Reposted by @gmdonald.bsky.social
Still annoys me that Brexit is seen as somehow different to political trends in the EU, particularly France and Germany, when their parallel is so obvious.
Similarly what is happening now, a shared politics of nostalgia, with very little vision for the future of Europe.
![Outside the US
The crypto industry's efforts to buy politicians are metastasizing. Some ten-figure donations from crypto billionaires to Reform UK’s Nigel Farage caused outcry in British politics in late 2024 and throughout 2025, as he accepted around £17 million ($22.4 million) across several contributions from Tether-linked British–Thai citizen Christopher Harborne [I98, 102, 105]. The contributions prompted discussion among the UK government over whether to ban large political contributions from British citizens who live overseas.
That conversation has been renewed as the Reform party has accepted contributions amounting to £72 million ($97 million) — half from Harborne, and the other half from BitMEX founder Ben Delo.36 Delo and other BitMEX cofounders were charged in the US in 2020 for violations of anti-money laundering laws; Delo ultimately was sentenced to probation and paid a $10 million fine. In 2025, Delo and the other BitMEX cofounders were pardoned by President Trump [I81].](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:exrxvyu6bpoym6mbnctke5tn/bafkreiefkar3ugj6lbgdkqqtxyx6fn7zg7bfz5hjgoxffxzdpb3xins7ti)
