Tax cuts, a new PM and a Nigel Farage comeback – what 2024 could have in store for UK politics

Published

2 years ago

December 29, 2023

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With the start of a new year, the 2024 general election campaign will officially get under way. The time for festive frivolity and fun is over.

Rishi Sunak poked fun at himself with a highly amusing Home Alone-style video filmed in Number 10 Downing Street for Christmas day. Sir Keir Starmer and wife Victoria went to the pub for a Christmas day drink.

But politics is about to get deadly serious now. And, possibly, dirty and nasty too, with the two main parties unleashing bitter personal attacks on their opponent’s leader.

So buckle up. It’s going to be a bumpy ride. The starting gun for the election campaign is about to be fired.

Here’s how 2024 is likely to shape up, month by month

JANUARY

The big new year battle between the parties – and between Rishi Sunak and his mutinous Tory backbenchers – will be a parliamentary dogfight over the government’s controversial Rwanda Bill, or – to give it its full title – the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill.

The prime minister comfortably won the vote at second reading with a majority of 43. But that was because Tory right-wingers, who claim the bill is feeble and won’t “stop the boats”, were persuaded to abstain rather than vote against it.

So what did the PM promise them? And will they block the bill in its later stages, which are expected to begin in the week beginning 15 January? At its worst, defeat on such a flagship piece of legislation could bring down the government. And we’d be into a very, very early election.

The Rwanda battle is a big test for the increasingly gaffe-prone Home Secretary James Cleverly, who was accused of calling the Rwanda scheme “bats**t”, a Labour MP’s constituency a “s**t-hole” – both of which he denied – and joked about giving his wife a date-rape drug, which he didn’t deny but apologised for.

If the Rwanda Bill and the “stop the boats” policy fails, Mr Cleverly will surely get the blame. The embattled home secretary can’t even rely on the experienced former immigration minister Robert Jenrick for help any more. He’s now one of the rebels.

Before the parliamentary clashes, Mr Sunak and Sir Keir are expected to kick off the year with big policy speeches, setting out their priorities, as they did last year. That was when Mr Sunak unveiled his five pledges, including “stop the boats”. And haven’t they gone well!

Sir Keir, meanwhile, is understood to be poised to announce alternatives to the government’s Rwanda plan, designed to neutralise Tory attacks that seek to brand him as weak on immigration. Good luck, as they say, with that.

FEBRUARY

After seven bruising parliamentary by-elections in 2023, another is looming for Rishi Sunak in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, after the maverick and somewhat eccentric Tory MP Peter Bone was ousted in a recall petition after being found guilty in a parliamentary inquiry of bullying and exposing himself to a staff member.

Although it was held by Labour from the 1997 Tony Blair landslide until 2005, it’s a safe Tory seat with a majority of 18,540. So what’s the problem for the Conservatives? Well, the Tory majority was 20,137 in Selby and Ainsty, 19,634 in Tamworth and a massive 24,664 in Mid Bedfordshire – and all three fell to Labour in by-elections.

It’s also possible that Mr Bone, who continues to protest his innocence, will stand as an independent, making it even harder for the Conservatives to hold the seat.

And let’s not forget that another by-election is likely later in the year in the much more marginal seat of Blackpool South, where Tory MP Scott Benton is facing suspension and possible recall petition after being caught in a lobbying sting. His majority was only 3,690.

MARCH

We now know that Jeremy Hunt’s budget will be on 6 March, fewer than 10 weeks away and unusually early for a spring budget. Last year’s was on 15 March.

The reason it’s so early? Well, obviously to leave open the option of an early election, in May. Or, more likely, to make Labour believe the Tories are keeping open the option of a dash to the polls.

In 1992, Norman Lamont’s pre-election giveaway budget was on 10 March. He brought in the 20% tax rate for low earners and raised thresholds. John Major called an election the next day and on 9 April won an unexpected victory with a majority of 21. Rishi Sunak would gladly take that, given the state of the opinion polls at the turn of the year.

