Ben Delo, the British billionaire who co-founded the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange, has handed 36 million pounds — roughly 49 million USD — to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, according to the DPA news agency and other media outlets on Saturday, September 12. It is the single largest donation ever made to a British political party, and it arrives while Farage himself is still under investigation over earlier crypto-linked gifts.
By Ana Gonzalez | September 12, 2026
The Hook: A Lump Sum, Paid Up Front, So Nobody Can Stop It
According to The Telegraph, the 36 million pound figure was structured on paper as 1 million pounds per month until the next general election, expected in 2029. But Delo did not wait for the monthly schedule. He paid the entire amount up front — a move the newspaper said was deliberately designed to prevent the donation from being blocked while UK lawmakers debate tightening the rules on political gifts from the crypto industry.
For regular investors, this story is less about party politics and more about a uncomfortable question: crypto wealth is now big enough to bankroll a major slice of a G7 country’s political machinery. When the fortunes generated on exchanges like BitMEX flow directly into campaign war chests, regulators pay attention — and the rules that govern crypto businesses in the UK could tighten as a direct result.
Who Is Ben Delo — and Why His Money Is Controversial
Delo is one of three co-founders of BitMEX, the derivatives exchange that pioneered crypto perpetual futures. As Cointelegraph has previously reported, all three founders — Delo, Arthur Hayes, and Samuel Reed — pleaded guilty to federal charges in the United States related to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, the core US anti-money-laundering law. Delo agreed to pay a 10 million USD fine in 2022 and avoided prison time. In March 2025, all three received pardons from US President Donald Trump.
Delo is no stranger to Reform UK’s books. Before this weekend’s announcement, he was already the party’s second-biggest donor, behind billionaire Christopher Harborne, who gave 9 million pounds last August. Filings previously reviewed by this newsroom showed Delo supplied the overwhelming majority of Reform UK’s declared donations in the second quarter of this year.
- 36 million pounds (about 49 million USD) — the largest single donation ever recorded to a British political party, per the DPA and other outlets.
- 1 million pounds per month until 2029 — the nominal schedule, paid entirely up front to pre-empt any blocking action, according to The Telegraph.
- 63 percent — the share of the vote Farage won in the July by-election triggered by his resignation, ahead of satirical candidate Count Binface.
- 10 million USD — the fine Delo paid in 2022 after pleading guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations; he was pardoned by President Trump in March 2025.
The Core Conflict: A Party Funded by Crypto While the State Investigates Crypto Gifts
The timing is what makes this donation explosive. Farage resigned his parliamentary seat in July amid a scandal over millions of dollars in donations and gifts from two figures tied to the crypto industry: Harborne and George Cottrell. He then won the seat back in the resulting by-election — while the investigation into those earlier gifts continued.
Delo, for his part, framed the payment as an act of electoral fairness, saying he gave the money to ensure a “fair fight” at the polls. Farage responded publicly: “I am honored and humbled that Ben Delo has shown such confidence in Reform. … Ben knows that we are the only party that can turn the country around and reverse Britain’s decline.”
Meanwhile, lawmakers from the governing Labour Party were reported in July to be weighing whether a temporary moratorium on crypto donations — announced in March pending legislation — should be made permanent. The question now is whether a record-setting lump sum from a pardoned crypto exchange founder accelerates that push, or whether paying everything up front has already sidestepped it.
Market Implications: Political Money Means Regulatory Scrutiny
Crypto’s entry into party finance cuts both ways for the market. On one hand, it is a display of wealth generated by the industry — proof that digital asset businesses have minted fortunes capable of shaping national politics. On the other hand, every headline linking crypto money to political scandal tends to strengthen the hand of politicians and regulators who want stricter controls on the sector.
The UK has already been an active regulatory front this year. The Financial Conduct Authority has set licensing windows for crypto firms, the House of Lords voted this week to back a mandatory national digital asset strategy, and proposals to restrict or ban crypto donations outright are on the table. A donation of this size — and the debate over whether it can even be blocked — will now be cited by all sides in those arguments. For investors, the practical takeaway is that UK policy risk toward crypto businesses has become harder, not easier, to predict.
The Verdict
The largest political donation in British history is now a crypto donation, paid in one lump sum by a pardoned exchange founder to a party led by a man still under investigation for accepting crypto gifts. Whatever one thinks of the politics, the episode confirms that crypto wealth has become a first-tier force in democratic finance — and that regulators will treat it accordingly. Watch what Parliament does with the proposed donation moratorium; that vote, more than any poll, will tell you how the UK intends to treat the industry’s money from here.
The cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
he paid all 36 mill up front purely so nobody could block it mid debate. loophole with a bow on it
Farage is under investigation over earlier crypto gifts while taking this one. the timing alone should be a scandal
36 million from one BitMEX founder and UK lawmakers are literally mid-debate on banning crypto donations. expect that bill to speed up now
Agreed. The largest donation in British political history coming from crypto money is the headline regulators will not drop.
speed up yes, pass no. tory donors use the same structures, half the house would be voting to cut its own funding
1 million a month on paper until 2029 but settled in one lump sum. the accountants found the cheat code and called it civic duty
biggest donation in UK party history comes from a BitMEX cofounder. peak 2026 energy