UK Urges FCA Probe Into Farage’s Bitcoin Company Ties

The request was made due to potential market rule breaches tied to his financial stake and promotional involvement in Stack BTC, which recently disclosed a 37 Bitcoin purchase. Meanwhile, in South Korea, regulators have fined Coinone 5.2 billion won (about $3.5 million) and imposed a three-month partial suspension after the Financial Intelligence Unit found widespread anti-money laundering violations, including failures in user identity verification and unauthorized transactions with unregistered foreign exchanges.

Farage Faces FCA Scrutiny

The United Kingdom’s political and financial landscape is facing scrutiny after the Liberal Democrats called on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to investigate Reform UK leader Nigel Farage over his ties to Bitcoin treasury firm Stack BTC. The request follows the company’s recent disclosure that it bought 37 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $2.7 million.

In a formal letter to the regulator, Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest. She urged the FCA to examine whether Farage may have breached market rules by appearing in promotional content for a company in which he holds a financial stake. Cooper argued that such actions could amount to market abuse, and warned that political figures should not be allowed to leverage financial markets for personal gain.

The controversy stems partly from Farage’s growing involvement with Stack BTC. Earlier this year, he disclosed a $286,000 investment in the company, which secured him a 6.31% ownership stake through his media entity. 

The firm is chaired by former UK Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng. It is considered a Bitcoin treasury company, and holds more than 68 BTC at an average purchase price of around $72,400 per coin.

Concerns intensified due to Farage’s appearance in a video linked to the company’s latest Bitcoin acquisition, where he explained that a Bitcoin treasury company must hold Bitcoin to operate effectively. Critics argue that such statements, when made by a political leader with a direct financial interest, could influence market sentiment and potentially benefit his investment.

The issue also intersects with debates around cryptocurrency’s role in UK politics. Cooper’s letter pointed out a £9 million donation to Reform UK from crypto investor Christopher Harborne, as well as Farage’s advocacy for crypto-friendly policies. She suggested that these elements collectively raise questions about whether political promotion of digital assets could be tied to personal or party financial interests.

The FCA has acknowledged that it received the letter and stated that it will review the concerns and respond directly. 

South Korea Cracks Down on Coinone

Regulation is also taking center stage in South Korea. The country’s crypto sector is once again under regulatory pressure as Coinone, the country’s third-largest digital asset exchange, faces a big fine and a partial suspension of its operations over alleged anti-money laundering (AML) failures. 

The action comes after an investigation by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which operates under the Financial Services Commission.

According to local reports, regulators found that Coinone failed to properly verify user identities in approximately 70,000 cases, which is a serious breach of AML requirements designed to prevent illicit financial activity. In addition to these shortcomings, the FIU alleged that the exchange facilitated more than 10,000 transactions involving 16 foreign crypto platforms that were not registered with South Korean authorities. 

These transactions reportedly continued despite repeated warnings from regulators, which raised serious concerns about the exchange’s internal controls and willingness to adhere to compliance guidelines.

Further violations include failures in customer due diligence procedures. Regulators claim that Coinone marked verification processes as complete even when key user information was missing, and did not adequately restrict trading activity for customers whose identity checks had not been finalized. 

As a result, the FIU imposed a fine of 5.2 billion won, equivalent to roughly $3.5 million, and issued a three-month partial business suspension. During this period, the platform will be restricted from allowing new customers to deposit or withdraw funds. The exchange’s CEO, Cha Myung-hoon, has also received an official reprimand, though the measure is administrative rather than criminal in nature.

Coinone has been given 10 days to respond to the FIU’s findings and contest the penalties before they are finalized.