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The Bank of England is sabotaging Britain’s position as a global financial leader with proposed caps on individual stablecoin holdings, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says.
“This is nothing less than a poison pill for the U.K. financial sector,” Farage wrote in a Nov. 11 opinion piece for business news outlet City AM.
The Bank of England on Nov. 10 released a consultation paper proposing a “temporary” £20,000 ($26,350) cap on individual stablecoin ownership and a £10 million limit for businesses, citing risks to the financial system.
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According to Farage, however, the stablecoin cap does nothing to protect anyone.
“In reality, it keeps the pound tied to outdated hierarchies while the rest of the world races ahead,” he said. “Britain risks strangling fintech growth before it even starts, handing the digital revolution to New York and Dubai while we sit on the sidelines.”
Farage last month told cryptocurrency industry participants at Digital Asset Summit London 2025 that he had convinced Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey to scrap the floated limits in a prior meeting, positioning himself as the industry’s “champion.”
“Whether you like or dislike many of the political positions that I’ve taken over the course of the last three decades is frankly irrelevant,” he said at the time. “When it comes to your industry, when it comes to growth in this industry, then I am your champion, and I do make things happen, and I do make things change, and I will go on doing so.”
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The Bank of England told Benzinga in October that Farage indeed met with Bailey, as widely reported by several media outlets, but declined to provide any further comment.
In Farage’s recent missive, he claims glory for the Bank of England’s softened stance on stablecoin reserve holdings. The central bank, in its recent consultation paper, says issuers could hold up to 60% of their reserves in short-term government bonds. The stance marks a shift from 2023, when it said all reserves must be 100% cash, which would have prevented issuers from earning yield.
Farage has made cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology central to his bid to become prime minister in the next elections expected no later than 2029, taking a page from his ally, U.S. President Donald Trump. He has promised that, given the majority, Reform UK would cut the cryptocurrency capital gains tax from 24% to 10% and establish a national Bitcoin reserve.