Two crypto billionaires each give £36 million to Reform UK, tying Britain’s record for personal political donations

Reform UK, the party led by Nigel Farage, has received two massive personal donations from figures tied to the crypto industry within 24 hours. Crypto investor Christopher Harborne gave £36 million, or about $48.7 million, on Saturday, matching a donation made the previous day by BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo. Together, the two contributions total £72 million, or roughly $97.4 million. The donations are tied for the largest personal political gifts ever made to a UK political party. Harborne, an investor in stablecoin issuer Tether and crypto exchange Bitfinex, said he was not seeking a peerage or policy changes. Farage said the money would help Reform UK compete in the next UK general election. The report did not say whether Harborne’s latest donation was made in cryptocurrency. It did note that an earlier £9 million donation from him was paid in cash. The development also comes as London’s Metropolitan Police investigates allegations related to political donations involving Reform UK, while Farage is separately under a parliamentary standards inquiry over a £5 million personal gift from Harborne before his 2024 election as an MP. Reform UK and Farage have denied wrongdoing.