Ben Delo, who co-founded the cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX and received a pardon from Donald Trump, has given £4 million (about $5.3 million) to the Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage.
On April 8th, Delo revealed in an opinion piece for The Telegraph that he was making a donation, marking his first time getting involved in political activism.
Why a Pardoned Crypto Founder Is Backing Reform UK
Arthur Hayes, known as Delo, helped start the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange in 2014. In 2022, he admitted to breaking US law – specifically, the Bank Secrecy Act – because BitMEX didn’t have proper systems in place to prevent money laundering.
Delo was ordered to pay a $10 million penalty and serve 30 months of probation. However, in March 2025, President Donald Trump fully pardoned him and his co-founders, Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed.
In a recent development, President Donald Trump has pardoned the three co-founders of the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange: Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed. All three had previously admitted guilt to federal crimes involving money laundering.
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) March 28, 2025
In his opinion piece, Delo explained his donation by pointing to what he described as a lack of honesty among public figures in Britain.
He wrote that Reform UK was the only party willing to confront the country’s problems directly.
According to The Telegraph, businessman Delo has donated £4 million this year to support Nigel Farage’s efforts in establishing Reform UK as a viable political party capable of forming a government.
Delo Plans to Bypass Labour’s Overseas Donor Cap
As an analyst, I’ve been following the recent changes to UK political donation rules. Starting March 25th, the government implemented a £100,000 annual limit on donations from UK citizens who live outside the country. Alongside this, they’ve also temporarily prohibited donations made using cryptocurrency.
These steps were taken after an independent investigation, headed by former top civil servant Philip Rycroft, examined foreign attempts to influence British politics.
Delo, who currently lives in Hong Kong, plans to move to the UK to avoid the funding limit and keep supporting Reform’s campaign.
As an analyst, I’ve been tracking the funding of Reform UK, and it’s come to light that Christopher Harborne, a British investor living in Thailand, has donated £12 million to the party over the last year. However, a new cap on donations could severely limit how much he’s able to contribute in the future.
Read More
- Brent Oil Forecast
- Gold Rate Forecast
- USD ISK PREDICTION
- EUR ILS PREDICTION
- Silver Rate Forecast
- Crypto Giants’ Secret Playbook Before CPI Shakes the Market
- Ex-Coinbase Counsel Dives Into Politics: Will Crypto Crusader Shake Up NY?
- METH PREDICTION. METH cryptocurrency
- ETH PREDICTION. ETH cryptocurrency
- USD BRL PREDICTION
2026-04-09 01:36