One option for Mr Hunt is to cut or abolish inheritance tax. That would delight Tory right-wingers, but many red wall MPs believe there are better ways to cut taxes and help those on lower and average incomes. Labour would also condemn it as a tax cut for millionaires.

Tories who back scrapping inheritance tax argue, however, that it would create a clear dividing line with Labour, unlike raising the 40% income tax threshold or cutting the 20% basic rate, which Labour might support.

March is also the month when parliament would have to be dissolved if there’s to be a May election. Since the abolition of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, an election is now held 25 working days after dissolution, not counting weekends and bank holidays.

APRIL

The start of a new financial year in April is when Mr Hunt and Mr Sunak want any tax cuts to land in people’s pay packets, especially if there is to be a May election.

Even if the election is not until October, the Conservatives will want voters to feel the benefit of budget tax cuts. That’s why Tory MPs are so desperate for the chancellor to cut taxes as soon as possible, hoping a tax giveaway will help cut Labour’s stubborn opinion poll lead, which is around 20 percentage points at the turn of the year.

MAY

Unless Mr Sunak calls a snap election in the spring, the final test of public opinion before a general election takes place on 2 May, with local elections in England and Wales.

There are polls in metropolitan boroughs, unitary authorities and district councils and for big city mayors and police and crime commissioners.

After benefiting from a ULEZ backlash in the by-election in Boris Johnson’s former constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip in July, the Tories will be hoping to turn the London mayoral election into a referendum on ULEZ.

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But despite the unpopularity of ULEZ, Labour’s Sadiq Khan is odds on to win a record third term, largely because the Conservatives picked a relatively unknown candidate, Susan Hall, as his opponent.

A more significant mayoral election will be Tory mayor Andy Street’s bid to win re-election in the West Midlands, a region full of marginal parliamentary constituencies which is always a key general election battleground.

JUNE

A Tory rout in the May elections – possible, if the end-of-year opinion polls are to be believed – will trigger severe Tory jitters and blind panic among many backbenchers convinced they’re on course to lose their seat in the general election.

And with Nigel Farage‘s former party, Reform UK, now polling at between 9% and 11% in opinion polls, MPs and activists on the right of the Conservative Party will see Mr Farage, a hero to many after his I’m a Celebrity jungle exploits, as their saviour.

There’s a clamour for a Farage comeback from some, and the Conservatives may be open to a deal that persuades current Reform UK leader Richard Tice to drop his threat to stand in every constituency in the UK, including against Eurosceptic Tory MPs. That threat surely cannot hold until the general election.

What price Lord Farage or Lord Tice, in return for a pledge not to oppose Tory MPs in the election? Mr Farage has said he plans to “sit out” the next general election. In other words, not stand as a candidate. After all, he has stood for parliament unsuccessfully seven times. Yes, seven.

King’s Birthday Honours, anyone?

JULY

If Rishi Sunak is planning an October election, July is his last chance to freshen up his top team ahead of the election in a cabinet reshuffle.

One possible move is easing out, or sideways, Jeremy Hunt, and installing his protege and favourite Claire Coutinho as chancellor. Some MPs think Mr Sunak wants to do that to rob Labour’s Rachel Reeves of the honour of becoming the UK’s first female chancellor.

Currently energy secretary, after a rapid rise to the cabinet since her election as MP for former chancellor Sir Geoffrey Howe’s Surrey East constituency in 2019, she’s only 38.

Unless Mr Hunt turned down a sideways move, he’d be a good fit for home secretary, replacing gaffe-prone Mr Cleverly, and would complete the trio of serving in all three so-called “great offices of state”, having previously been foreign secretary.

AUGUST

No let-up in campaigning if we’re hurtling towards an October election. Expect to see Tory attack dog Richard Holden, the party chairman whose parliamentary seat is disappearing in boundary changes, let off the leash.

