Christopher Harborne, an early crypto investor who has a long history of giving money to political groups in the UK, has given Reform UK a record £9 million (approximately $12 million). According to the BBC, new data from the Electoral Commission shows that the donation is the largest political gift ever made by a person in the UK.
Over the past ten years, Harborne, a British citizen living in Thailand, has backed several causes. He used to support the Conservative Party when Boris Johnson was leader, and he gave a lot of money to the Brexit Party (now Reform UK) during the 2019–2020 election cycle. His most recent donation is more than the previous record for a single person, which was reached in 2019 when Lord David Sainsbury gave $10.7 million to the Liberal Democrats.
A donor linked to crypto under public scrutiny
In addition to being involved in politics, Harborne is well-known for his investments in cryptocurrencies. He owns just under 13% of Tether, the company that makes the USDT stablecoin. This investment is linked to money he got for the 2016 Bitfinex attack. He says he doesn’t have any operational duties at Tether or Bitfinex.
Harborne has also spoken out against past media coverage. In 2023, he sued The Wall Street Journal for slander because a piece said he helped the two crypto companies do illegal things. He stated the claims, which included fraud and money laundering, were not true. Parts of the piece that talked about him were taken out later.
Donation comes as UK thinks about making rules stricter
The payment’s timing is interesting because the UK government is currently considering making it unlawful for political parties to accept bitcoin donations as part of a wider Elections Bill. The proposed law’s goal is to make people more confident in the political process and strengthen protections for campaign money.
Earlier this year, Reform UK became the first political party in the UK to accept donations in cryptocurrency. The party is presently polling at about 27%, which puts it ahead of both Labour and the Conservatives, who are both below 20% going into the elections next year.