Michigan governor hopeful discloses $800,000 bitcoin gift from a 'friend'
LANSING, Mich. - Longtime Pastor Ralph Rebandt, a Republican running to be Michigan's next governor, says he received a gift of bitcoin worth $800,000 from a friend who wants to remain anonymous.
Rebandt listed $800,000 in income from the sale of bitcoin on a personal financial disclosure he filed last week with the Secretary of State's Office. He described the source of the bitcoin as a "gift from a long-time friend."
Bridge Michigan first reported the disclosure.
Rebandt was inside the Michigan Capitol on Wednesday and told The Detroit News he would only release the name of the person who gave him the bitcoin gift if the person agreed to be identified. The gift had "no strings attached," Rebandt said.
"They're very happy with their life, and they're not looking to get a position or an appointment," Rebandt said of the source of the gift.
Rebandt, who resides in Elmira, said he received the gift in 2024, two years after he unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2022. Rebandt finished in fifth place out of five GOP candidates in that 2022 Republican primary. He got about 4% of the vote.
The source of the gift knew Rebandt used his "entire retirement to run for governor" and wanted to bless him, Rebandt said.
"You can take your wife and your family to Tahiti," Rebandt said of the instructions he received. "You can buy a new truck if you want."
"So we put the money into a lot of things. We've done some work around the cabin. We put like $20,000 into my truck. It needed some work, just a bunch of different stuff."
Rebandt has reported spending $811,000 of his own money on his current bid for governor.
He said the friend who provided the gift has no business before the state of Michigan.
Rebandt previously spent multiple decades as the lead pastor at Oakland Hills Community Church in Farmington Hills.
He's one of five candidates seeking the Republican nomination. The others are former Attorney General Mike Cox of Livonia, U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township, businessman Perry Johnson of Bloomfield Hills and state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt of Porter Township.
The primary is Aug. 4.
_____
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 4:01 PM.