Reform UK Gets a Record $97 Million From Two Crypto Billionaires

BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo and Tether investor Christopher Harborne each gave Nigel Farage's Reform UK 36 million pounds within two days. Combined, that's 72 million pounds, roughly $97 million. No two people have ever handed a British political party that much money in such a short period, and the sum has already raised questions about future campaign finance rules in the country.

Two Transfers in Two Days

Reform UK is a right-wing populist party led by former Brexit campaign figurehead Nigel Farage. Delo, co-founder of BitMEX, one of the first derivatives platforms built around Bitcoin, founded in 2014, announced the 36 million pound transfer on Friday through The Telegraph. It's the largest single donation in British political history and four times more than the 8 million pounds he had already given Reform UK this year. Kurslog previously reported how Delo gave the party another 4 million pounds earlier this year. He had planned to pay 1 million pounds a month until the last possible election date in 2029. Instead, he decided to hand over the full amount at once, fearing the government might soon cap large donations under a new party funding law.

The next day, on Saturday, Christopher Harborne matched the sum with another 36 million pounds. The Tether investor, whose company issues the largest stablecoin by market cap, USDT, lives in Thailand and has already given Reform UK 15 million pounds since the last election. He explained his decision as a "competitive spirit" and added that he personally expected "nothing" in return. Both transfers landed within a single day of each other, making them the largest pair of donations a British party has ever received in such a short span.

A Record That Never Existed Before

According to official figures, total donations across all UK parties reached about 69 million pounds in 2025. Delo and Harborne together beat that number in 48 hours, becoming the largest private donors in modern British political history. Reform UK said the money would fund the hiring of "the brightest and best minds" to work on policy, plus 400 campaign managers, one for each target seat. A party spokesperson summed it up simply: Reform is now "on election footing." The money arrived just as the government is weighing tighter rules on party funding. Both transfers show that large private capital from the crypto industry can already finance an entire British election campaign, even though direct donations in cryptocurrency remain banned.

The Money Didn't Come in Crypto

Neither donation was made in cryptocurrency. Britain banned crypto political donations back in March, and a new package of donor rules took effect at the same time.

• UK-based donors face no limit under current law on how much they can give.
• Britons living abroad are capped at 100,000 pounds a year, and the Labour government wants to extend that cap to recent returnees as well.
• Donors giving more than 100,000 pounds a year must have been on the electoral register for at least 12 months.

That rule is meant to confirm a donor's genuine tie to the country, since the register is open only to citizens with a permanent UK address. Delo, who was born in Sheffield, said he would move back to Britain from Hong Kong.

A Party Under Close Watch

Both donors have drawn scrutiny before. U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned Delo in 2025. That came three years after the BitMEX co-founder pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering failures at the exchange. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is now reviewing whether Farage should have declared a 5 million pound personal gift from Harborne.

A criminal investigation into Reform UK's funding adds to the pressure, though it doesn't concern either of the two latest transfers. On Tuesday, London's Metropolitan Police opened an inquiry after Channel 4 footage showed two senior party aides discussing ways around the ban on foreign money, folding it into an existing probe into payments received before the last election. Reform said it denies any wrongdoing and will fully cooperate.