Ben Delo (BitMEX)

Ben Delo — Reform UK Donor (BitMEX Founder)

Full name: Ben Delo Approx total donated (to Reform UK): £4 million Source of wealth: Mathematician, programmer and co-founder of BitMEX (cryptocurrency derivatives exchange). Educated at Oxford University, worked at IBM and JP Morgan. Why they donate: Backs Reform UK's anti-establishment, pro-crypto agenda. The party's pledge to cut capital gains tax on crypto from 24% to 10% and create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve directly benefits the crypto sector Delo helped pioneer. Controversies: In 2022, Delo pleaded guilty to violating the US Bank Secrecy Act by wilfully failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering procedures at BitMEX. He was sentenced but in March 2025, Donald Trump pardoned him. His £4m donation to Reform has drawn scrutiny given his criminal conviction and the party's pro-crypto stance. The timing of donations relative to policy positions has raised conflict-of-interest questions similar to the Harborne-Farage dynamic.

Notes

• BitMEX was one of the first major crypto derivatives platforms
• Delo is a British-born Oxford graduate — not a foreign donor
• His Trump pardon has been criticised as another example of the crypto industry buying political influence