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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has reiterated the government’s commitments to make benefits sanctions harsher – while also committing to raising the national living wage above £11 an hour.

In his speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, the senior minister also revealed a plan to save £1bn by freezing the expansion of the Civil Service and reducing the level of staffing to pre-pandemic levels.

Mr Hunt‘s intervention comes around six weeks ahead of his autumn financial statement.

While not as tumultuous as his predecessor’s party conference speech last year – where Kwasi Kwarteng had to admit his party was U-turning on a key part of his mini-budget – Mr Hunt is still under pressure.

Tory conference live: Party chair makes admission about next election

Many voices within the Conservative Party want him to cut taxes, including cabinet ministers.

Speaking to Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said he would “like to see the tax burden reduced by the next election”.

Mr Hunt on Saturday said the government was “not in a position to talk about tax cuts at all” – but all bets are off when it comes to party conferences.

The government has been eyeing welfare changes as a way to cut down on spending, and also encouraging people back into work in a bid to grow the economy.

Jeremy Hunt
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The chancellor will address conference today


Mr Hunt told the party membership in Manchester: “Since the pandemic, things have been going in the wrong direction. Whilst companies struggle to find workers, around 100,000 people are leaving the labour force every year for a life on benefits.

“As part of that, we will look at the way the sanctions regime works. It is a fundamental matter of fairness. Those who won’t even look for work do not deserve the same benefits as people trying hard to do the right thing.”

Read more:
Gove calls for tax cuts ahead of next election

Sunak and Johnson overseen largest tax rises since WW2

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Government divided over tax

The chancellor also announced that Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride would look again at the benefit sanctions regime to make it harder for people to claim benefits while refusing to take active steps to move into work.

And a spokesman confirmed the proposals would be set out in the upcoming autumn statement.

Speaking last month, Mr Stride said that he was consulting on changes to the Work Capability Assessment, the test aimed at establishing how much a disability or illness limits someone’s ability to work.

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Tories tight-lipped on tax cut prospects

Mr Hunt also confirmed a new policy that could seek people looking for new jobs, with a freeze on the number of civil servants.

“We have the best civil servants in the world – and they saved many lives in the pandemic by working night and day,” said the chancellor. “But even after that pandemic is over, we still have 66,000 more civil servants than before.

“New policies should not always mean new people. So today I’m freezing the expansion of the civil service and putting in place a plan to reduce its numbers to pre-pandemic levels. This will save £1bn next year.

“And I won’t lift the freeze until we have a proper plan not just for the civil service but for all public sector productivity improvements.”

But the move was criticised by the Public and Commercial Services union general secretary, Mark Serwotka, who said: “Thirty seconds after praising civil servants for their work during the pandemic, Jeremy Hunt announced a freeze on recruitment.

“Shrinking an already-overstretched and under-resourced civil service will inevitably result in cuts to vital services that people depend on.”

He added: “As usual, a Conservative government is seeking to blame working people for the incompetence of their own ministers.”

Raising the living wage

On the national living wage, Mr Hunt said the government was going to accept the Low Pay Commission’s recommendation to raise the baseline to at least £11 an hour from April 2024.

Resisting sizeable pay increases in the public sector has been part of the government’s strategy to keep spending and inflation under control.

Mr Hunt said: “Since we introduced the national living wage, nearly two million people have been lifted from absolute poverty. That’s the Conservative way of improving the lives of working people. Boosting pay, cutting tax.”

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Ahead of the speech, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said: “I’ve always made it clear that hard work should pay, and today we’re providing a well-earned pay rise to millions of people across the country.

“This means a full-time worker will receive an increase of over £1,000 to their annual earnings, putting more money in the pockets of the lowest paid.

“We’re sending a clear message to hard-working taxpayers across the country; our Conservative government is on your side”.

Hunt struggles to be heard above tax cut hollers

The chancellor’s speech usually sets the agenda at conference, but today, Jeremy Hut was playing catch up.

He’s been struggling to be heard among the clamour within his party for tax cuts.

Today he attempted to regain control of the narrative – chiefly that bringing down inflation is the “best tax cut” the government can give to the public.

“We’re getting there,” he said. “The plan is working and now we must see it through – just as Margaret Thatcher did many years ago.”

It was a rebuke to members of his own party as much as it was to Labour, as just hours earlier, former prime minister Liz Truss was leading the charge on the issue.