And for Labour, look out for the party’s deputy leader Angela Rayner as she takes her “Rayner on the road” campervan to your town. We can even expect to see lots of seaside campaigning. Just what you want when you’re sunbathing on the beach!

SEPTEMBER

Parliament will meet for what’s known as “wash-up”, tidying up and completing all unfinished business in the parliamentary session.

But it will also be time for the House of Commons to say goodbye to several big beasts who’ve held senior positions in their party and are standing down. Some of them are veterans, but some are not so mature.

Senior Tories leaving the Commons include Ben Wallace, Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid and Matt Hancock and from Labour Harriet Harman, Dame Margaret Beckett and Dame Margaret Hodge. Most will surely soon be back in parliament in the House of Lords.

A September dissolution probably means no party conferences, though since they make money there may be moves to keep them. More likely, though, there’ll be campaign rallies around the country instead.

OCTOBER

The election date? The Tories had considered 31 October, but it’s Halloween, of course, and they wouldn’t want headlines about an election “fright night”. So the week before, Thursday 24 October, looks the favourite.

During the campaign, the two main parties are likely to bring some of their top box office performers out of retirement to work their magic on the voters.

So, for the Tories, despite his “Marmite” appeal, Boris Johnson will no doubt be urged to woo red wall voters in the former Labour seats with his brand of Brexity populism, while the housewives’ favourite, the new foreign secretary Lord David Cameron is likely to be asked to charm posh middle class Tories in the shires.

For Labour, Sir Tony Blair hasn’t lost his magic and will be back. And even grumpy Gordon Brown is revered by Scots and will surely be deployed to repel the yellow peril of the SNP north of the border.

And the result? If there’s a hung parliament, it could all take weeks or even months to sort out, as it did in 2010 when the Lib Dems took an age before deciding to go into coalition with Mr Cameron. And a fat lot of good it did them in the 2015 election!

NOVEMBER

Don’t underestimate the impact of the US presidential election, on Tuesday 5 November, on UK politics and indeed on international affairs if Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Nigel Farage, whether he’s inside or outside the Tory big tent by then, will surely be among the first on a plane to Washington. Closely followed, almost certainly, by Boris Johnson.

A Trump victory in the US is likely to trigger a loud and excitable “bring back Boris” campaign if the Tories have lost an October election.

A Trump presidency will also be a nightmare for whoever is UK PM, whether it’s still Mr Sunak or Sir Keir finding his feet in Downing Street. Ukraine and the Middle East would become dangerous political minefields for a UK prime minister as well as brutal war zones.

If Mr Sunak has lost, he’ll no doubt be out in days. The Tory party is very unforgiving of a loser.

DECEMBER

But who will succeed Mr Sunak in a pre-Christmas Tory leadership election if he has lost the general election? Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch, rival queens of the Tory right, will certainly run.

Boris Johnson? We may hear his famous quote – “If the ball came loose from the back of the scrum…” from him once again.

Nigel Farage? He did say “Never say never” after his jungle jaunt, in what was seen as a hint that he might return to the Tories as part of a dream ticket with Mr Johnson.

Far-fetched? Probably. But Margaret Thatcher famously said that in politics “the unexpected always happens”. And who would’ve predicted the return of Lord Cameron as he strode up Downing Street that November morning?

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With the party’s big lead in the polls, a Labour win in 2024 is widely predicted. But could Mr Sunak repeat John Major’s shock victory of 1992?

If he does he’ll be able to record another Home Alone video in Downing Street next Christmas. And Sir Keir and his wife will have more time to go to the pub.

Politics

Nigel Farage sang antisemitic songs to Jewish classmates, former Dulwich pupil claims

Published

8 hours ago

December 6, 2025

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Nigel Farage sang antisemitic songs to Jewish classmates, former Dulwich pupil claims

Nigel Farage sang antisemitic songs to Jewish schoolmates – and had a “big issue with anyone called Patel”, a former schoolfriend has claimed.

