Crypto billionaires push Nigel Farage and Reform UK to fundraising lead

The Reform UK party raked in £9.3 million in private donations during the first three months of 2026, which is more than double what either the Labour or the Conservative parties managed, according to Electoral Commission figures published on Thursday, June 4.

Two cryptocurrency investors, Ben Delo, co-founder of the BitMEX trading platform, and Christopher Harborne, a British-Thai investor based in Thailand and an early backer of Tether, were responsible for the bulk of the donations that went to Reform UK.

Delo reportedly gave up to £4 million across two payments in January and March, while Harborne contributed just over £3 million in a single donation that was made in January.

Despite the contentious nature of crypto-linked political funding, Nigel Farage’s party has now topped UK fundraising for three consecutive quarters.

Cryptopolitan has previously reported on the growing entanglement between crypto wealth and British politics, including Harborne’s history of large donations to Farage, his party, and Farage’s own £2 million Bitcoin purchase through Stack BTC Plc, a UK-listed treasury firm in which he holds a 6.31% stake.

Who donated to Reform and other UK parties?

The Labour Party received £4 million in donations, with the largest individual contributions coming from Lord David Sainsbury and Gary Lubner, both of whom contributed £550,000 each.

The Conservatives received £4.2 million in donations in the first quarter, with a £1.1 million contribution coming from a donor named Mary V Doran.

The other donations that went to Reform came from David Grainger, an investor in health and longevity, and Navroz Udwadia, co-founder of the investment firm New Wave Global, who was a first-time contributor.

Registered parties in the UK received a total of £24.7 million in the first quarter of 2026, and this is a 214% increase over the same period last year.

The donors under the microscope

Harborne has an estimated fortune of £18.2 billion, most of which was through crypto-adjacent investments, including a stake in Tether. His cumulative donations to Reform over the past year are now more than £15 million.

Delo has a more complicated public record as he pleaded guilty in 2022 to violating the US Bank Secrecy Act for failing to maintain adequate anti-money-laundering controls at BitMEX. He received 30 months’ probation; however, he was pardoned by President Donald Trump last year. 

Delo wrote in the Daily Telegraph in April that he entered politics to try “to save Britain before decline becomes irreversible” and is reportedly planning on relocating from Hong Kong to the UK.

Farage’s £5 million problem

Apart from the donations entering Reform, Farage has also taken donations in the past, and one of them is currently proving to be a headache. The Reform leader is currently facing an investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner over a £5 million personal gift from Harborne before the 2024 general election.

Parliamentary rules require members (MPs) to declare all donations that are relevant to their political life from up to a year before taking office.

At first, Farage stated that the funding was for lifetime personal security. Later on, he called it a “reward” from Harborne for his Brexit campaigning. Reform says that the money qualifies as a personal gift and does not require declaration.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer pressed Farage on the matter during the Prime Minister Questions session, asking, “Why is the leader of Reform dodging questions about his donation and why did he keep it secret in the first place?”

If the standards investigation results in a suspension of 10 sitting days or more, it could trigger a recall petition and force Farage into a by-election for his Clacton seat.

What is the UK government’s position on crypto donations?

In March, the Labour government announced that it would impose a moratorium on cryptocurrency donations to political parties and also cap overseas donor contributions at £100,000.

At the time of that announcement, Reform UK was the only British party to have accepted crypto donations.

The Electoral Commission’s Jackie Killeen said the UK’s political finance system “has high levels of transparency” but acknowledged “parts of the system that need strengthening,” pointing to proposed reforms in the Representation of the People Bill.

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