Farage urges BoE to embrace cryptocurrencies in talks with Bailey, calls for QE rethink

Nigel Farage urged the Bank of England to welcome cryptocurrencies in talks at Threadneedle Street on Friday, as he pressed for a change of course on quantitative easing during his first formal meeting with Governor Andrew Bailey. Farage, the Reform UK leader, said discussions with Bailey were constructive despite previously branding the central banker as “hopeless,” and his remarks were echoed by Reform’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, who attended the meeting and called it a “significant moment.” Bailey was reported to have reached out to Farage to arrange the encounter, underscoring Reform’s continued emphasis on engaging with the Bank as polls show the party in a lead over Labour in several surveys.

Farage has long condemned the Bank of England for its stance on cryptocurrency, accusing the Bank of stifling growth by restricting crypto ownership. He has also been a vocal critic of the Bank’s quantitative easing (QE) programme, describing it as “printing money” to buy government bonds and keep borrowing costs low. Reform has proposed substantial policy changes, including a £40 billion tax cut for Britons by ending the interest paid to banks on reserves held at Threadneedle Street, much of which were created through QE. The party also has called for an end to the Bank’s voluntary quantitative tightening (QT), which has drawn down the stock of government bonds bought under QE at a loss.

Ahead of the morning meeting, Farage said he intended to press Bailey on cryptocurrency, arguing that the United Kingdom’s current approach amounted to “madness.” Tice said the goal was to address the cost of the QE programme and explore how the Bank’s policy could be aligned with parliamentary priorities. Farage, who in recent years has become a strong advocate for crypto—announcing in May that Reform would begin accepting donations in Bitcoin and urging the Bank to establish a strategic reserve of the digital asset—stressed that the Bank should not “turn their back on it completely.” After the discussions, Farage said the cryptocurrency topic had been encouraging, but that the Bank’s pace remained too slow. “I think they’re adopting an overly cautious approach. What he [Bailey] did say was, in that world, that they are looking at it. He said ‘our minds are not closed on this issue,’” Farage said.

Bailey reportedly acknowledged that QE and QT are important public policy debates and indicated openness to more parliamentary engagement. In a statement, Tice said: “If Parliament via the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave a different steer to the Bank of England this could significantly reduce the need for tax rises at the Budget.” He added that Reform would follow up with the Chancellor and the Leader of the House to request an urgent debate when Parliament returns.

The exchange comes as Reform, which has positioned itself as a challenger to Labour, continues to advocate structural changes to the central bank’s operations and broader economic policy. Farage’s outreach to Bailey and the Bank’s willingness to engage signals a possible opening for crypto advocates to shape policy discussions at a time when digital assets are spreading beyond niche circles. While Labour remains ahead in several polls, Reform’s renewed emphasis on monetary policy and financial technology underscores the broader political debate over how the Bank should balance growth, inflation, and the evolving role of digital currencies in the U.K. economy.