Digital asset investor Christopher Harborne provided 36 million pounds ($48.7 million) to Nigel Farage’s political organization Reform U.K. on Saturday, matching the previous contribution from BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo and lifting the total funds received by the British party from these two billionaires to 72 million pounds ($97.4 million) within a single day.
As The Guardian reported, these financial gifts represent the joint-largest individual donations ever made to a political party in the U.K. Harborne, who holds investments in cryptocurrency platform Bitfinex and stablecoin provider Tether, disclosed his financial support a day after Delo.
Harborne remarked, “So what do I expect in return for my donations? Nothing. No peerage, no policy change, just a party that is ready for government.” Farage noted that the funds would assist Reform in mounting a competitive campaign during the upcoming general election.
These contributions significantly amplify the volume of digital asset capital supporting the political faction. Harborne’s most recent financial contribution stands at four times his $12 million donation revealed back in December 2025, which was noted at that time as the largest single contribution to a UK political party by any living donor.
Subsequently, Harborne and Delo contributed approximately 3 million and 4 million pounds respectively during the initial quarter of 2026. Based on calculations from Electoral Commission data, this combined amount represented around 76% of Reform’s total reported donations of 9.26 million pounds, excluding state funding.
Farage has consistently engaged with the digital asset sector.
During the Las Vegas Bitcoin conference in May 2025, he promised to set up a bitcoin reserve at the Bank of England, enact a 10% capital gains tax rate on digital assets, and stop financial institutions from shutting down user accounts due to cryptocurrency involvement.
The Guardian report did not indicate whether these newest donations were executed in cryptocurrencies. Harborne’s prior contribution of 9 million pounds was settled in fiat currency.
According to a House_of_Commons Library briefing, the Electoral Commission informed lawmakers back in March that no political group had declared donations classified as digital assets.
This fresh influx of capital emerges while the Metropolitan Police are examining complaints regarding Reform’s political contributions. Concurrently, Farage confronts a parliamentary standards inquiry regarding a personal gift of 5 million pounds he received from Harborne prior to becoming an MP in 2024. The Guardian reported that both Reform and Farage reject any allegations of wrongdoing.
Additionally, the government unveiled proposals in March aiming to prohibit political contributions made via cryptocurrencies while capping donations originating from overseas electors at 100,000 pounds per year.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/09/12/nigel-farage-s-reform-uk-lands-usd97-million-donations-from-two-crypto-billionaires-in-24-hours.