Jean-Pierre Lihou, 61, was initially friends with the Reform UK leader when he arrived at Dulwich College in the 1970s, at the time when Mr Farage is accused of saying antisemitic and other racist remarks by more than a dozen pupils.

But Mr Lihou, who is half-German and said he went for a couple of sleepovers at Mr Farage’s parent’s house, told Sky News’ Amanda Akass that it “soon become obvious he was not quite the same person I thought he was”.

Warning: This article contains references to antisemitic slurs which readers may find offensive

Another former pupil, Stefan Benarroch, who was in the year below Mr Farage and is Jewish, said that Mr Farage was “not a kid” when he made alleged antisemitic remarks and his behaviour was “unacceptable in any era”.

Mr Farage has said he “never directly racially abused anybody” at Dulwich and said there is a “strong political element” to the allegations coming out 49 years later. Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice has called the ex-classmates “liars”.

A Reform UK spokesman accused Sky News of “scraping the barrel” and were “desperate to stop us winning the next election”.

‘People were hurt by it‘

Mr Lihou told Sky News Mr Farage used to direct antisemitic songs at his Jewish friend Peter Ettedgui, who is one of the main former classmates to have spoken out against the Reform leader.

“He used to sing: ‘Gas them all, gas them out, gas them all, into the chambers they crawl’ – and the rest of those horrible words,” he said.

“You think, when somebody is obviously distressed by that, why do you keep doing it? The humour wears off… when you see this, and because I’m German I’m particularly sensitive to anyone making that kind of analogy.”

Mr Lihou also said Mr Farage used to “pass comment on anyone that wasn’t white, particularly Indians”.

He said: “He had a great big issue with anyone called Patel because I think the school had at one point more Patels than Smiths. That seemed to irk him.

“Anybody who wasn’t white, he was likely to have a comment pretty much throughout my school life, especially Jewish people. I think that was the worst thing because you could obviously see that people were hurt by it.”

‘He was truly ghastly’

Mr Benarroch, who was also friends with Mr Ettedgui, told Sky News: “His behaviour as a teenager was unacceptable by any standards and in any era. He was truly ghastly at Dulwich College.”

He said he would never have come across Mr Farage “had I not been a Jew”.

“He and his minions – and one of his minions, in particular, was my tormentor at Dulwich – they would spot us coming out of Jewish prayers on a Friday,” he added.

“So his behaviour at 16, 17, 18 – and you are a man at 18, you’re technically an adult – was truly appalling. So we’re not talking about a kid here.”

The property developer said the racism allegations are “not just about Nigel Farage as a teenager, this is also about Nigel Farage as an adult”.

“His behaviour as a teenager was unacceptable by any standards and in any era. He was truly ghastly at Dulwich College,” he added.

‘These things don’t leave you’

Mr Benarroch, who is no longer a practising Jew, added: “I was terrified of his bullies, he had these guys hanging around with him who were instructed to have a go at us as these young, nice Jewish boys.

“I don’t recall ever having direct contact with Nigel Farage, but certainly I was very much a witness to his tormenting of others, especially Peter Ettudgui.

“He [Mr Farage] was so extreme, these things don’t leave you, they don’t leave your body, as such.”

On Thursday, Mr Farage launched into a tirade at the BBC after one of its reporters asked about the claims, with the politician reading out a letter he said was from someone he went to school with.

He quoted the unnamed Jewish pupil as saying there was “plenty of macho, tongue-in-cheek schoolboy banter” and said sometimes it “was offensive, but never with malice”.

The problem for Farage is the story is only getting bigger

Amanda Akass

Political correspondent

@amandaakass

Allegations about Nigel Farage’s schooldays have hit the headlines since the early days of the Brexit campaign in 2013.

He has always dismissed such claims as ‘politically motivated’ and insisted recently he has ‘never directly racially abused anybody’.

But now with the prospect of Prime Minister Farage looking ever more likely – former classmates have decided now is the moment to speak up about their concerns, almost fifty years later.

