Nigel Farage received a $6.7 million personal gift from Tether stakeholder Christopher Harborne in 2024, intended for security costs. The payment was not disclosed under UK campaign finance laws and comes weeks after the UK government banned cryptocurrency political donations over transparency concerns. Harborne has also donated millions directly to Farage’s Reform UK party.
Christopher Harborne, a billionaire holding a 12% stake in Tether, gave Nigel Farage an undisclosed $6.7 million gift in 2024. Farage later stated the payment was intended to cover security costs for the Reform UK leader.
The personal gift was separate from Harborne’s $15 million in donations to the Reform UK party itself. Previous disclosures showed he made a $11.5 million donation last year and a further $3.8 million contribution revealed in March.
This revelation emerges weeks after the UK government announced an immediate moratorium on cryptocurrency political donations. The move followed a government-commissioned review into foreign electoral interference.
At the time of the ban, Reform UK was the only major UK party to accept crypto donations, having received the country’s first in October 2025. Responding to the prohibition, Farage accused Labour ministers of being “out of touch.”
Harborne is not the only overseas crypto figure to fund the party. Hong Kong-based BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo recently revealed a $5.4 million donation to Reform UK. Delo had previously pleaded guilty in the U.S. to Bank Secrecy Act violations and was later pardoned.
Farage has positioned himself as a cryptocurrency advocate, calling for lower capital gains taxes and a national Bitcoin reserve. The series of large donations from crypto-linked figures has intensified scrutiny on political funding sources in the UK.
