BlockBeats report: On June 24, Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, responded to reports that he received a £5 million (approximately $6.7 million) gift from Tether shareholder Christopher Harborne, stating that the funds were an "unconditional gift" and how he uses them is entirely a personal matter: "If I want to, I can buy a Ferrari."
Currently, the UK Parliament’s Standards Commissioner is investigating whether Farage should have declared this gift after being elected as a member of parliament in 2024. Under the rules, newly elected MPs are typically required to declare high-value gifts received in the preceding year.
Harborne is a British-Thai businessman who holds approximately 12% of Tether, the issuer of the stablecoin USDT, and is one of the main funders of the UK Reform Party. In response to external concerns that this donation might influence his stance on cryptocurrency, Farage denied any such connection, stating that he has long supported the development of the crypto industry and advocates for establishing a UK Bitcoin reserve and reducing capital gains taxes on digital assets.
It is worth noting that this personal gift is independent of Harborne’s political contributions to the Reform Party, and neither was paid in cryptocurrency.