‘No question of lights going out this winter’ business secretary declares – as gas prices soar

Published

4 years ago

September 20, 2021

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There is “absolutely no question of the lights going out this winter” and the energy price cap will remain in place despite escalating gas prices, the business secretary has said.

Kwasi Kwarteng said the cap “protects millions of consumers” and reiterated “the need for us all to prioritise consumers” during crisis talks with industry figures.

Following the talks, he told the House of Commons: ”We have sufficient capacity, and more than sufficient capacity, to meet demand and we do not expect supply emergencies to occur this winter.

“There’s absolutely no question of the lights going out or people being unable to heat their homes.

”There’ll be no three-day working weeks or a throwback to the 1970s. Such thinking is alarmist, unhelpful and completely misguided.”

Labour’s Ed Miliband accused the government of complacency and said it had known for a long time about the issue with gas.

Mr Kwarteng added that the UK “benefits from having a diverse range of gas supply sources” and gas production in Norway will “significantly increase” from 1 October to support UK and European demand.

Wholesale prices for gas have increased 250% since the start of the year and there has been a 70% rise since August.

Consumers are protected from sudden price hikes by the energy price cap, but this puts pressure on suppliers as they cannot pass on the increase in wholesale gas prices to customers.

The rise has been put down to a number of factors, including a cold winter leaving stocks depleted, high demand for liquefied natural gas from Asia and a drop in supplies from Russia.

Four firms have already gone bust and there are fears that others could follow suit, with energy company Bulb, which has 1.7m customers, confirming it is seeking a bailout to stay afloat.

But Mr Kwarteng said the government “will not be bailing out companies, there are no rewards for failing”.

He did not say if this applied to the big energy companies as well as the small ones.

What happens if your energy supplier goes bust?

If a supplier fails, Ofgem will ensure customers’ gas and electricity supply continues uninterrupted.

Customers will be switched to a “supplier of last resort” and any credit with the old supplier will be transferred.

If a supplier of last resort is not possible, a special administrator would be appointed by Ofgem and the government.

Your old tariff will end and the new supplier will put you on a special “deemed” contract, which will last for as long as you want it to.

The deemed contract could cost you more, as the new supplier takes on more risk (for example, possibly having to buy extra wholesale energy at short notice to supply to the new customers), but Ofgem says it will try to get the best deal for you.

You should take meter readings as you will need to pass these on to your new supplier.

Once your new supplier has been in touch, ask them to put you on their cheapest deal. Then shop around and switch if you want to. You won’t be charged exit fees.

Boris Johnson told Sky News political editor Beth Rigby, in New York, where he is for a UN climate change meeting: “I think you need to listen to what Kwasi Kwarteng has to say, he’s been working flat out with the energy companies, doing everything he can to help them.

“Clearly, their business model has been badly affected with the wholesale price massively increases, spikes in this way and loads of customers on fixed tariffs.

“We’re working very hard to find a way through, trying to keep a steady supply of gas.”

Some analysts have reportedly predicted the number of energy companies could drop by three quarters in the months to come, leaving as few as 10 still operating.

Mr Kwarteng said: “As I said, you may see more suppliers than usual exiting the market but this is not something which should be any cause for alarm.”

He added that he will be releasing a joint statement with regulator Ofgem later on Monday.

On Monday, Ofgem said British Gas will take over the 350,000 domestic customers of People’s Energy after it went bust earlier this month.

Speaking on Sunday after a meeting with Ofgem, Mr Kwarteng said “well-rehearsed plans” were in place to ensure consumers were not cut off in the event of further failures.

However, he is expected to come under pressure from the big suppliers for a major government support package to help them through the crisis.

Asked about the issue as he arrived in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “I think people should be reassured in the sense that yes there are a lot of short-term problems not just in our country, the UK, but around the world caused by gas supplies and shortages of all kinds.

“This is really a function of the world economy waking up after COVID.

“We’ve got to try and fix it as fast as we can, make sure we have the supplies we want, make sure we don’t allow the companies we rely on to go under. We’ll have to do everything we can.

“But this will get better as the market starts to sort itself out, as the world economy gets back on its feet.”

Labour’s shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said a lack of long-term planning from the government means “we are so exposed and vulnerable as a country and it is families and businesses that are paying the price”.

He continued: “The government must take all necessary steps to ensure stability for customers and do everything in its powers to mitigate the effects of this crisis on businesses and consumers.

“Yet it is making the squeeze on household finances worse by putting up taxes for working people and cutting Universal Credit.”

Politics

Bitcoin treads water at $90K as whales eat the Ethereum dip: Finance Redefined

Published

2 hours ago

December 5, 2025

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Bitcoin treads water at K as whales eat the Ethereum dip: Finance Redefined

Cryptocurrency markets saw another week of consolidation following last week’s long-awaited market recovery.

While Bitcoin (BTC) remained above the key $90,000 psychological level, investor sentiment continued to be dominated by “fear,” with a marginal improvement from 20 to 25 within the week, according to CoinMarketCap’s Fear & Greed index.

In the wider crypto space, the Ether (ETH) treasury trade appears to be unwinding, as the monthly acquisitions by Ethereum digital asset treasuries (DATs) fell 81% in the past three months from August’s peak.

Still, the biggest corporate Ether holder, BitMine Immersion Technologies, continued to amass ETH, while other treasury firms carried on with their fundraising efforts for future acquisitions.

*Fear & Greed index, all-time chart. Source: CoinMarketCap*

Investors are also awaiting the key interest rate decision during the US Federal Reserve’s upcoming meeting on Wednesday to provide more cues about monetary policy leading into 2026.

