Two crypto billionaires have donated £72 million ($97 million) to Nigel Farage's Reform UK over the span of two days — more than every British political party raised in donations combined last year.

BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo moved first, announcing a £36 million gift in the Telegraph on Friday. It is the largest single donation ever made to a British political party, and more than four times the £8 million he had already given this year. Delo said his contribution amounts to the equivalent of £1 million a month until the latest date Labour could an election, in 2029, but that he is paying up front in case the government caps large donations. The approach shows how the prospect of new caps is already shaping when political money arrives.

Harborne matches Delo's donation

A day later, on Saturday, Tether investor Christopher Harborne matched the figure. Writing in the Telegraph, Harborne said his "competitive spirit" prompted the move, adding that he expected "nothing, personally in return. Harborne has given Reform £15 million since the last election.

Reform said the funds would be used to hire "the brightest and best minds to work on policy," along with 400 campaign managers, one for each target seat. The party is "now on election footing," a spokesman said.

Neither man's latest donation — nor their earlier gifts — was made in cryptocurrency. Britain banned crypto political donations in March. The ban means crypto wealth has to enter British politics through traditional channels — pounds, not tokens.

The donations arrive as the government weighs tighter funding rules. There is currently no limit on what UK-based donors can give, though Labour has capped gifts from Britons living overseas at £100,000 and plans to apply the same limit to recent returnees. Since March, donors have needed 12 months on the electoral register before giving more than £100,000 a year. Delo, who was born in Sheffield, says he will return to the UK from Hong Kong. The scope of any new rules remains unresolved, leaving the fundraising landscape for the next election in flux.

Both donors have drawn scrutiny before. U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned Delo in 2025, three years after the BitMEX founder pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering failures at the exchange. Separately, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is weighing whether Farage should have declared a £5 million personal gift from Harborne.

The news also lands with Reform under criminal investigation over its funding, though not over either man's gift. The Metropolitan Police opened an inquiry on Tuesday into allegations, drawn from Channel 4 footage, that two senior aides discussed ways around the ban on foreign money. That probe has been folded into an existing investigation into payments received before the last election. Reform "denies any wrongdoing and will fully cooperate," a spokesman said. The outcomes of the police inquiry, the standards review, and the government's funding-rule work all remain open as the party builds toward the next election.