Reform's Farage Aims for Review of UK Crypto Promotions

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said rules governing how crypto companies market themselves to consumers should be relaxed, after the digital asset industry struggled to meet his standards. The UK’s financial promotion regime, which oversees communications made by companies on their websites, emails and social media posts, was expanded to include crypto firms in 2023. All crypto platforms are required to display clear risk warnings to UK consumers and meet higher technical standards, including a 24-hour cooling-off period for new customers. Digital asset businesses have complained that the rules apply a standard that is too high to meet. The regime covers any promotion visible in the UK, regardless of whether the company is established there. “It’s too difficult,” Farage said of the regime in an interview with Bloomberg News on Wednesday. The Reform leader has repeatedly spoken out against the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK’s markets watchdog, as part of the party’s political mission to combat crypto and financial services. “Free things up,” Farage added. “Don’t try to protect investors from themselves. Just make sure they have places where they can trade and do things where the money isn’t going to be stolen. That’s all we need.” The FCA said that more than a thousand warnings last year led to crypto companies modifying or withdrawing their financial promotions. Earlier on Wednesday, the watchdog sued digital asset exchange HTX, whose owner Justin Sun has ties to the Trump family’s crypto projects, for illegally promoting its services in the UK. The FCA did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside business hours on Wednesday. Reform announced a Donald Trump-style foray into cryptocurrency policy in May, unveiling a series of promises including cuts to capital gains taxes on crypto investments and the establishment of a strategic Bitcoin reserve. The party has pledged to support the sector in a bid to attract younger voters, and some industry executives see Farage as a political supporter in the mold of Trump. “Either I’m here to support your community, or your community is here to support me,” Farage told attendees at crypto industry conference Zebu Live in London on Wednesday. “But either way, it’s a trade that works for both of us.” ©2025 Bloomberg LP This article was generated from an automated news agency feed with no text modifications.