Speaking at a packed fringe event, she said that tax cuts were the key to making the Tories “the party of business again” and “unlocking economic growth”.

And she urged the government to cut corporation tax to 19% at the autumn statement.

But during his appearance, the chancellor warned that while it was easy to support a high growth and low tax economy, it was “harder to make it happen”.

Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, said her party “believes in responsibility – that those who can work, should look for work and take jobs when they are offered”.

But she said the government also had “a responsibility to create real opportunities and not write people off”, adding: “This is something the Tories have utterly failed to deliver.

“We now have record numbers of people out of work due to long-term sickness, which is costing taxpayers an extra £15bn a year just since the pandemic.

“[Labour] will tackle the root causes of economic inactivity by driving down NHS waiting lists, reforming social security, making work pay, and supporting people into good jobs across every part of the country. Real opportunities matched by the responsibility to take them up – because that’s what fairness is all about.”

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US sanctions 8 crypto wallets tied to Garantex, Houthis

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US sanctions 8 crypto wallets tied to Garantex, Houthis

US sanctions 8 crypto wallets tied to Garantex, Houthis

The US Treasury Department sanctioned eight cryptocurrency wallet addresses linked to Russian crypto exchange Garantex and the Houthis.

The United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned eight crypto addresses that data from blockchain forensic firms Chainalysis and TRM Labs had linked to the organizations. Two are deposit addresses at major crypto platforms, while the other six are privately controlled.

Russia, Terrorism, Sanctions, Money Laundering

Visualization of transaction flow related to OFAC sanctions. Source: Chainalysis

The addresses in question reportedly moved nearly $1 billion worth of funds linked to sanctioned entities. Most of the transactions funded Houthi operations in Yemen and the Red Sea region.

Slava Demchuk, a crypto-focused money laundering specialist and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime consultant told Cointelegraph that “the inclusion of Houthi-linked wallets reflects a broader recognition of crypto’s role in geopolitical conflicts and terrorism financing.” He added:

“The implications are far-reaching — compliance frameworks must adapt swiftly, attribution efforts will intensify, and decentralized platforms may face increased scrutiny.“

Demchuk highlighted that the situation reshapes the regulatory landscape. According to him, crypto “is now firmly within the scope of international security.

Who are the Houthis?

The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, are a Yemeni political and armed movement that emerged from the Zaidi Shia community. Originating as a revivalist and reformist group, they later became a major force in Yemen’s ongoing conflict.

Related: US DOJ says it seized Hamas crypto meant to finance terrorism

In recent years, the Houthis have engaged in attacks against both military and civilian vessels in the Red Sea with missiles and drones. In January, US President Donald Trump designated the group as a foreign terrorist organization.

The announcement noted that “the Houthis’ activities threaten the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East, the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade.” The group was recently struck by a US bombing campaign.

Related: Binance claims’ no special relationship’ with Hamas, argues to dismiss lawsuit

Garantex: Russia’s crypto laundromat

Garantex is a Russian crypto exchange that was sanctioned and shut down in early March after purportedly helping money-laundering efforts. At the time, Tether — the leading stablecoin operator and issuer of USDt — froze $27 million in USDt on the platform, forcing it to halt operations.

The platform has reportedly shifted millions of dollars as it sought to reboot under its new brand, “Grinex.

In mid-March, officials with India’s Central Bureau of Investigation announced the arrest of Lithuanian national Aleksej Bešciokov, who was alleged to have operated the cryptocurrency exchange Garantex.

The arrest of the alleged Garantex founder was based on US charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

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Alabama, Minnesota lawmakers join US states pushing for Bitcoin reserves

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Alabama, Minnesota lawmakers join US states pushing for Bitcoin reserves

Alabama, Minnesota lawmakers join US states pushing for Bitcoin reserves

Lawmakers in the US states of Minnesota and Alabama filed companion bills to identical existing bills that if passed into law, would allow each state to buy Bitcoin.

The Minnesota Bitcoin Act, or HF 2946, was introduced to the state’s House by Republican Representative Bernie Perryman on April 1, following an identical bill introduced on March 17 by GOP state Senator Jeremy Miller.

Meanwhile, on the same day in Alabama, Republican state Senator Will Barfoot introduced Senate Bill 283, while a bi-partisan group of representatives led by Republican Mike Shaw filed the identical House Bill 482, which allows for the state to invest in crypto, but essentially limits it to Bitcoin (BTC).