Markets are pricing in an 87% chance of a 25 basis point interest rate cut, up from 62% a month ago, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

*Interest rate cut probabilities. Source: CMEgroup.com*

Ethereum treasury trade unwinds 80% as handful of whales dominate buys

The Ethereum treasury trade appears to be unwinding as monthly acquisitions continue to decline since the August high, though the largest players continue to scoop up billions of the Ether supply.

Investments from Ethereum DATs fell 81% in the past three months, from 1.97 million Ether in August to 370,000 ETH in November, according to Bitwise, an asset management firm.

“ETH DAT bear continues,” wrote Max Shennon, senior research associate at Bitwise, in a Tuesday X post.

Despite the slowdown, some companies with stronger financial backgrounds continued to accumulate the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency or raise funds for future purchases.

BitMine Immersion Technologies, the largest corporate Ether holder, accumulated about 679,000 Ether worth $2.13 billion over the past month, completing 62% of its target to accumulate 5% of the ETH supply, according to data from the Strategicethreserve.

BitMine holds an additional $882 million worth of cash according to the data aggregator, which may signal more incoming Ether accumulation.

*Top corporate Ether holders. Source:* *Strategicethreserve.xyz*

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Citadel causes uproar by urging SEC to regulate DeFi tokenized stocks

Market maker Citadel Securities has recommended that the US Securities and Exchange Commission tighten regulations on decentralized finance regarding tokenized stocks, causing backlash from crypto users.

Citadel Securities told the SEC in a letter on Tuesday that DeFi developers, smart-contract coders, and self-custody wallet providers should not be given “broad exemptive relief” for offering trading of tokenized US equities.

It argued that DeFi trading platforms likely fall under the definitions of an “exchange” or “broker-dealer” and should be regulated under securities laws if offering tokenized stocks.

“Granting broad exemptive relief to facilitate the trading of a tokenized share via DeFi protocols would create two separate regulatory regimes for the trading of the same security,” it argued. “This outcome would be the exact opposite of the “technology-neutral” approach taken by the Exchange Act.”

Citadel’s letter, made in response to the SEC looking for feedback on how it should approach regulating tokenized stocks, has drawn considerable backlash from the crypto community and organizations advocating for innovation in the blockchain space.

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Arthur Hayes warns Monad could crash 99%, calls it high-risk “VC coin”

Crypto veteran Arthur Hayes has issued a warning over Monad, saying the recently launched layer-1 blockchain could plunge as much as 99% and end up as another failed experiment driven by venture capital hype rather than real adoption.

Speaking on Altcoin Daily, the former BitMEX chief described the project as “another high FDV, low-float VC coin,” arguing that its token structure alone puts retail traders at risk. FDV stands for Fully Diluted Value, which is the market value of a crypto project if all its tokens were already in circulation.

According to Hayes, projects with a large gap between FDV and circulating supply often experience early price spikes, followed by deep selloffs once insider tokens unlock. “It’s going to be another bear chain,” Hayes said, adding that while every new coin gets an initial pump, that does not mean it will develop a lasting use case.

Hayes said most new layer-1 networks ultimately fail, with only a handful likely to retain long-term relevance. He identified Bitcoin, Ether, Solana (SOL) and Zcash (ZEC) as the small group of protocols he expects to survive the next cycle.

Last year, Monad raised $225 million in funding from venture capital firm Paradigm. The layer-1 blockchain went live on Monday, accompanied by an airdrop of its MON token.

*Monad’s MON token up 40% since launch. Source:* *CoinMarketCap*

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$25 billion crypto lending market now led by “transparent” players: Galaxy

The crypto lending market has become more transparent than ever, led by the likes of Tether, Nexo and Galaxy, and has just hit an aggregate loan book of nearly $25 billion outstanding in the third quarter.

The size of the crypto lending market has increased by more than 200% since the beginning of 2024, according to Galaxy Research. Its latest quarter puts it at its highest since its peak in Q1 2022.

However, it has yet to return to its peak of $37 billion at that time.

The main difference is the number of new centralized finance lending platforms and much more transparency, said Galaxy’s head of research, Alex Thorn.

Thorn said on Sunday that he was proud of the chart and the transparency of its contributors, adding that it was a “big change from prior market cycles.”

*The crypto lending landscape has seen many new platforms in the past three years. Source: Alex Thorn*

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Portal to Bitcoin raises $25 million and launches atomic OTC desk

Bitcoin-native interoperability protocol Portal to Bitcoin has raised $25 million in funding amid the launch of what it describes as an atomic over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk.

According to a Thursday announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the company raised $25 million in a round led by digital asset lender JTSA Global. The fundraise follows previous investments by Coinbase Ventures, OKX Ventures, Arrington Capital and others.

Alongside the fresh funding, the company rolled out its Atomic OTC desk, promising “instant, trustless cross-chain settlement of large block trades.” The newly deployed service is reminiscent of crosschain atomic swaps offered by THORChain, Chainflip, and more Bitcoin-focused systems such as Liquality and Boltz.

What sets Portal to Bitcoin apart is its focus on the Bitcoin-anchored crosschain OTC market for institutions and whales, along with its tech stack. “Portal provides the infrastructure to make Bitcoin the settlement layer for global asset markets, without bridges, custodians, or wrapped assets,” said Chandra Duggirala, founder and CEO of Portal.

Decentralization — *Portal to Bitcoin team members, from left to right: co-founder and chief technology officer Manoj Duggirala, founder and CEO Chandra Duggirala, and co-founder George Burke. Source: Portal to Bitcoin*

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DeFi market overview

According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week in the red.

The Canton (CC) token fell 18%, marking the week’s biggest decline in the top 100, followed by the Starknet (STRK) token, down 16% on the weekly chart.

*Total value locked in DeFi. Source: DefiLlama*

Thanks for reading our summary of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and education regarding this dynamically advancing space.