Ben Delo, the co-founder of cryptocurrency trading platform Bitmex, is Britain's first bitcon billionaire, according to British media.
The 34-year-old Oxford graduate, who founded Bitmex in 2014 with Samuel Reed and Arthur Hayes, has also become the nation's youngest self-made billionaire.
Incidentally, Arthur Hayes speculated last week that Bitcoin would reach $50,000 by year end.
Bitmex is currently one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, which is worth around $3.6 billion. It currently has an estimated 24-hour trade volume of approximately $2.55 billion.
It was the maths and computer science graduate who built the Hong Kong-based firm's trading engine.
Ben Delo makes his fortune by taking a fee from every bitcoin transaction made through BitMex.
"I have had my nose down in a start-up for the past four years. I was doing 18-hour days at one point," he told the Sunday Times.
Delo worked for IBM as a software engineer, and then as Assistant Vice President at JP Morgan, before founding Bitmex along with his U.S. colleagues.
Delo is said to be leading a frugal lifestyle in Hong Kong, accompanied by his wife Pan Pan Wong.
Inspired by the gestures of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, he is reportedly pursuing philanthropic efforts.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News
June 19, 2026 16:46 ET Major central banks continued to dominate the economic news flow this week too, led by the Federal Reserve, as they announced their latest policy decisions. The Federal Reserve policy session was in focus as it was the first to be led by the new chief Kevin Warsh. In Europe, central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland announced their rate decisions. In Asia, the Bank of Japan drew attention for its policy moves, while data out of China threw some light on the state of the economy.