Twin Alabama bills don’t explicitly name Bitcoin

Minnesota’s Bitcoin Act would allow the state’s investment board to invest state assets in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and permit state employees to add crypto to retirement accounts.

It would also exempt crypto gains from state income taxes and give residents the option to pay state taxes and fees with Bitcoin.

Alabama, Minnesota lawmakers join US states pushing for Bitcoin reserves

Source: Bitcoin Laws

The twin Alabama bills don’t explicitly identify Bitcoin, but would limit the state’s crypto investment into assets that have a minimum market value of $750 billion, a criterion that only Bitcoin currently meets.

26 Bitcoin reserve bills now introduced in the US

Introducing identical bills is not uncommon in the US and is typically done to speed up the bicameral legislative process so laws can pass more quickly.

Bills to create a Bitcoin reserve have been introduced in 26 US states, with Arizona currently the closest to passing a law to make one, according to data from the bill tracking website Bitcoin Laws.

Alabama, Minnesota lawmakers join US states pushing for Bitcoin reserves

Arizona currently leads in the US state Bitcoin reserve race. Source: Bitcoin Laws

Pennsylvania was one of the first US states to introduce a Bitcoin reserve bill, in November 2024. However, the initiative was reportedly eventually rejected, with similar bills also killed in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Related: North Carolina bills would add crypto to state’s retirement system 

Law, Bitcoin Regulation, United States, Policy, Bitcoin Reserve

Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wyoming are the five states thathave rejected Bitcoin reserve initiatives. Source: Bitcoin Laws

According to a March 3 report by Barron’s, “red states” like Montana have faced setbacks to the Bitcoin reserve initiatives amid political confrontations between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

Additional reporting by Helen Partz.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

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US House committee passes stablecoin-regulating STABLE Act

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US House committee passes stablecoin-regulating STABLE Act

US House committee passes stablecoin-regulating STABLE Act

Update (April 3, 5:43 am UTC): This article has been updated to add information on the STABLE Act and GENIUS Act.

The US House Financial Services Committee has passed a Republican-backed stablecoin framework bill, which will now head to the House floor for a full vote.

The Committee passed the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act, with a 32-17 vote on April 2, with six Democrats voting in favor.

The bill was introduced on Feb. 6 by committee Chair French Hill and the chair of its Digital Assets Subcommittee, Bryan Steil — reportedly drafted with the help of the world’s largest stablecoin issue, Tether.

US House committee passes stablecoin-regulating STABLE Act

Source: Financial Services GOP

The bill would provide rules around payment stablecoins, a crypto token tied to a currency such as the US dollar, and aims to ensure issuers give information about their business and how they back their tokens.

During an earlier markup session, the committee’s leading Democrat, Maxine Waters, who later voted against the bill, criticized her Republican peers for “setting an unacceptable and dangerous precedent” with the STABLE Act.

She said President Donald Trump could use the bill to allow his family’s stablecoin to be used in government payments, and argued the bill validates Trump “and his insiders’ efforts to write rules of the road that will enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else.”

In late March, the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial crypto venture launched a stablecoin, World Liberty Financial USD (USD1). Meanwhile, the US Housing Department, which oversees social housing, was reportedly looking to experiment with using stablecoins for some of its functions.

Stablecoin GENIUS Act also weaves through Congress 

Other stablecoin-related bills are also working their way through Congress, including the Republican-led Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or GENIUS Act, which lays out oversight and reserve rules for issuers.

Related: Crypto has a regulatory capture problem in Washington — or does it?

The US Senate Banking Committee voted through the GENIUS Act in an 18-6 vote on March 13, after Senator Bill Hagerty, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, updated it following consultation with the Committee’s Democrats.

Before the vote, Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said the updated GENIUS Act made “significant improvements to a number of important provisions” in areas such as consumer protections and authorized stablecoin issuers.

Both the STABLE Act and GENIUS Act will now wait until debate time on the floor of the House and Senate, respectively, before they head for a floor vote.

Crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett reported on X that two unnamed crypto lobbyists said there is likely to be “a coordinated push behind the scenes over the next few weeks to get the two bills to mirror each other, as there are still some differences between them.”

Doing so would “avoid having to set up a so-called conference committee which is formed so members from both chambers can negotiate to create a final version of the bill everyone agrees on,” she added.

Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025

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