The right-wing populist party Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, received £36 million each from two British crypto billionaires within 48 hours. The sum exceeds the total donations received by all British political parties last year (just over £69 million).
The first to announce his gift was BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo. He said it was a way to give the party “a fair fight and a level playing field” against Labour and the Conservatives. The next day, Thailand-based Tether investor Christopher Harborne matched the donation. He cited his “competitive spirit” and called the money “a philanthropic gift to our country” so Reform could prepare for government. Both men stressed they expected nothing personal in return.
Delo recently returned to the UK from Hong Kong; Harborne has lived abroad for many years. Both are British citizens, so under current rules their donations are legal: there is no cap on how much UK citizens can give. The government is considering limits on overseas donations, including a £100,000 annual cap, but those rules have not yet taken effect. Bloomberg has noted the same point.
The party said the money would be used to hire policy specialists and up to 400 campaign managers in target constituencies. Farage called the gifts an honour and said Reform could now compete on equal terms at the next general election, which must be held by 2029.
Reform’s funding is already under intense scrutiny. The Metropolitan Police is investigating possible breaches of rules on foreign donors after a Channel 4 report. Separately, the parliamentary standards commissioner is examining whether Farage should have declared a personal £5 million gift from Harborne. The party denies any wrongdoing and says it will cooperate with the inquiries.