Reform UK, described as a rightwing populist party in Britain, has secured political donations totalling 72 million pounds ($92 million) from 2 crypto industry billionaires. The amount is unprecedented in the history of political funding for British parties, and the controversy over the political influence of big donors is also growing.

On Sept. 12, Cointelegraph and Reuters reported that BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo (벤 델로) donated 36 million pounds to Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage (나이절 파라지). Delo explained it was "to ensure the Labour Party, the Conservative Party and Reform UK can compete fairly in elections". The amount is enough to spend 1 million pounds a month through the 2029 general election.

A day later, crypto investor Christopher Harborne (크리스토퍼 하본) also announced he would donate 36 million pounds, the same as Delo. That lifted the pair's new donations to 72 million pounds. Harborne donated a total of 15 million pounds to Reform UK, including 9 million pounds, in August last year.

The large-scale backing coincides with controversy over Reform UK's political funding. Farage is under a parliamentary investigation over failing to declare a personal gift worth 5 million pounds received from Harborne, and a police probe is under way into allegations that Reform UK raised funds from abroad. Farage resigned his parliamentary seat in July, triggering a by-election, but was re-elected with 63.3 percent in the Clacton vote in August. Satirical candidate Count Binface (카운트 빈페이스) came second with 26.9 percent.

The British government is also pushing to tighten political funding rules. It would cap donations from overseas-based voters at 100,000 pounds a year and ban political donations using cryptocurrencies until sufficient regulations are in place. It has not been confirmed, however, that the Delo and Harborne donations were paid in cryptocurrency itself.

Delo agreed to pay a $10 million fine after pleading guilty in 2022 to failing to establish an anti-money laundering programme at BitMEX that complies with the Bank Secrecy Act. He was not given a prison sentence, and received a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump in March last year along with Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed.