Farage's British Reform UK received $49 million donation from cryptomillionaire

This is a record donation for British parties.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Photo: Jordan Pettitt / PA Images via Getty Images

The British right-wing populist party Reform UK has received a donation of 36 million pounds sterling (about $49 million) from British cryptomillionaire Ben Delo, co-founder of the BitMEX crypto exchange, who lives in Hong Kong, the BBC writes.

Delo explained his decision in a column for The Telegraph by stating that he wanted to ensure "a level playing field" for Nigel Farage's party, considering the financial capabilities of its two main political rivals — the Labour and Conservative parties.

This amount became the largest single donation ever received by a political party in the UK. The previous record sum — 9 million pounds (approximately $12.2 million) — was also received by Reform UK and also from a cryptomillionaire — Christopher Harborne.

The record for the size of a donation received by will belongs to the Conservatives — 10 million pounds sterling (about $13.5 million).

Farage stated that for him, this donation is "a great honor and a source of pride."

"Unlike those who express ostensible concern for the state of 'our democracy' while simultaneously doing everything possible to keep it a cartel, I want fair competition and a level playing field," Delo writes. "From the party's recent challenges, I concluded that it should spend less time fundraising to compete on a level playing field [in elections] and more time preparing to work in government."