Update (Sept. 12, 2026): This article has been updated to include Christopher Harborne’s matching 36 million pound donation.
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has received 72 million pounds ($97 million) from two cryptocurrency billionaires after Christopher Harborne matched a record donation from Ben Delo.
Harborne announced his 36 million pound contribution on Saturday, following Delo’s announcement a day earlier. The donations are jointly the largest ever made to a British political party. Harborne also gave 9 million pounds to the party in August 2025.
Writing in The Telegraph, Harborne said Delo’s contribution had inspired him to match it. He said he expected nothing in return: “No peerage, no policy change, just a party that is ready for government.”
Delo, who co-founded the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange, said he had given the money to ensure a “fair fight” at the polls.
Delo said in The Telegraph that the 36 million pound donation represented 1 million pounds each month until a general election in 2029, but Delo made the entire payment up front to prevent it from being blocked.
Farage welcomed both donations, saying the funding would allow Reform to contest the next general election on “a level playing field.”
Reform faces scrutiny over funding
Cointelegraph reported last month that Farage was under investigation after receiving millions of dollars’ worth of donations and gifts from two figures tied to the crypto industry: Harborne and George Cottrell. Farage has denied wrongdoing.
The UK lawmaker resigned his position as a member of Parliament in July amid the crypto scandal, triggering a controversial by-election that Farage won with 63% of the vote, ahead of satirical candidate Count Binface.
The contributions tied to the crypto industry have raised questions from many lawmakers about the influence of digital assets on UK politics.
In July, Labour MPs were reportedly considering that a moratorium on crypto donations announced in March, pending legislation, be made permanent in response to what Farage called “gifts” from Harborne and Cottrell.
Related: UK politicians mull permanent crypto donation ban in wake of Nigel Farage scandal
Delo’s conviction and presidential pardon
Cointelegraph previously reported that Delo was one of three BitMEX co-founders who pleaded guilty to federal charges in the US related to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.
While he agreed to pay a $10 million fine in 2022, Delo did not serve time in prison. He and his colleagues Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed received a pardon from US President Donald Trump in March 2025.
Additional reporting by Bryan O’Shea.
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