Monday, August 24, 2026
Reform's crypto dependency
The paper says that an analysis of Electoral Commission data shows that a staggering 60 per cent of the right-wing eurosceptic group’s funding comes from wealthy individuals associated with the digital currency since the beginning of 2024:
The largest donations, totalling £15m, came from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, whose separate undeclared donation of £5m directly to Mr Farage is the subject of a parliamentary probe.
Other donors include Ben Peter Delo, the founder of cryptocurrency trading platform BitMex, who gave two £2m payments to the party this year and Maria Rost, the wife of US crypto investor John Rost, who has given nine payments worth £125,000.
Simon William Smith, a London-based bitcoin investor who founded a company which allows content creators to sell their content in exchange for Bitcoin, donated £116,000 ahead of the general election in 2024. Oscar Townsley, the founder of Bitcoin derivatives trading firm A1X, gave the party £30,000 last year.
By comparison, the Conservative Party received £82,250 in donations from Alan Eldad Howard, a hedge fund manager and crypto investor. The Independent did not identify any such donations for Labour, Lib Dems or the Green Party.
Unsurprisingly, since the general election, Farage and his party have fought to liberalise the crypto market, have argued against state involvement in the sector, and have published draft legislation that hopes to ignite a “crypto revolution” in Britain.
Other parties take a different view. The paper says that Labour has taken a strict stance on cryptocurrency, with former PM, Keir Starmer imposing a temporary ban on cryptocurrency donations and a cap on donations from Britons living abroad to political parties as part of a wider government review into electoral interference.
They add that no other parties have promoted pro-crypto policies and the Greens have called for a ban on “unethical” crypto adverts in the London Underground.
The last word on this should go to Tory MP Harriet Baldwin, a former chair of the Treasury committee, who said: “In the US, President Trump has profited personally from liberalising the rules around cryptocurrencies. It would be regrettable if the UK became a place where politicians used power over independent regulators for their own personal enrichment.”
The last word on this should go to Tory MP Harriet Baldwin, a former chair of the Treasury committee, who said: “In the US, President Trump has profited personally from liberalising the rules around cryptocurrencies. It would be regrettable if the UK became a place where politicians used power over independent regulators for their own personal enrichment.”
