October election? This was no slip of the tongue from Jeremy Hunt

Published

1 year ago

March 20, 2024

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What was Jeremy Hunt up to?

Was he aiming to snatch the headlines from his Labour rival Rachel Reeves on the evening of her weighty and well-trailed lecture on the economy?

Almost certainly.

Was he also aiming to tease Labour MPs about an October election when he and the prime minister are really planning for November?

Quite possibly.

Was he trying to calm Tory MPs’ jitters worried about a June or July election after Rishi Sunak ruled out 2 May?

No doubt.

And was he hoping to reassure his backbenchers that he and the PM have a credible economic strategy – “sticking to the plan” – including falling inflation and lower interest rates?

Of course.

Politics live: Chancellor appears to let slip when election might be

Mr Hunt’s tantalising “if the general election is in October” aside to the House of Lords’ economic affairs committee was surely no accident. No way was it a slip of the tongue.

The 14 peers who sit on their lordships’ equivalent of the Treasury select committee in the Commons include some wise and experienced old timers: an ex-chancellor and two former Treasury mandarins.

Okay, so Norman Lamont’s record as John Major’s chancellor from 1990 to 1993 was hardly an unmitigated triumph. Remember Black Wednesday?

But Terry Burns was a distinguished chief economic adviser and permanent secretary at the Treasury in the Thatcher, Major and early Blair and Brown period.

And Andrew Turnbull, the mandarin’s mandarin, was also Treasury permanent secretary under Mr Brown and then Sir Tony’s cabinet secretary.

So Mr Hunt knew exactly what he was doing.

Apart from the soap opera of Tory plots against the PM, the date of the general election is all MPs are talking about and parliament’s constant guessing game at present.

On 7 March, the day after his budget that dismayed Tory backbenchers, the chancellor told Kay Burley on Sky News the “working assumption” was that the election would be in the autumn.

That was after the PM said his “working assumption” was that it would take place in the second half of the year.

Now, the PM and the chancellor appear to be narrowing it down.

But if it is to be October, when exactly?

Mr Hunt told their lordships an election in October would make it “very, very tight” to fit in a spending review.

That, along with the expectation that he’ll deliver a tax-cutting pre-election budget in September – fulfilling Mr Sunak’s pledge to cut the basic rate of income tax from 20p to 19p before the election – suggests the second half of the month.

Forget Thursday 31 October. What prime minister is going to risk “nightmare on Halloween” headlines? Not even the accident-prone Mr Sunak, surely?

We can also rule out the previous Thursday, 24 October, which clashes with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, requiring the presence of both King Charles and whoever is PM then.

Which leaves, realistically, 10 or 17 October. And the current betting at Westminster is that if it is October, then the 17th is favourite.

Mr Hunt has presumably known that for some time. Even if his prime motive at the Lords committee was indeed to snatch the evening headlines from Ms Reeves.

Politics

SEC punts decisions on XRP, DOGE ETFs

Published

2 hours ago

April 29, 2025

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SEC punts decisions on XRP, DOGE ETFs

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed deciding on whether to greenlight two proposed cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) holding Dogecoin and XRP, filings show.

The US regulator has delayed its deadline for ruling on the proposed ETF listings until June, according to two filings reviewed by Cointelegraph.

The filings were responses to March requests from US exchanges NYSE Arca and Cboe BZX Exchange to list Bitwise’s Dogecoin (DOGE) ETF and Franklin Templeton’s XRP (XRP) ETF, respectively.

They came on the same day that Nasdaq, another US exchange, asked for permission to list a 21Shares Dogecoin ETF.

Dogecoin is the world’s most heavily traded memecoin, with a market capitalization of around $26 billion as of April 29, according to data from CoinGecko. XRP is the native token of the XRP Ledger blockchain network. It has a market capitalization of approximately $133 billion, CoinGecko data shows.

Deluge of filings

In 2025, the SEC has fielded requests to authorize dozens of altcoin ETFs for US listing. As of April 21, approximately 70 crypto ETFs were awaiting the SEC’s review.

Asset managers are proposing funds holding “[e]verything from XRP, Litecoin and Solana to Penguins, Doge and 2x Melania and everything in between,” Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas said in an April 21 post on the X platform.

The deluge of proposals comes as US President Donald Trump pushes the SEC to take a more accommodating stance toward cryptocurrencies.

However, analysts caution investor demand for altcoin ETFs may be tepid in comparison to funds holding core cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

“Having your coin get ETF-ized is like being in a band and getting your songs added to all the music streaming services,” Balchunas said.

