On Wednesday, October 14, 2026, The Guardian reported that BitMEX, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by Reform UK donor Ben Delo, is facing a £20m legal claim in the High Court over allegations that it sold financial products to UK investors without the required regulatory approval.
The claim was brought by Lewis Barber, a software engineer, who says he lost bitcoin worth £20m between 2018 and 2022 while trading derivative products offered by the platform. The instruments in question magnified gains or losses depending on movements in the price of the cryptocurrency.
The claim has been filed but has not yet been served on the defendant, which is HDR Global Trading Limited, the owner and operator of the BitMEX derivatives exchange.
Barber contends that BitMEX was neither regulated nor authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to offer such products in Britain. Under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, he argues, the contracts are void, and consumers are entitled to restitution of any bitcoin lost. His lawyers say he may be one of thousands of non-professional UK investors who suffered heavy losses on the platform.
According to the statement of claim, BitMEX ran promotional campaigns worldwide without excluding the UK, including at least one advertisement in the Times on January 3, 2019.
The document also states that, on or around March 3, 2020, the FCA issued a warning that the company might be conducting regulated trading in the UK without authorisation.
A BitMEX spokesperson said no such claim had been served on HDR Global Trading Limited.
Gareth Keillor, a partner at Seladore Legal, which represents Barber, described the case as a substantial claim over losses sustained across a number of years. He said Barber’s case is that BitMEX entered into the transactions without authorisation required under UK law, entitling him to recover the lost bitcoin or equivalent damages.
Keillor added that the proceedings could have wider relevance, as other UK-based people may have entered similar contracts, though any individual claim would depend on the particular facts and trading history. Barber’s lawyers say that, if he succeeds, the potential bill for BitMEX could run into hundreds of millions of pounds.
Details of the case emerged after BitMEX closed voluntarily on September 23, 2026, following what the company described as a strategic review of its business.
The Seychelles-based company faces other legal action internationally. In New York, investors have brought a multimillion-dollar class action alleging theft of bitcoin and insider trading. BitMEX has vigorously denied those claims.
Delo, who has attracted attention in Britain for a record-breaking £36m donation to Reform UK, wrote in the Daily Telegraph that he made the gift because he wanted a “fair fight and a level playing field.”
Delo and fellow cofounders Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed pleaded guilty in the United States in 2022 to violating the Bank Secrecy Act over alleged failures to comply with anti-money-laundering procedures. They received non-custodial sentences and were pardoned by US President Donald Trump in March 2025.
BitMEX itself pleaded guilty in 2024 to Bank Secrecy Act violations, admitting it failed to maintain adequate anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer programmes. In January 2025, the company was required to pay $100m (£75m) to the US Department of Justice.
In his claim, Barber seeks the return of all bitcoin lost through trading on BitMEX or, alternatively, damages covering trades over a number of years.
Source: The Guardian
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