Crypto money floods Reform UK with $72M in two days

The $72 million donation from two crypto billionaires to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in just two days was greater than the total donations received by each of Britain’s major political parties over the entire year.  This comes as the government ponders stricter restrictions on political donations.

Delo went first, Harborne matched a day later

Ben Delo, the co-founder of BitMEX, broke the record on Friday, revealing his donation of £36 million ($48 million). It is believed to be the largest individual donation in British political history. Others consider this sum, together with the following donation, to be the most significant ever provided to a UK political party.

On Saturday, Christopher Harborne, whose base is located in Thailand, donated an amount equal to Delo’s donation to the party. The Tether investor, who had already contributed £15 million to Reform since the last election, stated that he had acted under a “competitive spirit” and he did not expect anything personal from this.

Delo’s donation of £36 million exceeds his previous donations to the party by four times — £8 million. The donation is made in the form of £1 million ($1.3 million) a month until August 2029, which is the latest time when the next general election can be held.

However, it was prepaid in case of any restrictions imposed by the government on big donations, the AP states. Reform declared that the funds will be used to employ “the brightest and best minds” in terms of policy-making and 400 campaign managers, one

What may be behind the £72 million?

However, the two men had quite different views on how to frame their financial contribution. Harborne said in an interview that he supports the Reform Party because he believes that their economic policy will attract the investment needed to develop the economy and pay for public services such as healthcare and education.

At the same time, Delo presented his financial contribution as a blow to the political establishment. He reportedly explained that his donation was aimed at breaking up the “cartel” of the two major parties, which have dominated UK election politics for a century. “While people talk about the health of ‘our democracy,’ doing all they can to make sure it is a cartel, I just want a level playing field,” Delo says.

Opposition parties have a different opinion on the matter. The Liberal Democrats, being the third-largest party in the House of Commons, have called on PM Andy Burnham to limit financial contributions. “Farage wants to bring Trump’s America to our shores by buying his way into power,” the spokeswoman Lisa Smart said. “He treats Downing Street like it’s a square on a Monopoly board.”

No ceiling on what a UK donor can give

The current British regulations do not have any restrictions on how much a UK-based donor can give a party, making the sums possible. Political donations in cryptocurrencies have been prohibited since March in the country, but none of the donations made by Delo and Harborne are in crypto.

Other restrictions are much less extensive. The Labour Party has put a cap on donations from British expats at £100,000 and intends to set the same limit for newly returned citizens. Since March, anyone donating over £100,000 a year must be on the electoral register for 12 months. Sheffield-born Delo says he is planning to return from Hong Kong.

The sum of the donations collected over the weekend is unusual, considering the entire sector: UK political parties collected £64.8 million in donations last year, according to figures from the Electoral Commission.

Reform’s crypto funding was already under investigation

The funds fall on a party struggling with fundraising issues. According to the Metropolitan Police, it started probing Reform for receiving donations from foreign donors, which is illegal under UK law, on Wednesday. The probe came after Channel 4 News exposed on Tuesday an undercover report made at the annual conference of the party last week, where the top officials discussed how to mask foreign money. 

Farage himself is under parliamentary investigation due to an unreported £5 million ($6.7 million) gift from Harborne received by him before joining the Commons; he claims it was a personal present irrelevant to politics.