The leader of the UK's Reform Party has been accused of improperly lobbying the central bank against a digital pound, possibly related to undeclared grants.
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Reform Party leader Nigel Farage will resign over an investigation into cryptocurrency donations and seek re-election.
According to Foresight News , citing The Block, Reform Party leader Nigel Farage has announced he will resign as a Member of Parliament and seek re-election after it was confirmed that Parliament will investigate donations related to cryptocurrencies. Farage stated the investigation relates to donations from Christopher Harborne and George Cottrell, and he denies any wrongdoing.
British Reform Party leader Farage has been exposed for failing to declare funding from the cryptocurrency gaming industry; one of the funders has a prior conviction for fraud.
PANews reported on July 6th that, according to an investigation by The Block citing The Sunday Times, Reform Party leader Nigel Farage failed to declare, as required, financial support from George Cottrell for security, drivers, social media personnel, and accommodations before his election as a Member of Parliament in 2024. Cottrell, who previously served eight months in prison in the US for wire fraud, later became a key figure in a cryptocurrency gambling platform. Farage only declared a £9,253 trip to Belgium funded by Cottrell and a £15,276 flight donation, failing to mention the security costs already paid by Cottrell.
US media reveals inside story of the US-Iran ceasefire agreement: The Iranian president and central bank governor jointly urged the Supreme Leader to "sign it quickly."
According to a report by The New York Times on July 4th, citing four officials familiar with the details of the meeting, Iranian President Pezechzian visited Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei during the final stages of negotiations when Khamenei hesitated to approve the preliminary ceasefire agreement. The Iranian president told the Supreme Leader that the economic situation was dire, the US naval blockade was strangling Iran, and he would resign if he rejected the agreement. Furthermore, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Abdulnaser Hemmati, also wrote to Khamenei, stating that the country faced a severe budget crisis and that critical food and medical supplies would run out by the end of August if the naval blockade continued. Hemmati explained in the letter that Iran could not sell oil on the required scale or find alternative trade routes. These statements played a crucial role in Mojtaba's eventual decision to support the agreement. In a brief public statement, he stated that although he opposed the agreement "in principle," he instructed the president to proceed if he obtained the support of the Supreme National Security Council. Pezechzian stated that the council approved the agreement by 12 out of 13 votes.
Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Reform Party, has lost over £560,000 on his investment in Stack BTC.
According to Foresight News , citing The Guardian, Nigel Farage, leader of the UK's Reform Party, has invested £215,000 in Bitcoin vault company Stack BTC, acquiring a 5.61% stake. Since its inception in March, the investment has fallen 15.48%, resulting in a loss of approximately £565,000. Stack BTC's largest shareholder, Paul Withers (holding 20.72%), is also the owner of gold trader Direct Bullion, which previously paid Farage £270,000 for a 12-hour brand promotion. Farage denies being a Stack BTC brand ambassador, stating he is merely a shareholder, but has appeared in the company's promotional videos.
The European Central Bank has asked banks to submit plans to address AI and cybersecurity threats.
PANews reported on July 7 that the European Central Bank (ECB) has urged banks to develop plans to address the growing cybersecurity threats posed by cutting-edge AI models such as Anthropic's Claude Mythos. In a letter to bank CEOs, ECB Chief Supervisor Claudia Buch requested lending institutions to submit action plans by the end of October. She urged banks to accelerate software patch updates, strengthen AI-driven cyber defenses, and enhance oversight of third-party vendors, while also emphasizing the need for long-term infrastructure modernization. Buch stated, "The ECB calls on key institutions to immediately assess the impact of the evolving threat landscape and develop comprehensive action plans outlining specific measures to strengthen relevant controls."
The UK is considering tightening rules on political donations, potentially restricting contributions from crypto billionaires to the Reform Britain party.
BlockBeats reported on July 6th that the UK government announced a new round of political donation reforms, proposing to extend the £100,000 cap on overseas donations to the first year after the donor becomes a UK resident, and to raise the scrutiny standards for corporate political donations, in order to further restrict the inflow of foreign funds into UK politics. The new regulations build on the ban on cryptocurrency political donations implemented in March of this year and are expected to be submitted to Parliament for final review next week. Analysts believe the new regulations may affect the political donation capabilities of key crypto industry supporters of the Reform Party (Reform UK). Christopher Harborne, an investor holding approximately 12% of Tether's shares, has donated approximately £12 million to the Reform Party and is registered to vote in the UK; BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo has donated approximately £4 million and has stated his intention to return to the UK to settle, at which point his political donations within a year of his return may be subject to the £100,000 cap. The report states that none of the donations were in cryptocurrency, and the Reform Party stated that all donations complied with current regulations. Meanwhile, party leader Nigel Farage is also facing further investigation for allegedly failing to declare non-cash support from supporter George Cottrell.