BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo has pledged 20 million pounds ($27 million) to the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences (LIMS), marking one of the largest private donations to a UK research institution outside Oxford and Cambridge. The donation includes $13.3 million upfront, with the remainder released once LIMS matches the amount through fundraising. The commitment is part of a broader $80 million endowment campaign to secure the institute’s long-term research programs.
Delo highlighted his desire to support world-class scientific achievements, saying he hopes LIMS researchers will win Fields Medals and Nobel Prizes. He emphasized that the institute’s model, which allows researchers to focus solely on research without teaching or administrative duties, was a key factor in his decision to contribute.
Background and Previous Contributions
Delo co-founded BitMEX in 2014 and pleaded guilty to U.S. banking violations in 2022, paying a $10 million fine. He received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump in March 2025. As a LIMS trustee, Delo has previously funded initiatives supporting academic freedom, neurodiversity, and mathematical research. In 2025, he established the Ben Delo Fellowship at LIMS to advance theoretical physics, pure mathematics, and artificial intelligence research.
Founded in 2011 by physicist Thomas Fink, LIMS operates from the historic Royal Institution and hosts three-year fellowships, attracting international researchers, including exiled scientists from Russia and Ukraine.
This donation reinforces private support for advanced mathematics and theoretical research in the UK while addressing challenges in public scientific funding.
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