Nigel Farage officially announced that he would be stepping down from his position as a member of Parliament, triggered by the mounting scrutiny over the millions of dollars in crypto he had received from crypto billionaires Christopher Harborne and Geroge Cottrell, a convicted fraudster linked to a crypto casino.

In his announcement on Tuesday, he called the movement a "foul act" by established politicians who were trying to ruin his reputation.

"Let me be absolutely clear: I have done nothing wrong, I have not broken the law in any way at all. I have not misused public money."

Farage confirmed that he is the subject of two investigations by the UK's parliamentary standards commissioner following reports surrounding what he described as unconditional gifts from Harborne and Cottrell.

When reports first emerged in May that he had received a $6.7 million gift from Harborne, Farage described the payment as a “reward” for his role in campaigning for Brexit, the 2016 referendum that led to the UK's departure from the European Union.

Farage later changed his statement, switching to how he had accepted Harborne's monetary gift as a way to fund his personal security, citing how he had been facing threats and attacks and insisted he had acted within the rules.

Farage added that despite his resignation, he would be calling for a by-election where the voters would get the chance to choose if they wanted Farage to continue representing them. Back in July 2024, Farage managed to clinch the seat in Clacton from his Conservative and Labour candidate with a 46.2% vote.

"I've decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges of my action. I will be putting my name forward to stand in this by-election."

According to The London Standard, the vote could take weeks or months to organize because of the formal process required to trigger the election.

Crypto connections come under renewed scrutiny

Farage's ties to the crypto industry predate the controversy. He spoke at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas and is an investor in London-listed Bitcoin treasury company Stack.

The controversy also comes as crypto money faces growing scrutiny in politics on both sides of the Atlantic. A June report from consumer advocacy group Public Citizen estimated that the crypto industry had spent about $189 million supporting candidates viewed as favorable to digital asset policies during the 2026 US election cycle.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has also faced criticism over his 2025 financial disclosures, which reported roughly $1.4 billion in income tied to crypto-related ventures.