Reform UK’s £72M donations face new legal test

Reform UK has received £72 million, approximately $97 million, from crypto billionaires Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo through two matching donations announced within 24 hours. Summary Two crypto billionaires donated £36 million each to Reform UK, creating a £72 million haul. Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo made matching contributions within 24 hours, according to Reform UK. Government amendments would cap qualifying overseas-elector donations at £100,000 annually, with retrospective application after enactment. Reform says both donations comply with current law, while their future treatment remains legally uncertain. Britain plans to prohibit cryptocurrency political donations until regulators consider safeguards sufficiently transparent and robust. The Guardian reported on Sept. 12 that Harborne gave £36 million to Nigel Farage’s party one day after Delo announced an equal contribution. Each gift matched the largest individual political donation recorded in the U.K., according to the newspaper. Harborne is an investor in stablecoin issuer Tether and cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. Delo co-founded BitMEX, one of the earliest major cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges. Neith...