BitMEX Co-Founder Delo Funds Reform UK with £4 Million Cash Donations

Ben Delo, co-founder of BitMEX, made significant donations to Reform UK in April this year. According to the UK Electoral Commission, he gave £4 million as two cash payments on April 17 and April 30, accounting for 72% of the party's declared income in the second quarter.

This massive influx of funds dwarfed all other donations to the party that quarter. Even if Delo's contributions are removed from the total, the next largest donation was a mere £180,000. The party's overall income fell by 44% in just three months, from £9.94 million to £5.55 million.

Delo is not new to donating to Reform UK; he had previously given £2 million each in January and March this year, bringing his total donations for the year to £8 million. However, another crypto-linked mega-donor, Christopher Harborne, who gave £3 million in January, stopped contributing after that.

The UK government introduced a ban on crypto asset donations in March, but since Delo paid in cash, neither rule applies to his contributions. Interestingly, he has been listed by US prosecutors as living between Britain and Hong Kong.