The allegations are deeply shocking. Jean-Pierre Lihou told me Farage used to sing a sickening song about the Nazi gas chambers, which began ‘gas them all, gas them out, gas them all, into the chambers they crawl’.

Lihou claims Farage said non-white pupils should be sent home and had a particular issue with the fact that at one point the school had more pupils with the surname ‘Patel’ than ‘Smith’.

Stephan Benarroch meanwhile told my colleague Ali Fortescue he witnessed Farage ‘tormenting others’ and was himself ‘terrified’ by Farage’s ‘gang of bullies’ who he claims ‘were instructed to have a go at us as these young, nice Jewish boys’ on their way back from Friday prayers.

The Guardian – whose investigation last month prompted a renewed focus on the issue – reports that 28 former teachers and pupils have come forward to report witnessing antisemitic or racist behaviour from him.

A group of Holocaust survivors are now calling on Farage to either admit whether he said the words he’s accused of saying, and apologise, or accuse those who said he did of lying.

His political opponents – battered for so long in the polls by Reform UK – are keen to pile on the pressure too. Both Labour and Liberal Democrats have urged him to ‘come clean’ and apologise.

The Tories have also argued that if it’s true, Farage should say sorry, though Kemi Badenoch has certainly been more nuanced in her response than other political rivals, making the point that what most people may say as teenagers is very different from what they would say as adults.

The problem for Farage is that far from going away – the story is only getting bigger.

He’s clearly hugely frustrated by this – as evidenced by the angry tirade he launched against the BBC this week when their reporter asked about the allegations. He argued it’s ‘double standards’ to criticise what he was alleged to have said 49 years ago, at a time when broadcasters were still showing blackface in The Black and White Minstrel Show. He also read out a letter he said had been sent to him by a Jewish contemporary pupil, who described ‘plenty of macho, tongue-in-cheek schoolboy banter’ – which, while sometimes ‘offensive’, was ‘never with malice’.

Reform have hit back against our story in bullish fashion, accusing Sky News of scraping the barrel in a desperate attempt to stop Reform UK winning the next election.

Of course the question of who will win the next election isn’t down to journalists – but voters.

And the jeopardy for Reform is whether these allegations will deter enough potential voters – particularly wavering Tories – to disrupt what has thus far been an unstoppable wave of support.

‘It was not schoolboy banter’

Mr Benarroch rejected Mr Farage’s claim it was just “schoolboy banter” and said he has continued to show the same views, just in a less obvious way.

“You tell that [that it was banter] to the guys, to Peter who had ‘Hitler should have gassed you’ said to him,” he said.

“Peter Ettedgui was tormented by Nigel Farage.

“The point I’m making is, he’s a grown man now. He’s a highly intelligent politician with nuance when it suits him, and so clearly he’s not going around saying ‘Hitler should have gassed you all’, obviously.”

The former Dulwich student said Mr Farage had “kept the most disgraceful company imaginable” in the US during the 2010s on radio and TV shows.

He specifically named Rick Wiles, a far-right American conspiracy theorist whose YouTube channel was banned in 2020 after calling Donald Trump’s impeachment a “Jew coup”.

Mr Benarroch, who said he is not part of any political party, said “there is no political motivation” behind his allegations, but accused Reform and Mr Farage of making “a political statement” by calling them liars.

On Thursday, Mr Farage said he had received multiple letters from former pupils in support of him.

He said a letter from a Jewish schoolmate, said: “While there was plenty of macho tongue-in-cheek schoolboy banter, it was humour, and yes, sometimes it was offensive… but never with malice.

“I never heard him [Farage] racially abuse anyone.”

A Reform UK spokesman “accused Sky News of scraping the barrel”.

He said: “This ridiculous interview has nothing to do with Nigel Farage himself but apparently someone who knew him at school almost 50 years ago.

“Sky News are desperate to stop us winning the next election.”

Politics

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

Published

18 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.