CEO of bitcoin firm championed by Nigel Farage leaves company

The chief executive of a bitcoin company promoted by Nigel Farage has left his role as the venture attempts to convince investors that it is going to deliver “long-term value” for shareholders.

Stack BTC was launched to much fanfare in March this year, with Farage and former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng becoming some of its first shareholders. The company says its founder is Paul Withers, a friend of the Reform UK leader who owns a gold bullion company that Farage has also promoted, Direct Bullion.

However, Stack BTC is a renamed company which was founded in 2021 by Jai Patel, whose departure as chief executive was announced on Wednesday. The company, formerly called Kasei Investment Holdings, invested in cryptocurrency and a range of other digital assets. It aimed to encourage over-45s to invest their money in cryptocurrencies.

Kasei was liquidated last year. It launched with $6.1m (£4.5m) in share capital, but on liquidation returned approximately $3.4m (£2.5m) to shareholders and removed most of the board. The company said at the time it failed because of “a combination of adverse market conditions, volatility in digital asset valuations and an inability to raise further capital” which “left the company without the critical mass or funding necessary to execute its investment objectives”.

In December 2025, according to Withers, Patel brought the Direct Bullion owner and Kwarteng together to join the board of the renamed company, Stack BTC, with a changed focus as a so-called bitcoin treasury company. The aim was to accumulate the digital currency, and act as a venture capital firm, acquiring smaller companies and reinvesting the revenue in bitcoin. When the price of bitcoin rises, the company’s share price would generally be expected to follow suit; when the price falls, so would the share price, meaning the investors would make paper gains when bitcoin did well.

Withers has been friendly with Farage since 2021 and paid him more than £400,000 last year to promote his gold company. He was one of the original advertisers on GB News, and was at the Reform conference last year.

Farage joined Stack BTC when it officially relaunched with its share admission. Investing £215,000, he was one of the first funders of the new company, which Withers claimed was “built” in “nine months” with Kwarteng. On paper, the total value of Farage’s stake appears to have increased since then by more than £200,000.

On Wednesday, Stack BTC said Patel had stepped down from the board with immediate effect, adding that the changes were designed to “strengthen the executive team with the experience and capability required to execute its strategy and deliver long-term value for shareholders”.

The company said this followed “the completion of the transition from the company’s legacy business model to the new Stack BTC strategy”, adding: “Jai remains a significant and supportive shareholder in the company.” He has been replaced as chief executive by David Galan, a former real estate executive. Stack BTC said in a statement that Galan brings “extensive experience in capital markets, mergers & acquisitions, and executive leadership”.

Of the Farage-led relaunch, Ian Taylor of CryptoUK said: “It would appear that it is a PR branding exercise. The bitcoin treasury company failed in another iteration, having the person attached to it has benefits. Its sales, PR, the purpose is for everyone involved to make money.”

Taylor added that he did not see the company as an attractive prospect: “The fact it’s got Kwasi and Farage tells people like me: ‘Don’t invest in it.’ I would question the quality of the management. Crypto assets are highly volatile, people should be dong their due diligence on the financials, the quality and experience of the management.”

The US president, Donald Trump, has followed a similar approach, and has made billions from the family’s cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial.

Taylor added: “Reform and Farage are following the Trump playbook. Trump did a U-turn on crypto and made a load of positive comments on the campaign trail – and then he took millions in donations from people involved in crypto, who wanted him elected for their interests, because he would implement friendly policies.

“Farage is doing exactly the same thing. I have seen him at talks and he has adopted all the same talking points as Trump. This will not only make money for those involved, but it plays into Farage’s strategy to be seen as a supporter of the industry and get more political donations from people in the industry.”

Reform UK has been approached for comment. A spokesperson earlier said of Farage joining the company: “Farage is embracing the 21st century.” They added that he would do “whatever is appropriate” with his Stack shares if he entered government.