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A bitcoin firm in which Nigel Farage holds a stake is set to buy the gold dealer that pays him as its ‘brand ambassador’ – further entrenching the Reform UK leader’s financial interests in the cryptocurrency world.
On 15 September, Stack BTC – which announced Farage as a 6.31% shareholder in March, alongside Liz Truss’s former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng as its executive chairman announced it planned to buy gold dealers Direct Bullion.
In an announcement to the markets, Stack BTC wrote: “Today we announced heads of terms for our proposed first acquisition: Direct Bullion, a UK precious metals dealer with £52.1m audited revenue and an operating profit before non-recurring items of £3.86m and profit after tax of £2.15m in FY26.
“Stack’s strategy since day one [has been to] acquire profitable, cash-generative businesses that sustainably grow our Bitcoin per share, in sectors aligned with Bitcoin’s hard-money principles. Gold is a natural fit.”
Farage has been paid £685,500 by Direct Bullion in the space of 18 months, according to his own entries in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
The value of gold tends to rise in times of political turmoil, suggesting the firm could benefit from unrest or instability under a radical right-wing Government.
A 2018 SSRN study by academics at the University of Western Australia found: “Gold shows a unique behavior among all precious metals with a positive reaction to geopolitical risks and threats.”
A video advertisement recently posted by the company predicted violence and unrest under a Reform Government.
Questioning whether “sterling can survive what’s coming,” the video’s narrator added: “If a Reform government pushes through its agenda, resistance from those ideologically opposed to that direction could severely undermine national stability.”
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The Reform leader holds shares in Stack BTC through his company Thorn in the Side Ltd, having invested £215,000 on 9 March for 6.31% of the company. Within weeks he added £60,650 of shares in a second tranche. He bought in at 5p, and the share price surged to an all-time high of 21p on 10 March, the day after his investment was announced.
At the time, that suggested a paper gain of almost £700,000 for the Reform UK leader, but it had gone by June, when Stack’s share price fell back to 5p. His register entry still lists the shares, so he does not appear to have sold them.
However, Farage’s stake in the company has been diluted by a significant expansion in the number of shares available. (If the Direct Bullion deal goes through – funded in part by a major expansion in shares available – his shareholding could fall to around 3%).
But if the purchase does proceed, Farage’s brand ambassador fees from Direct Bullion would come from a subsidiary of a crypto company he part-owns, giving him an arguably greater incentive to boost cryptocurrencies. And Stack itself will have a strong incentive to boost a company that appears to have traded on the prospect of unrest and disorder under a Reform Government.
Farage’s last payment from Direct Bullion before his Stack investment was £135,000. The first one after it, 81 days later, was £270,000, described as covering the same amount of work: up to four hours a month over three months. Between those two payments he publicly promoted Stack on social media.
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The Clacton MP’s payments from the gold dealer were equivalent to a quarter of Direct Bullion’s profits in the year he became an MP. His register shows payments totalling £280,500 in the company’s financial year to January 2025. Pre-tax profit that year was £1.14m, so the payments equal about 25% of profits, making Farage’s fees one of the firm’s most significant outgoings.
Stack says it is “presently well funded with £4.27 million having been raised in 2026”. The deal is worth up to £12m, including £3m in cash on signing, around £4m in new Stack shares on completion, and up to £5m in further payments linked to performance.
Stack director Paul Withers controls the company selling Direct Bullion, so Stack has a director on both sides of the deal (the latter’s market announcement said Withers “has not participated, and will continue to refrain from participating, in any Board discussions or decisions relating to the Proposed Acquisition” of Direct Bullion).
Direct Bullion is already partly invested in crypto. The firm’s latest accounts show it held £247,614 in crypto assets at the end of January 2026.
Labour MP Phil Brickell, who is chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption, told Byline Times: “Does anyone honestly believe that Nigel Farage’s myriad side hustles and outside interests do not influence his judgement on important policy matters?
“Is he seriously going to continue accepting exorbitant ‘brand ambassador’ fees from a company that would be ultimately owned by another company he himself part-owns?”
In its latest set of filed accounts, covering the year to February 2026, Direct Bullion’s auditor said it could not verify the firm’s opening stock of gold. While there is no suggestion it does not hold the gold it claims, the ‘qualified opinion’ given by the auditors is noteworthy amid the company’s acquisition.
Nigel Farage Handed Platform by GB News to Defend Reform UK’s £72m Donations From Crypto Billionaires
“These donations are completely legal,” insisted the Reform UK leader as he used his first appearance as a GB News host for six months to dismiss all questions about where his party is getting its record-breaking funding from
The auditors wrote: “In respect solely of the limitation on our work relating to stock, described above: we have not obtained all the information and explanations that we considered necessary for the purpose of our audit; and we were unable to determine whether adequate accounting records had been maintained.”
Direct Bullion also paid out £1.375m in dividends in a year in which it took on £1.5m of bank debt.
Reform’s Crypto Policy
Under Farage, Reform launched a draft bill in May 2025 pledging to cut capital gains tax on crypto to 10%, and require the Bank of England to hold a bitcoin reserve. Farage reportedly went on to lobby the Bank of England governor over crypto. The bill was removed from Reform’s website in May 2026, but the party does not appear to have publicly rescinded the policy.
Analysis published this month in the Independent found the crypto tax-cut would net cryptocurrency investors hundreds of millions of pounds in tax breaks – potentially including Reform’s biggest donors – if the party enacted the policy in Government.
