Ben Delo, a co-founder of the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange and a prominent UK crypto figure, has donated £36 million (about $49 million) to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, according to reports from the DPA and other UK media. The payment is described as the largest single donation ever made to a British political party.

Delo said the contribution was intended to help Reform UK ensure a “fair fight” in the run-up to the next stage of voting. The move lands amid an ongoing UK political debate about whether donations and gifts tied to the crypto industry can distort elections and how lawmakers should regulate them.

Key takeaways

• Ben Delo reportedly gave £36 million to Reform UK, the biggest political-party donation in the UK, according to DPA and other media.
• Delo frames the donation as a way to enable a “fair fight” at the polls.
• Reform UK’s earlier major crypto-linked donors included Christopher Harborne, who previously gave £9 million.
• UK politicians have been debating whether to impose a permanent ban or moratorium on crypto donations in response to the Farage donation controversy.
• Delo’s background includes prior US federal charges tied to the Bank Secrecy Act; he later received a presidential pardon, according to prior reporting.

Why the £36 million donation is drawing scrutiny

The reported £36 million donation by Ben Delo gives fresh fuel to concerns about the influence of digital-asset wealth in British elections. It also intensifies a controversy that has already prompted investigations and parliamentary fallout.

Earlier reporting from Cointelegraph said Farage was under investigation after receiving millions of dollars’ worth of donations and gifts from figures connected to the crypto sector, including Christopher Harborne and George Cottrell. Delo’s latest contribution is therefore not happening in a vacuum—it follows a sequence of political and legal developments that have put the spotlight on how the UK treats crypto-related political funding.

For investors and builders in the crypto industry, the political implications are not abstract. Election funding that draws from large, market-aligned fortunes can shape the policy environment affecting digital asset regulation, compliance expectations, and future tax or licensing rules.

Reform UK’s fundraising and the “fair fight” rationale

Delo reportedly said he donated the money to ensure a “fair fight” at the polls. Farage responded by expressing confidence in Reform UK and describing the party as the only one capable, in his view, of reversing the country’s economic decline.

The scale of the donation also contrasts with earlier fundraising milestones for Reform UK. Cointelegraph previously noted that Delo’s fellow crypto-linked donors included Harborne, who gave £9 million to the party last August, making him the second-largest donor behind Delo’s reported contribution.

According to The Telegraph, the £36 million was structured as £1 million per month up to the general election in 2029, but Delo made the full payment upfront so it could not be blocked. That detail matters because the controversy around crypto donations in the UK has increasingly focused not only on who funds political parties, but also on how such funding is timed and administered.

Investigation backdrop: resignation, by-election, and lawmakers’ response

In July, Nigel Farage resigned his position as a Member of Parliament amid the crypto donation scandal, which triggered a by-election that Reform UK won with 63% of the vote—ahead of a satirical candidate, Count Binface, as described in prior coverage.

Cointelegraph previously reported that Labour MPs were considering making a moratorium on crypto donations—announced in March and pending legislation—permanent in response to the situation Farage described as “gifts” from Harborne and Cottrell. The reported Delo donation adds new pressure to those discussions, because it demonstrates that large-scale political funding tied to crypto-linked wealth can continue even as lawmakers weigh whether existing rules are adequate.

More broadly, the case highlights a tension in UK political life: the desire to attract legitimacy and investment while also addressing concerns that opaque or poorly understood funding channels could undermine public trust in democratic processes.

Delo’s legal history and what the pardon means for the political debate

Ben Delo’s political visibility is also tied to his legal history in the United States. Cointelegraph previously reported that Delo, one of three BitMEX co-founders, pleaded guilty to federal charges related to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. Cointelegraph also reported that Delo agreed to pay a $10 million fine in 2022 and did not serve prison time.

Importantly for context, earlier reporting also states that Delo and his colleagues Arthur Hayes and Samuel Reed received a pardon from US President Donald Trump in March 2025. While a pardon does not erase prior conduct in the public record, it can change how figures are perceived legally and politically, including their ability to participate openly in public life and major funding decisions.

For UK lawmakers trying to decide on permanent restrictions, the Delo case underscores a practical dilemma: regulating political influence often requires judgments about risk, reputation, and compliance—rather than relying only on the presence or absence of formal convictions.

