BitMEX Co-Founder Ben Delo Donates $5.4 Million to UK's Reform Party

BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo donated £4 million ($5.4 million) to Nigel Farage's Reform UK party in early 2024, before the UK introduced a £100,000 cap on donations from British citizens living abroad. Delo, currently based in Hong Kong, pleaded guilty in 2022 to breaching the Bank Secrecy Act and paid a $10 million fine before receiving a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. Reform UK has positioned itself as the UK's most crypto-aligned party, accepting cryptocurrency donations and promoting pro-crypto policies, while Farage has invested in Bitcoin firms and advocated for lower digital asset taxes and a national Bitcoin reserve. The donation comes as UK government ministers imposed a moratorium on crypto political contributions following a review that highlighted transparency risks, which Reform UK has characterized as a politically motivated attack on their party.

Ben Delo's £4 Million Donation to Reform UK

• ▪Ben Delo pleaded guilty in the U.S. in 2022 to breaching the Bank Secrecy Act after failing to implement adequate anti-money-laundering controls
• ▪BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo donated $5.4 million (£4 million) to Nigel Farage's Reform UK party
• ▪Ben Delo intends to relocate to the UK, which would allow him to continue donating to Reform UK without restriction
• ▪Ben Delo received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump for his Bank Secrecy Act conviction
• ▪Ben Delo wrote in a Daily Telegraph op-ed that his donation to Reform UK was motivated by what he described as a failing UK political system
• ▪Ben Delo made the £4 million contribution to Reform UK earlier in 2024 before the introduction of a £100,000 cap on donations from British citizens living abroad
• ▪Reform UK received £11.4 million from Thailand-based Tether investor Christopher Harborne
• ▪Ben Delo paid a $10 million criminal fine for breaching the Bank Secrecy Act
• ▪Ben Delo co-founded BitMEX, one of the crypto industry's earliest derivatives exchanges

Reform UK's Pro-Cryptocurrency Political Positioning

• ▪Nigel Farage has made tens of thousands of dollars from speaking engagements at crypto conferences
• ▪Reform UK leader Nigel Farage invested in a Bitcoin treasury firm in 2024

Regulatory Changes to Political Donations and Cryptocurrency Funding

• ▪The UK introduced a £100,000 cap on donations from British citizens living abroad

Perspective of Ben Delo

• ▪Ben Delo's planned relocation to the UK would enable him to bypass the £100,000 cap on donations from British citizens living abroad