New filings from the United Kingdom’s Electoral Commission show that a co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX was responsible for roughly three-quarters of all donations received by Reform UK in the second quarter of 2026, reigniting a debate over the growing footprint of digital asset money in British politics.
Records published by the commission reveal that Ben Delo, who co-founded the pioneering crypto derivatives platform, made two separate contributions to Nigel Farage’s party in April, one of 1 million pounds and another of 3 million pounds, equivalent to roughly 1.3 million and 4 million US dollars respectively. The combined 4 million pounds represented about 74 percent of the approximately 7.3 million USD the party reported receiving between April and June of this year.
While Reform UK also attracted significant contributions from other entities and individuals during the quarter, the scale of Delo’s giving dwarfed all other sources, effectively making the party’s second-quarter war chest a crypto-funded enterprise in financial terms.
## A pattern of industry giving
The disclosures arrive at a sensitive moment for the party and its leader. Nigel Farage is currently under investigation over millions of dollars in donations and gifts received from two other figures tied to the crypto industry, Christopher Harborne and George Cottrell. The controversy forced Farage to resign his seat as a member of parliament in July, triggering a by-election that he nonetheless won with 63 percent of the vote, finishing comfortably ahead of the satirical candidate Count Binface.
The cumulative weight of crypto-linked money flowing to a single party has drawn sharp questions from lawmakers across the aisle. In July, members of parliament from the Labour party were reportedly considering whether a moratorium on crypto donations, imposed in March amid the unfolding scandal, should be made permanent. The original freeze was a direct response to what Farage described as “gifts” from Harborne and Cottrell, a characterization that did little to quiet the criticism.
Reform UK’s financial dependence on a small number of large donors is not unusual in British politics, where parties rely heavily on wealthy contributors. But the concentration of cryptocurrency industry money, and the questions about what policy access it might purchase, has given the debate a sharper edge as the UK finalizes its regulatory framework for digital assets under the Financial Services and Markets regime.
## From Bank Secrecy Act convictions to a presidential pardon
Delo’s prominence as a political donor carries its own history. He was one of three BitMEX figures, alongside Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in the United States related to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. The case centered on allegations that the exchange failed to implement adequate anti-money-laundering controls while serving US customers. Delo agreed to pay a 10 million USD fine in 2022 and did not serve prison time.
In a twist that itself became politically charged, all three men received pardons from US President Donald Trump in March 2025. The pardons were welcomed by crypto industry advocates who had long argued the prosecutions were disproportionate, but they drew criticism from enforcement veterans who saw them as undermining accountability at the height of the industry’s push into mainstream politics.
## Follow the money, watch the policy
The significance of the second-quarter filings extends beyond one party’s balance sheet. Britain’s crypto sector is in the midst of a regulatory overhaul, with the Financial Conduct Authority rolling out rules for stablecoins, custody, and trading venues. Parties that depend heavily on industry donors will face continued scrutiny over whether those financial relationships shape their positions on oversight, taxation, and market access.
Farage has been among the most prominently pro-crypto voices in British politics, and Reform UK has courted the digital asset electorate accordingly. Critics argue that the deluge of industry money makes independent scrutiny of that agenda impossible, while the party maintains that all donations are properly declared and within the law, a point the Electoral Commission filings themselves confirm.
What happens next may hinge on the parallel enforcement and parliamentary tracks. The investigation into the Harborne and Cottrell donations continues, and Labour MPs’ push to make the crypto donation moratorium permanent could reach the floor of the Commons in the autumn session. If it does, the 74 percent figure disclosed this week is certain to be quoted back at the government benches.
For the crypto industry, the episode is a double-edged development. Growing political engagement in London and Washington reflects the sector’s arrival as a legitimate policy constituency. But as the Reform UK filings show, when a single pardoned exchange co-founder funds three-quarters of a major party’s quarter, legitimacy and dependence can look uncomfortably alike.
4 million quid from one guy and its still pitched as a grassroots movement lol. 74 percent of Q2 money from a bitmex cofounder is wild
old parties have had hedge fund guys carrying similar shares of quarterly funding for years. the only new thing here is the money smells of bitmex
The difference is hedge funds usually want influence, this is one donor covering a whole quarterly budget. Scale matters when its three quarters of the war chest.
One donor covering 74 percent of a quarterly budget is a serious concentration problem. Farage has run lean campaigns before, so the real test is whether any policy line shifts to match the money.
delo giving 4 million in april alone and still nobody asks what reform would actually do for crypto policy if they ever got power. the 74 percent number does the asking for them i guess
wait till someone asks about source of funds, bitmex founders have history with us prosecutors. this thread is not aging well for farage
source of funds is declared, its the pardon people circle back to. a bank secrecy act conviction into 74 percent party funding is a comms problem no filing fixes
delo pled, paid 10 million, got pardoned, now underwrites three quarters of a reform quarter. sharpest loop from crypto to westminster you will see
Two donations in the same month, 1 million then 3 million pounds. Whatever your politics, one donor carrying 74 percent of a party quarter is a genuine question for the Electoral Commission
two wires in the same month, 1 million then 3 million. you dont split a 4 million donation like that unless somebody got nervous in between
or the second wire only moved after the first one cleared compliance checks. splitting 4 million across two april payments reads deliberate either way
if the split was deliberate the compliance trail should show it. worth noting the second 3M landed after the ban pledge went public, the timing does the talking
if that timing holds up the split looks less like compliance pacing and more like getting the full amount committed before any moratorium could bite
4 million of the 7.3 they raised came from one guy. at that point Delo basically is the party treasury
74 percent from one donor while farage still does the pub bloke pitch. the electoral commission graph is running opposite to the rhetoric
It is declared and legal though, the filings confirm it. The real question is whether the crypto donation moratorium becomes permanent this autumn.
if the crypto donation moratorium does get made permanent this autumn, these Q2 filings become exhibit A for the ban campaign. Delo basically handed them the poster
the moratorium debate writes itself now. every backbencher who wants the ban permanent will just read these Q2 numbers into the record
delo basically pre wrote the ban campaign press release for them. q3 filings get interesting if reform quietly returns any of it
returning it would be the honest tell. parties almost never refund declared legal money tho, expect a quiet pause on new wires instead
A permanent ban feels like overreach when the disclosure did its job. Declared, legal and published within the quarter is the system working.
pled guilty to bank secrecy act violations, pays a 10 million fine, gets a pardon, then funds 74 percent of a UK party. wild timeline lol
farage won the by election with 63 percent even after resigning over the harborne money. the electorate clearly does not care about donor provenance, thats the uncomfortable read
electoral commission publishing this the same quarter it happened is the system working as intended. declared, legal, uncomfortable. the debate is whether legal should stay legal
1 million then 3 million from a pardoned bitmex cofounder in one month. the commission deserves to ask more than whatever fits on a form
the commission only gets to ask what fits on the form. a real source of funds probe needs someone to file the complaint first, watch the labour benches
4 million total from a bitmex cofounder with a bsa conviction and a pardon, and reform cashed both wires anyway. tells you everything about where the pipeline is now