What to watch next

As Reform UK faces fresh attention following the reported £36 million donation, the key question is whether UK lawmakers move beyond debate toward binding, enforceable rules on crypto-linked political funding. Readers should watch for signs of whether the proposed permanent moratorium evolves into legislation—and how parties and donors respond to any new compliance expectations.

The challenge is not simply producing more food. Agricultural production has increased in Africa over the last few decades, but growth isn’t necessarily durable. Agri-food supports two-thirds of African livelihoods and generates a third of the continent’s GDP. But farmers generate less value than their counterparts elsewhere: about $1,500 per worker annually versus $4,300 globally, according to figures from AGRA, the organization formerly known as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. Higher profits mean more farmers can afford to stay in the business and younger people will be enticed to join, thereby creating a more sustainable food system for the continent. 

Profitable farming isn’t just about feeding people, as important as that is. A developed agriculture sector creates opportunities for investment in processing, trading, and other functions along the agriculture value chain, leading to further economic growth opportunities. Only around 12-15% of Africa’s agricultural GDP comes from processing, compared to more than 60% in developed regions, according to AGRA. And agricultural outputs can be the basis of new industries: think of biofuels. From a climate perspective, too, higher profits create adaptive capacity. Farmers with margin can invest in irrigation, improved seeds, better soil health, or simply absorb a bad season.

XRP is drawing fresh attention as Clearpool pushes its institutional lending framework onto the XRP Ledger. The decentralized credit protocol is entering what it calls its next growth phase. This move ties XRP directly to a rising wave of institutional yield products.

Clearpool Expands Institutional Credit on XRP Ledger

Clearpool plans to build its lending infrastructure directly on the XRP Ledger network. The protocol will also migrate its CPOOL token to a new token called CLEAR. New participants will receive CLEAR for added capital, and existing holders will get a 1:1 swap.

The XRP Ledger offers a proven network, and institutional credit remains largely untapped there. Clearpool intends to deliver real-world, institutional-ready lending infrastructure on the chain. This positions XRP as a foundation for a broader credit ecosystem.

Two XRP Ledger standards support this shift: Single Asset Vaults and the Lending Protocol. Clearpool describes these as native, institutional-grade credit rails for XRP-based finance. The RLUSD stablecoin will serve as the regulated settlement asset within this system.

Ripple Backs XRP Ecosystem Growth Through Clearpool

Ripple has committed investment to help launch Clearpool’s yield products for XRP and RLUSD. This funding strengthens the broader push toward institutional-grade credit on the XRP Ledger. Ripple’s involvement signals continued confidence in XRP’s expanding financial use cases.

Earlier, Ripple partnered with Cicada Partners and Clearpool to launch an institutional credit fund. That fund will issue loans backed by real-world assets as collateral. The partnership reflects a coordinated effort to grow XRP-based lending markets.

Together, these moves link Clearpool’s protocol upgrade to Ripple’s wider strategy for XRP. Institutional demand for regulated, blockchain-based credit continues to grow steadily. XRP now sits at the center of that expansion.

CPOOL to CLEAR Migration Reshapes Token Supply

The migration to CLEAR will come with a full treasury recapitalization. Clearpool noted that 99% of CPOOL’s supply is already vested, and reserves are low. Additional resources are needed to fund further development and adoption.

Under the proposed plan, 70% of new CLEAR supply goes to existing token holders. The remaining allocation splits across the ecosystem, treasury, and contributors. Total CLEAR supply will rise from 1 billion to 1.125 billion at migration.

Over three years, circulating CLEAR supply is projected to reach 1.428 billion tokens. A buyback-and-burn mechanism will use half of protocol fees to purchase and destroy CLEAR. Community members now have fourteen days to weigh in before a Snapshot vote decides the outcome.

North Korea appears to be expanding its use of remote IT workers in third countries as part of an increasingly targeted strategy to infiltrate U.S. companies and channel funds toward its weapons programs. NBC News reported on Friday that the scheme involves foreign-based job seekers—often recruited through mainstream platforms—who are then positioned to move contracts and access before being replaced by North Korean operatives.

The details come after a July warning issued by the U.S. government and multiple foreign agencies. The alert said North Korean IT workers actively look for contracts with the intention of remitting salaries back to their parent agencies. It also highlighted their potential as insider threats, citing participation in data exfiltration, cryptocurrency theft, and theft of sensitive information.

