In a previously undisclosed transaction in 2024, Christopher Harborne, a billionaire holding a 12% stake in the issuer of USDT stablecoin, Tether, gifted Nigel Farage $6.7 million (£5 million). According to The Guardian’s report and confirmed by Farage to The Daily Telegraph, this donation was intended for his personal security. Structured as a private gift, it was not officially reported under UK campaign finance regulations. At the time of receiving this money, Farage had not yet declared his candidacy for Parliament; he later contested and secured the Clacton seat.
This gift is distinct from Harborne’s prior £12 million contributions to Reform UK. His previous donations included a record-breaking £9 million in the preceding year and an additional £3 million disclosed in March. Despite these funds not being crypto-based, they have intensified scrutiny over cryptocurrency’s influence on political financing in the UK—a concern that Harborne’s gift to Farage further amplifies.
The UK government recently imposed a moratorium on crypto assets as political funding following recommendations from the Rycroft review into foreign electoral interference. Prior to this, Reform UK uniquely accepted crypto donations, receiving the country’s first such contribution in October 2025, as reported by The Observer, without informing the Electoral Commission.
The ban prompted Farage to criticize Labour ministers for being ‘out of touch.’ Before the prohibition, several Labour MPs, including parliamentary committee chairs, advocated against crypto donations, citing them as a conduit for foreign interference, as highlighted by Labour MP Rushanara Ali. Farage has emerged as a vocal supporter of cryptocurrencies, advocating for reduced capital gains taxes and proposing a national Bitcoin reserve.
Harborne, based in Thailand, is not the sole international crypto billionaire supporting Reform UK. Recently, BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo from Hong Kong disclosed a $5.4 million (£4 million) donation to Farage’s party. Despite pleading guilty in the U.S. for breaching the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering regulations—leading to a $10 million fine—he was later pardoned by former President Donald Trump.