Crypto Billionaires Donate $9.4M to Farage's Reform UK in Q1

Tether billionaire Christopher Harborne donated another £3 million to Reform UK in the first quarter of the year. BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo donated a further £4 million across two payments. Together, the crypto billionaires' contributions amount to roughly 28% of all donations received by UK political parties in Q1 2026 — a notable share for two wallets.

Nigel Farage's Reform UK party collected $9.4 million (£7 million) from Harborne and Delo during the quarter, a sum that exceeded the total donations received by each of the Conservative and Labour parties individually.

Christopher Harborne, ranked as the UK's sixth-richest person with a net worth of $24.4 billion (£18.2 billion), donated £3 million to Reform UK on January 23. The crypto investor, who has lived in Thailand for over 20 years and holds a 12% stake in stablecoin issuer Tether, has emerged as one of the party's largest benefactors. In 2025, he made a £9 million donation to Reform UK that broke records as the largest gift to a UK party from a living donor — modest by Tether-market-cap standards, generous by Westminster standards.

Ben Delo, the co-founder of crypto exchange BitMEX, provided £4 million across two payments in January and March. Delo, who returned to the UK from Hong Kong this year, pleaded guilty in 2022 to violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act for failing to establish anti-money laundering protocols at BitMEX. He received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump last year.

Three co-founders of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX — Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed — were pardoned by President Trump on Friday, according to a report from CNBC. All three founders pled guilty in 2022 to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act for failing to operate an anti-money laundering program at the exchange. Each founder also agreed to pay a $10 million fine to settle the charges. "Thank you," Hayes posted on X Friday afternoon, tagging the official President of the...

The crypto donations propelled Reform UK to a £9.3 million fundraising quarter, surpassing both the Conservative Party's £6 million and Labour's £4.1 million hauls.

In total, UK-registered political parties reported accepting donations worth £24 million in the first quarter of 2026, with Harborne and Delo's contributions to Reform UK accounting for 28% of that figure.

The influx of capital from crypto billionaires follows the UK government's announcement of a moratorium on political donations made in crypto, plus a cap on overseas donations from British expats, both measures stemming from the government-commissioned Rycroft review. Prior to the ban, Reform UK was the only major British political party to accept crypto donations, though neither Harborne nor Delo's contributions were actually made in crypto — fiat still wins where it matters.

Harborne claimed that he was "the reason" behind the cap on overseas donors, adding that he believed it could be challenged in court and that he has not ruled out returning to the UK to get around it.

Campaign finance reform advocates have seized on the donations as evidence of systemic problems. "When a tiny number of wealthy donors can spend millions promoting the politicians and causes they favour, it's no surprise people feel politics is rigged against them," said Olly Buston, chief executive of Clean Up Westminster, adding that "the rich and powerful shouldn't be able to buy themselves a louder voice in our democracy."

Reform UK has emerged as one of the most vocal advocates for cryptocurrency in British politics, with party leader Nigel Farage stating that he would be a "champion" for digital assets in October 2025. The party has adopted pro-crypto policies including the establishment of a crypto strategic reserve and cuts to capital gains taxes on cryptocurrency.

The U.K.'s Parliamentary Standards Commissioner is reportedly launching an inquiry into a $6.7 million (£5 million) gift received by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage from billionaire Tether investor Christopher Harborne. Farage declared he was under "no obligation" to declare the gift, which was made before he