A Labour spokesperson said of the tax-cut revelations: “Farage and Reform are drowning in sleaze and scandal. They can’t buy their way out of the questions that the public need answers to. It’s clear Reform are on the side of a handful of crypto-billionaires, while Labour is delivering the change people across the country want to see.”
Stack BTC’s entire model is that of a so-called bitcoin treasury company: a listed firm whose main purpose is to build up a stockpile of bitcoin. It raises money from investors and buys profitable businesses, then uses the proceeds to buy more of the cryptocurrency, so its value (and its shareholders’) rises and falls with the bitcoin price. Stack, which is listed on the Aquis Growth Market (AGM), holds around 68 bitcoin, worth today around £4.35 million.
It means the right-wing would-be PM has a personal stake in a business that his party’s apparent policy would directly benefit. Farage’s relationship with crypto firms is only becoming more closely intertwined.
Phil Brickell MP added: “If the Reform leader spent anything like as much time working for his constituents as he does feathering his own nest – and those of the crypto bros who bankroll him – the good people of Clacton would be infinitely better off.
“This is bigger than Farage. Parliament must act swiftly to ban MPs from having second jobs, so that we can restore trust in politics as a force for good.”
Nigel Farage, Reform UK, Stack BTC and Direct Bullion did not respond to requests for comment.
Reform UK Could Pocket Nearly £500,000 in Interest if They Are Forced to Return £72 Million Crypto Billionaire Donations
EXCLUSIVE: Electoral Commission confirms interest earned on impermissible gifts can be kept, prompting calls for Nigel Farage to hand any proceeds to charity
Timeline: Farage, Crypto and Gold
| Date | What Happened |
|---|---|
| Apr 2024 | Crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, who owns about 12% of stablecoin issuer Tether, gives Farage £5m personally, weeks before he announces he will stand in Clacton |
| 5 Dec 2024 | Farage receives £189,300 from Direct Bullion, partly for work before his election |
| 6 Jan 2025 | £91,200 payment to Farage from Direct Bullion |
| 29 Mar 2025 | Donald Trump pardons BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo, who pleaded guilty in the US to anti-money-laundering failings |
| 29 May 2025 | At the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Farage launches Reform’s crypto bill (10% capital gains tax on crypto, Bank of England bitcoin reserve) and says Reform will accept crypto donations. Byline Times later revealed (15 Jan 2026) that the organiser, BTC Inc – run by Trump crypto adviser David Bailey – paid Farage £7,410 for the appearance, registered late on 3 Oct 2025 |
| Aug 2025 | Harborne gives Reform a record £9m. Byline Times reports (4 Dec 2025) that Farage had promoted Tether, in which Harborne holds a stake, while telling the crypto industry: “I am your champion” |
| Sep 2025 | Farage privately meets Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and urges him to scrap plans for a digital pound |
| 13 & 22 Oct 2025 | Farage personally paid £30,000 by crypto media firm Blockworks and £20,000 by Zebu Group. On 22 Oct, he tells Reuters he is “not aware” of crypto businesses funding his party (revealed by Byline Times, 22 May 2026) |
| 31 Oct 2025 | £135,000 payment to Farage from Direct Bullion |
| Jan–Mar 2026 | Delo gives Reform £4m in two £2m donations |
| 9 Mar 2026 | Farage invests £215,000 in Stack for a 6.31% stake |
| 12 Mar 2026 | Byline Times reveals Reform processes crypto donations through Radom, which operates under Poland’s virtual-asset register – the same register that previously housed the US-sanctioned Huione Group |
| 16 Mar 2026 | Byline Times reports Reform has not given the Electoral Commission its crypto wallet addresses, leaving the watchdog unable to independently verify where crypto donations come from. In July, we reveal that Reform’s crypto donations go into a pooled Radom wallet (comprising funds for all their clients), and converted to fiat currency before being given to the party. This makes it almost impossible to work out how much Reform made from crypto donations. |
| 18 Mar 2026 | Farage buys a further £60,650 of Stack shares at 10p, taking his total investment to £275,650 |
| 25 Mar 2026 | Government announces an immediate moratorium on crypto donations to political parties and a £100,000 annual cap on donations from overseas electors, both backdated to that day |
| Apr 2026 | Farage promotes Stack’s bitcoin purchase on social media |
| Apr–May 2026 | Delo announces he is returning to the UK from Hong Kong and gives Reform another £4m |
| 29 Apr 2026 | The Guardian reveals Harborne’s undeclared £5m gift to Farage |
| 13 May 2026 | Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards opens an inquiry into the gift |
| 29 May 2026 | £270,000, Farage’s largest Direct Bullion payment |
| 30 May 2026 | Reform’s crypto bill disappears from the party’s website |
| 2 Jul 2026 | Labour MP Phil Brickell reports Farage to the standards watchdog over alleged crypto lobbying of the Bank of England |
| 4 Jul 2026 | House of Lords crypto dinner featuring Direct Bullion boss and Stack director Paul Withers, and Stack chairman Kwasi Kwarteng |
| 7 Jul 2026 | Farage resigns as Clacton MP to force a by-election. £5m gift reported to have been referred to the National Crime Agency |
| 13 Aug 2026 | Farage re-elected in the Clacton by-election |
| 11 Sep 2026 | Delo gives Reform £36m, the largest donation to a UK party at that point |
| 12 Sep 2026 | Harborne matches it with £36m, making £72m in two days |
| 14–16 Sep 2026 | Byline Times reports Reform could be forced to hand back the £72m under the backdated overseas-donor rules – but could keep nearly £500,000 in interest if it does |
| 15 Sep 2026 | Stack announces plan to buy Direct Bullion for up to £12m |
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