Crypto billionaires donate £7m to Reform UK in Q1

Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo gave a combined £7 million to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the first quarter of 2026. Harborne’s £3 million payment was recorded on January 23 and Delo’s £4 million arrived across two transfers in January and March. Both donations were made in sterling.

Reform UK reported total fundraising of £9.3 million for the quarter. The Conservative Party reported £6 million and Labour reported £4.1 million for Q1 2026. Political parties registered in the UK reported total donations of about £24 million for the quarter; the two gifts to Reform UK represent roughly 28% of that total.

Christopher Harborne is listed among the UK’s wealthiest people, with an estimated net worth of about $24.4 billion and a reported 12% stake in stablecoin issuer Tether. Harborne has lived in Thailand for more than 20 years. He donated £9 million to Reform UK in 2025, a record single gift from a living donor to a UK political party.

Ben Delo co-founded the crypto exchange BitMEX and returned to the UK from Hong Kong this year. Delo pleaded guilty in 2022 to violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act for failures in anti-money-laundering procedures at BitMEX and later received a presidential pardon.

The donations came after new UK rules introduced a moratorium on political donations made in cryptocurrency and set a cap on overseas donations from British expatriates, measures recommended in the government-commissioned Rycroft review. Before the moratorium, Reform UK was the only major party willing to accept crypto donations, though the Harborne and Delo contributions were not made in crypto.

The gifts have prompted scrutiny from campaign finance groups and parliamentary authorities. Olly Buston, chief executive of Clean Up Westminster, warned: “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. The rich and powerful shouldn’t be able to buy themselves a louder voice in our democracy.”

Separately, the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has opened an inquiry into whether Nigel Farage properly declared a separate £5 million gift from Harborne. Farage has said he was “under no obligation” to declare that gift and has told broadcasters the payment was examined “from every legal angle.” He initially described the earlier payment as covering personal security and later referred to it as a reward for his Brexit campaigning. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has accused Farage of failing to answer questions about the matter.

Harborne has said he was “the reason” behind the cap on overseas donations and has suggested the restriction could be challenged in court. He has not ruled out returning to the UK in response to the new rules.

The donations underscore the intersection of large private gifts, recent regulatory changes on crypto and overseas funding, and ongoing inquiries into political donations.