Crypto-billionaire donates record £36million to Reform UK because he wants Farage's party to have 'a fair fight' at the general election
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By SHANNON MCGUIGAN, NEWS REPORTER
Published: | Updated:
A crypto-billionaire has made a record £36million donation to Reform.
Ben Delo, the co-founder of a crypto trading platform, said he wants Nigel Farage’s party to have a ‘fair fight’ at the next general election.
Mr Delo was already Reform’s second-largest donor and said he made the new gift following a difficult summer for Reform, as he believes ‘they should spend less time trying to raise funds’ and concentrate on preparing for government.
Mr Farage’s party is currently under investigation by Scotland Yard over separate claims it has breached donation law.
Last week, a Channel 4 undercover sting alleged that two senior members of Mr Farage’s team had sought to circumvent the rules on foreign donations.
Reform denies any wrongdoing.
The previous record donation of £10million was bequeathed to the Conservatives. Mr Delo had given Reform £8m in the past, behind only a £9m donation by fellow crypto-king Christopher Harborne.
A £5m gift from Thai-based Mr Harborne to Mr Farage is the subject of a parliamentary sleaze inquiry.
Ben Delo, the co-founder of the crypto trading platform BitMEX, said he donated a record £36million to Reform because he wants them to have a 'fair fight' in the next general election
Nigel Farage (pictured on September 6, 2026) said he was 'honoured' and 'humbled' by the gift
The Reform leader initially said it was to pay for security for the rest of his life before later suggesting it was a ‘reward’ for his years of Brexit campaigning.
He called his summer’s farcical Clacton by-election in a bid to draw a line under the scrutiny. But the investigation restarted after he retained the seat. All other major parties refused to take part in the ballot, leaving comedy candidate Count Binface as Mr Farage’s main challenger.
The record gift means Reform has now raised five times as much as the Conservatives and six times as much as Labour this year alone.
Mr Delo made his first billion just four years after founding his crypto firm, BitMex, in 2014.
He pleaded guilty to failing to implement an anti-money laundering programme in the US in 2022 but was pardoned by president Donald Trump last year.
‘Unlike the people who express mock concern for the health of “our democracy” while doing everything they can to keep it as a cartel, I want a fair fight and a level playing field,’ he told The Telegraph last night.
He pledged £36million to the party after vowing to give Reform £1million a month between now and the latest possible general election date in 2029.
But, he said, he would gift it in one go to defy any Government bid to block the donations.
It comes after Labour put a cap of £100,000 on donations political parties could receive from overseas donors.
Mr Delo says he wants Reform to be able to focus on preparing for government rather than focusing on fundraising
Mr Delo, who recently moved back to the UK from Hong Kong as a result, took a swipe at the move, as well as further reform on party funding in Labour’s Representation of the People Bill.
He lambasted it as ‘an attempt at election rigging’, adding that Labour’s millions from unions would be unaffected.
Mr Farage said he was ‘honoured’ and ‘humbled’ by the gift.
The money, it is understood, will be used to allow Reform to recruit ‘the best brains’ to its policy unit and expand the number of campaign managers it has.
‘This is about preparing for government,’ said a senior party source, with Reform convinced Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to call an early election.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: ‘Nigel Farage is still up to his neck in scandal over his secret £5 million “gift” from his other crypto-billionaire backer and the criminal investigation into potentially illegal donations. The questions he faces aren’t going away – in fact they’re piling up.
‘Reform UK can’t buy their way out of questions about sleaze, criminal mates and dodgy finances.
‘It’s time Farage and Reform finally came clean with the public, co-operated fully with the police, and proved they’re not just in it for themselves.
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