Ben Delo commits $27M to mathematics research center following presidential pardon
Following his guilty plea to violations of US banking regulations in 2022 and a subsequent $10 million fine payment, Ben Delo received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump in March 2025.
Ben Delo, who co-founded BitMEX, has committed 20 million British pounds ($27 million) to support the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences (LIMS), establishing it as one of the most substantial private donations ever received by a United Kingdom research organization beyond Oxford and Cambridge, according to a Tuesday report from British publication Times Higher Education.
According to the Times Higher Education report, the donation structure involves an immediate payment of $13.3 million, with an additional $13.3 million contingent upon the Mayfair-located institution successfully matching that sum through supplementary fundraising efforts. The contribution initiates a broader fundraising initiative targeting an $80 million endowment designed to ensure LIMS' sustainability for the long term, the report states.
I would like to see LIMS winning Fields Medals and Nobel Prizes – they are already doing some world-class things and I want to help
Ben Delo
According to Delo, his decision to provide funding to LIMS rather than a more established university stems from the institute's structure that enables prominent researchers to dedicate themselves entirely to research activities without the obligations of teaching or administrative responsibilities. "They are also approaching research in an innovative way – even offering coaching on research," he stated, while also expressing criticism toward the UK's "lacklustre and inconsistent approach to scientific funding."
Delo paid $10 million fine before receiving Trump pardon
In 2022, Delo, who established cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX in 2014 alongside his co-founders, entered a guilty plea to violations of US banking regulations and subsequently paid a $10 million fine. In March 2025, he was granted a presidential pardon by Donald Trump.
Currently serving as a LIMS trustee, Delo has a history of supporting multiple philanthropic initiatives, including those focused on neurodiversity, academic freedom, and both mathematical education and research. The Ben Delo Fellowship at the London Institute was established through his funding in 2025.
Established in 2011 under the leadership of physicist Thomas Fink, LIMS conducts its operations from within the Royal Institution, occupying spaces historically used by chemist Michael Faraday. The research institute maintains an exclusive focus on scientific investigation, providing financial support for three-year fellowships spanning theoretical physics, pure mathematics and artificial intelligence. Over recent years, the organization has provided sanctuary to displaced Russian and Ukrainian scientists while also drawing researchers from the US.
Cointelegraph contacted LIMS requesting comment, but no response had been received prior to publication.
UK lawmakers call for temporary ban on crypto political donations
During the previous week, the leader of the UK's national security committee advocated for an immediate moratorium on political contributions made through cryptocurrency, cautioning that these types of transactions could facilitate foreign meddling in British electoral processes.
This development follows Reform UK's receipt of a historic $12 million contribution last year from Christopher Harborne, an early investor in cryptocurrency, representing the largest single political donation ever contributed by a living person in Britain.