ‘cash is king’ campaign.

He supported the grassroots movement to ensure that shops have to accept currency, and not just electronic payment, to help more senior shoppers.

And in 2023 he accused banks of ‘relentlessly driving Britain towards a cashless society’.

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have grown in popularity in recent years, with research indicating about 12 percent of adults in the UK own or have owned crypto-assets, up from 4 percent in 2021.

Last month, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to regulate cryptoassets in a bid to make the UK a ‘world leader’.

As she unveiled plans to regulate cryptocurrency companies similarly to other finance organisations, she told a fintech conference that she would support the builders.

Talking at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas on Thursday night, Mr Farage said: ‘As of now, provided you are an eligible UK donor (…) we are the first political party in Britain that can accept donations in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.’

‘Once again, we’re being innovative,’ he added.

On Thursday night, cryptocurrencies could be used to donate on the Reform UK website.

There was also a disclaimer saying that all contributions were subject to Electoral Commission rules and that unknown contributions were not permitted.

It came as Kemi Badenoch slammed Mr Farage and Keir Starmer for being in a ‘race to the bottom’ over welfare handouts.

In a feisty attack on the Reform and Labour leaders, Mrs Badenoch said the pair believed in getting taxpayers to fund ‘unlimited child support for others’ by scrapping the two-child benefit cap.

Writing in the Mail, the Tory leader branded the benefit unfair and unsustainable, because welfare ‘traps people’ and ‘drives up costs for everyone’.

Instead, she said the Conservatives were now the ‘only serious party of sound money’ and warned that Britain ‘can’t afford the fantasy economics of Starmer and Farage’, who ‘treat economics like a branch of showbiz’.

Mrs Badenoch’s intervention came after Mr Farage this week promised a spending splurge of up to £85 billion – including generous benefit increases.

The Reform leader said his party would scrap the two-child benefit cap because ‘it’s the right thing to do’, and would fully reverse the winter fuel payment cut. 

And yesterday, following months of tension from his own MPs, the Prime Minister gave a hint that he too could scrap the two-child cap after previously ruling it out.

Mrs Badenoch said the country was facing a choice between ‘sound money and soothing delusions’, because ‘Keir Starmer can’t tell you what he stands for, Nigel Farage can’t tell you how he’ll pay for anything’.

Sir Keir yesterday warned voters they cannot trust Mr Farage with their ‘future, mortgages or jobs’ in a speech deriding his economic literacy.

The Prime Minister joined the Tories in questioning Reform’s maths after it unveiled plans for a spending splurge if it wins the 2029 election.

With his left-leaning support for lifting the two-child benefit maximum and restoring winter heating payments in full, Mr Farage has attempted to win over working-class Labour voters.

However, he also supports several tax cuts, which according to Institute for Fiscal Studies specialists may leave his proposals with an £85 billion hole.

That would impede the £45 billion of unfunded tax cuts announced by former Tory Prime Minister Liz Truss in her catastrophic 2022 mini-budget. 

Speaking in Warrington Sir Keir said: ‘He set out economic plans which contains billions upon billions of completely unfunded spending. Precisely the sort of irresponsible splurge that sent your mortgage costs, your bills and the cost of living through the roof. It’s Liz Truss all over again.’

But tweeting from Las Vegas Mr Farage accused him of ‘resorting to dirty tricks borrowed from the 2016 referendum campaign to attack me’, adding: ‘This is Project Fear 2.0.’ 

We don’t want ‘imaginary money’ thank you very much.

Cryptocurrency is like a Ponzi scheme. You purchase something that does not exist and we need to stay away from it, and Nigel Farage is the kind of person that supports it – we need to stay away from him as well.

I also believe that Nigel Farage will lose votes by saying that he will introduce this ‘imaginary money.’

Numerous people have no clue about this cryptocurrency. Many prefer to use cash or a bank card, and let’s not forget that Nigel Farage will literally say anything to get into power, yet the gullible still believe him.

I was never going to vote for him. Is it worth voting for any of them?

If you believe anything this man has to say, then you are foolish, but then many people believed Keir Starmer, so I guess it doesn’t matter because they all lie!

All I want to hear is that they are going to close the borders and get rid of all those that are here illegally. Our problems arise from one thing – a small country, with too many people.

This Mickey Mouse nonsense is not what the British people want; they want real money! And don’t forget Nigel Farage only wants this cryptocurrency nonsense because it will improve his bank balance, not yours.

It allows him to accept donations from foreign states and organisations without getting caught. He is nothing but a repellent chancer and nothing more.

Reform UK is now taking donations in Cryptocurrency and if Nigel is elected he will make sure the price goes through the roof. Isn’t that like insider trading and extremely illegal? Or is this kind of conduct acceptable now as long as 2-tier Farage is on the make?

Here’s the basic idea: Crypto (like Bitcoin) is just digital money that isn’t regulated by any government or bank.

Instead of being held in your bank account, it lives on something called a blockchain, a kind of public record that shows every transaction ever made, but without showing actual names.

You use a digital wallet (like an app) to send or receive it. The major selling point is freedom and privacy – no middlemen, no banks holding your money, no waiting days for transfers. However, it also means no one can reverse mistakes, and it’s not easy to track for things like tax or fraud, which is why governments get nervous about letting everyone use it.

It’s like cash but on the internet = more difficult to trace, and extremely volatile in price. Great for some things, but not ready to replace normal currency just yet.