Key takeaways

• U.S. and allied agencies have warned that North Korean IT workers seek contracts to funnel pay back to DPRK-linked agencies while posing insider and data-risk threats.
• NBC reports North Korean efforts increasingly rely on third-country remote workers to pass job interviews, then hand over roles to DPRK operatives.
• Recruitment tactics described by NBC include scouting on platforms like LinkedIn and offering cryptocurrency compensation for “interview associate” work.
• Related reporting from earlier this year tied North Korea-linked hacking activity to large crypto losses, suggesting the operational model may be bearing fruit.
• With economic pressure continuing, the scheme underscores why organizations should tighten identity, access, and payment controls for remote hiring.

From direct recruitment to third-country remote access

According to NBC’s report, North Korea’s approach has shifted toward leveraging remote workers outside the DPRK to gain entry into companies that may not otherwise connect the threat to North Korea. Instead of relying solely on traditional infiltration channels, the scheme centers on obtaining legitimate work contracts after successfully navigating hiring processes.

The reported workflow is straightforward but high-risk for employers: third-country IT workers are brought in to secure contracts and, after roles are established, are “usually” replaced by North Korean operatives. The operational logic is clear—create an initial foothold that looks normal from an outside hiring perspective, then transition to the underlying actors with access to systems, credentials, or internal knowledge.

NBC also said some foreign workers were recruited after being scouted on LinkedIn. In other cases, applicants were allegedly offered cryptocurrency payments to perform part-time “interview associate” tasks—work that can help them appear credible in recruitment pipelines while potentially aligning them with a longer-term operational goal.

The July alert and what it implies for corporate defenses

The July alert referenced by NBC is significant because it frames the threat not just as external hacking, but as a multi-stage infiltration risk that includes insider behavior. In that advisory, U.S. government and partner agencies described North Korean IT workers as contract-seekers who intend to remit earnings to DPRK agencies.

Just as importantly, the alert connects the labor recruitment angle to cyber outcomes. It described how these workers can function as insider threats to companies, while also being implicated in data exfiltration and cryptocurrency theft, along with theft of sensitive information. Even without additional details about each case in NBC’s report, the combined message is that the threat model includes both access and monetization.

For companies processing remote hires, this means that hiring risk is inseparable from security risk. Organizations that rely on remote onboarding, contractor access, or permissive internal tooling could be inadvertently enabling a pathway for identity compromise, unauthorized code and data handling, and lateral movement once the “handover” occurs.

Why cryptocurrency appears in the recruitment workflow

NBC’s reporting that some candidates were offered cryptocurrency as part of “interview associate” arrangements matters for two reasons. First, it signals that the recruitment pipeline may be designed to blend into existing work structures while still using mechanisms that are harder to trace than conventional payroll.

Second, it aligns with earlier warnings and reporting that tie North Korea-linked actors to crypto-enabled theft and financial diversion. In May, Cointelegraph reported—citing cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike—that North Korea state-affiliated hackers and threat actors were responsible for more than $2 billion in cryptocurrency losses in 2025, representing a 51% year-on-year increase. While that figure reflects cyber theft broadly rather than the specific “interview associate” step described by NBC, the throughline is consistent: crypto is both a tool and an outcome for DPRK-linked operations.

Sanctions pressure, economic indicators, and persistence

The recruitment strategy also fits a broader pattern of persistent activity despite sanctions. The report notes that the Bank of Korea estimated North Korea’s GDP increased 3.5% in 2025 even with global restrictions in place. That kind of resilience can be read as a reminder that threat actors do not need normalization of trade to sustain operations—alternative channels, including cybercrime and illicit financial routing, can help fill gaps.

For investors and builders in crypto and broader tech ecosystems, the implications extend beyond national security. North Korea-linked tactics reportedly combine labor infiltration with cyber operations and monetization. That combination increases the likelihood that compromised systems, stolen credentials, and exfiltrated data can feed downstream fraud and theft—potentially involving crypto at multiple stages.

As governments and companies tighten controls around known malware and exchange-related abuse, schemes that begin at recruitment and onboarding may become more attractive because they can bypass purely technical perimeter defenses.

What to watch next is whether more enforcement and advisories provide granular indicators—such as specific behaviors during remote hiring, payment patterns, or contract-approval structures—that organizations can use for earlier screening. In the meantime, the core concern is clear: if role handovers from third-country contractors to DPRK operatives are a recurring tactic, security teams should assume that “legitimate” employment pathways can conceal hostile intent.