- Christopher Harborne, a Tether and Bitfinex shareholder, donated $12 million to Nigel Farage’s party Reform UK.
- Reform UK has received significant contributions, including from Viscountess Rothermere and other investors.
- Harborne has donated nearly $28 million to various UK political parties, with $19 million going to Reform UK.
- Farage publicly opposed new stablecoin regulations shortly after Harborne’s donation, without disclosing the connection.
- An aide to Farage, George Cottrell, faces allegations linked to a gambling syndicate; his mother has also donated to Reform UK.
Christopher Harborne, a shareholder in cryptocurrency firms Tether and Bitfinex, contributed $12 million to Nigel Farage’s party, Reform UK. This donation is among the largest political contributions in UK history. It was made in August 2025, supporting the party formerly known as the Brexit Party.
Earlier in 2025, Reform UK also received a $500,000 donation from a property developer, $100,000 from an investment firm founder, and a $650,000 donation from Viscountess Rothermere, wife of the owner of the largest UK news outlet, the Daily Mail. According to DonationsWatch, Harborne has given almost $28 million to political parties in the UK, with $19 million of that total going specifically to Reform UK. The Conservative Party has received over $2 million from Harborne.
Following the donation, Nigel Farage appeared on UK talkshow LBC and expressed support for the multi-billion dollar stablecoin company Tether, criticizing the Bank of England’s proposed restrictions on stablecoins. These regulations aim to limit individuals to holding no more than £10,000 (about $12,000) in stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value. Farage said, “The Governor of the Bank of England earlier this week indicated that nobody, no individual, should be allowed to have more than £10,000 pounds worth of stablecoins, to which some of my friends have said, ‘should we just emigrate’?” Farage did not disclose any financial links to Harborne or explain who these “friends” were during the interview.
Harborne, who also uses the Thai name Chakrit Sakunkrit, has previously funded Farage, enabling him to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration. Harborne’s son, William, leads Rhino.fi, a stablecoin infrastructure company collaborating with Tether. Rhino.fi was formerly part of Bitfinex and Tether but later became independent.
Separately, George Cottrell, a close unpaid aide to Farage, is alleged in court documents to have acted as a frontman for a betting syndicate run by billionaire gambler Tony Bloom. Cottrell was convicted of wire fraud in 2016 and is accused of laundering drug trafficking proceeds. His mother, Fiona Cottrell, has contributed $950,000 to Reform UK since 2024.
As Reform UK promotes a pro-crypto stance, it started accepting cryptocurrency donations in 2025. However, the UK Labour government plans to ban crypto political donations due to concerns about their lack of transparency, which could allow foreign interference in elections.
For more details, see the original reporting from Byline Times and coverage of related topics at The Independent.
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