BitMEX Co-Founder Tells Crypto to Stay Out of Politics While Pumping £4M Into Reform UK

Ben Delo, co-founder of crypto exchange BitMEX, has donated £4 million ($5.1 million) to Nigel Farage's Reform UK party since the start of this year, he wrote in a Telegraph op-ed. Because nothing says "crypto is apolitical" quite like writing a four-million-pound check to a populist party and then publishing an op-ed about it. Classic Web2 move dressed up in Web3 energy.

The donation aims to build Reform UK into "a genuine alternative party of government." The op-ed does not specify whether the contribution was made in fiat or cryptocurrency. We're told to read between the lines here, but honestly, the lines are so blurry they might as well be on a candlestick chart. Either way, it's a contribution that would make even the most degens among us raise an eyebrow—though perhaps not as high as the eyebrow you'd raise learning the donation was in USDT.

Delo expressed support for the U.K. government's proposed moratorium on political donations made in cryptoassets, citing regulatory complexity. "People like Ben Delo" backing Reform UK are "even more determined" amid "woke culture," Farage wrote on X. Ah yes, the classic "I'm against crypto in politics but here's a life-changing amount of money for a political party" maneuver. The mental gymnastics here could qualify for the Olympics. Meanwhile, Farage out here treating crypto donors like a rare Pokémon he's trying to catch—gotta collect 'em all.

Current Electoral Commission guidance, updated April 7, 2026, allows crypto donations if valued in pounds and donors properly verified, particularly for contributions above £500. However, the Commission noted government plans for a moratorium potentially applying retroactively to contributions received from March 25, 2026. For those keeping score at home, that's a regulatory window so narrow it makes the Bitcoin supply cap look generous. Nothing says "welcome to the future of finance" like retroactive rules that could turn your donation into a legal time bomb.

Last month, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government announced an immediate moratorium on crypto donations to political parties, framing digital assets as a vector for foreign interference rather than a financial innovation. Because nothing says "foreign interference" quite like British billionaires donating to British parties in what is apparently now considered suspicious foreign activity. The mental gymnastics continue to impress. One wonders if they also think VPNs are foreign interference tools.

Reform UK has also received a £9 million donation from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based entrepreneur who has invested in stablecoin issuer Tether and crypto exchange Bitfinex. For those playing the "who's funding the British political landscape" bingo, we've got a nice little pattern forming here. Tether and Bitfinex—because when you want to shake up the establishment, you go straight to the exchanges that have survived more regulatory battles than a level 50 raid boss.

Electoral Commission records do not list contributions under Delo or BitMEX. Delo did not respond to a CoinDesk request for comment. Ah, the classic "we have no record of this" combined with the classic "no comment." Very on-brand for an industry that brought us "code is law" and "trustless systems." Trustless, apparently, extends to answering journalists' questions.