Reform UK brought in $12.5 million in the first quarter of 2026 — more than Labour and the Conservatives combined, each of which raised about $5.4 million. The party's haul was fueled by two crypto billionaires who together accounted for $9.4 million of that total: Christopher Harborne gave $4 million, and Ben Delo gave $5.4 million. The figures, reported this week, mark a sharp shift in British political fundraising and put digital-asset money at the center of an increasingly heated debate over campaign finance and regulatory policy.
Who the donors are
Harborne holds a stake in Tether, the stablecoin issuer. Delo co-founded BitMEX, the crypto derivatives exchange that has faced its own legal headaches in the U.S. Over the past 12 months, Harborne has given Reform UK $20 million in total, making him one of the largest individual donors in British politics. His latest contribution to the party included a separate $6.7 million personal gift to leader Nigel Farage — a transfer now under a parliamentary inquiry over possible undeclared donation rules.
Why crypto matters to Reform UK
Reform UK was the first British political party to accept Bitcoin donations, and Farage has made crypto policy a plank of his platform. He's proposed cutting the capital gains tax on crypto from 24% to 10%, and wants the Bank of England to build a Bitcoin reserve. Those proposals, combined with the donor list, give the party a distinct crypto-friendly identity. The timing isn't great for the other parties: total political donations across all UK parties more than doubled in Q1 2026 compared to the same period last year, and Reform UK's share is growing fast.
Not just a UK story
The UK isn't the only place crypto money is reshaping politics. In the U.S., crypto-backed political action committees have been spending heavily on midterm election primaries, backing successful candidates and drawing scrutiny from campaign watchdogs. The pattern — a small number of wealthy crypto donors pouring in millions to influence policy — is repeating across borders.
What comes next for Harborne's donation is unresolved. The parliamentary inquiry hasn't announced a timeline or a conclusion. Meanwhile, Farage's call for a Bank of England Bitcoin reserve remains a long shot, but it's a concrete proposal that the party keeps pushing. The next quarterly filing, due in July, will show whether the crypto money keeps flowing — and whether the other parties have any answer to it.
