Two crypto billionaires have handed Nigel Farage’s Reform UK £72 million ($97 million) in just two days, delivering an extraordinary jolt to British political fundraising.
Ben Delo, co-founder of crypto exchange BitMEX, announced a £36 million donation on Friday. One day later, Christopher Harborne, a major Tether investor based in Thailand, matched it.
Together, the pair have given Reform more than every British political party raised last year combined. Their latest checks also dwarf Delo’s previous £8 million in contributions to the party this year.
Delo’s donation was announced in the Telegraph and represents the largest single gift ever made to a British political party. He had planned to give £1 million each month until the latest date Labour could call a general election in 2029, but chose to hand over the money early amid concerns that donation limits could tighten.
Harborne said his decision to match the contribution was driven by a “competitive spirit.” Writing in the Telegraph, he said he expected “nothing, personally” in return.
Reform says the cash will help the party recruit what it describes as the “brightest and best minds to work on policy,” along with 400 campaign managers. That works out to one manager for every target constituency the party is focusing on.
The result is a party effectively shifting into campaign mode well ahead of the next election. Reform described itself as being “now on election footing,” underscoring how seriously it intends to use the money.
Crypto billionaires are testing the limits of UK political money
Neither of the two latest donations was made in cryptocurrency. Britain banned crypto political donations in March, meaning both contributions were made through conventional financial channels.
That distinction matters as Westminster debates how much influence major donors should be able to buy. UK-based donors can currently give without a fixed overall ceiling, while Labour has introduced a £100,000 cap for British citizens living overseas and plans to extend it to some recent returnees.
Since March, donors have also needed to have spent at least 12 months on the electoral register before giving more than £100,000 a year. Delo, who was born in Sheffield and now lives in Hong Kong, says he intends to return to Britain.
The two crypto billionaires are not strangers to scrutiny. Delo was pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump in 2025, three years after pleading guilty to anti-money-laundering failures at BitMEX.
Harborne, meanwhile, has drawn attention from Westminster over a separate £5 million personal gift to Farage. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is considering whether that payment should have been declared.
And Reform’s financial affairs are already under a criminal investigation. The Metropolitan Police opened an inquiry on Tuesday after Channel 4 footage appeared to show two senior party aides discussing ways to circumvent restrictions on foreign money.
Police folded that investigation into an existing probe into payments received by Reform before the last election. The party denies wrongdoing and says it will cooperate fully.
The £72 million from Delo and Harborne does not form part of that investigation. But its sheer scale puts crypto wealth, political influence and Britain’s tightening donation rules into the same increasingly crowded conversation.