“Doesn’t guarantee listens but it puts your music where the vast majority of the listeners are.”

Although US exchanges are embracing crypto ETFs, they are also urging the SEC to take a tough regulatory posture toward digital assets. In an April 25 comment letter, Nasdaq encouraged the SEC to hold digital assets to the same compliance standards as securities if they constitute “stocks by any other name.”

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

Politics

Nasdaq files to list 21Shares Dogecoin ETF

Published

5 hours ago

April 29, 2025

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Nasdaq files to list 21Shares Dogecoin ETF

The United States exchange Nasdaq has asked regulators for permission to list a 21Shares exchange-traded fund (ETF) holding the popular memcoin Dogecoin, regulatory filings show.

The move follows 21Shares’ April 10 filing of its initial proposal to launch its Dogecoin ETF, shortly after similar applications from rivals Bitwise and Grayscale. The asset manager has also sought regulators’ permission to list ETFs holding other cryptocurrencies, including Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), and Polkadot (DOT).

Nasdaq must gain approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before it can list and trade the fund. The request amounts to a regulatory review process that could determine whether Dogecoin becomes accessible to a broader range of investors through an ETF structure.

Onslaught of altcoin ETFs

Fund issuers requested to list dozens of altcoin ETFs after US President Donald Trump instructed the SEC to take a friendlier stance toward cryptocurrencies after his second term began in January.

As of April 21, more than 70 crypto ETFs were awaiting the SEC’s review. The list includes alternative layer-1 (L1) native tokens, such as SOL and Sui (SUI), as well as memecoins such as Bonk (BONK) and Official Trump (TRUMP).

While exchanges such as Nasdaq seek to list more crypto ETFs, they are also pushing for firmer US regulatory oversight of digital assets. In an April 25 comment letter, Nasdaq urged the SEC to hold digital assets to the same regulatory standards as securities if they constitute “stocks by any other name.”

Dogecoin utility

Dogecoin (DOGE) is a popular memecoin with a market capitalization of nearly $26 billion as of April 29, according to CoinGecko.

It is distinct from most other memecoins because DOGE is the native token of the Dogecoin network.

The proof-of-work blockchain network is designed as a faster, cheaper alternative to Bitcoin (BTC) for peer-to-peer payments.

It processed more than 40,000 transactions in the past 24 hours, according to data from Bitinfocharts.com.

In September 2024, blockchain developers QED Protocol and Nexus tipped plans to launch a layer-2 (L2) scaling solution designed to bring smart contracts to Dogecoin.

Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest, April 13 – 19

Politics

UK gov’t proposes crypto rules in response to scams

Published

7 hours ago

April 29, 2025

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<div>UK gov't proposes crypto rules in response to scams</div>

The United Kingdom’s Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, have proposed new crypto rules aimed at “support[ing] innovation while cracking down on fraudsters.”

In an April 29 notice, the UK government announced draft rules for cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), that would bring “crypto exchanges, dealers and agents” in line with regulations, as many residents were “exposed to risky firms and scams.” It cited discussions with US government officials, including a proposed US-UK cross-border sandbox from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Hester Peirce.

“Today’s announcement sends a clear signal: Britain is open for business — but closed to fraud, abuse, and instability,” said the notice. “The government will bring forward final cryptoasset legislation at the earliest opportunity, following engagement on the draft provisions with industry.”

Treasury and Reeves said the UK was committed to making the country a “global hub for digital asset technologies,” referencing the goals of the previous government under the Conservative Party. A 2023 consultation paper from Treasury proposed “bringing a wide range of cryptoasset activities” — including trading and issuing stablecoins — in line with UK regulations.

Praise from industry

In a statement shared with Cointelegraph, Ian Silvera, the associate director for the self-regulatory trade association CryptoUK, called the government announcement a “very much welcomed and a big victory” for crypto firms. However, he added that the industry could also benefit from regulatory clarity on liquid staking and DeFi.

“Though there has been good regulatory progress from the [Financial Conduct Authority], which published its crypto roadmap late last year, the UK government first committed to becoming a global crypto hub in 2022,” said Silvera. “Progress has been slow since then, but as the Chancellor has recognised herself the mainstreaming of the industry has continued, with now 12% of all UK adults owning some sort of crypto, up from 4% in 2021.”

The FCA plans to publish final rules on crypto sometime in 2026, setting the groundwork for the UK regulatory regime to go live. The roadmap to greater regulatory clarity in the UK could follow the European Union, which started to implement its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework in December.

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