Chancellor Rachel Reeves expected to announce further welfare cuts in spring statement

Published

15 hours ago

March 25, 2025

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Rachel Reeves will unveil further welfare cuts in her spring statement after being told the reforms announced last week will save less than planned, Sky News understands.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has rejected the government’s assessment that the package of measures, including narrowing the eligibility criteria for personal independence payments (PIP), will save £5bn.

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The fiscal watchdog put the value of the cuts at £3.4bn, leaving ministers scrambling to find further savings.

Ms Reeves is now expected to announce that universal credit (UC) incapacity benefits for new claimants, which were halved under the original plan, will also be frozen until 2030 rather than rising in line with inflation

As originally reported by The Times, there will also be a small reduction in the basic rate of UC in 2029, with the new measures expected to raise £500m.

A Whitehall source told Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby that it is “hard to tell how MPs will react”, as while the OBR’s assessment means fewer people will be affected by the PIP changes than thought, they “might be unhappy about the chaotic nature of it all”.

The government did not publish an impact assessment of the crackdown on benefits it announced last week, saying that would come alongside the spring statement on Wednesday.

Several Labour MPs criticised the measures as pushing more sick and disabled people into poverty, while former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called the package a “disgrace” on Tuesday and accused the government of imposing austerity on the country.

Spending cuts expected

Ms Reeves is expected to announce a large package of departmental spending cuts when she gives an update on the economy on Wednesday, potentially putting her on a further collision course with her own MPs.

Having only committed to doing one proper budget each year in the autumn, the spring statement was meant to be a low-key affair.

However, a turbulent economic climate since October means the OBR is widely expected to downgrade its growth forecasts for the UK while the government has borrowed more than previously expected.

This has wiped out the £9.9bn gap in her fiscal headroom Ms Reeves left herself at her budget last year – money she needs to make up if she wants to stick to her self-imposed fiscal rule that day-to-day spending must be funded through tax receipts, not debt, by 2029-30.

The chancellor has sought to blame global factors but the Conservatives blame measures like the national insurance tax hike on employers, saying this is choking business.

Shadow chancellor Mel Stride urged Ms Reeves to “use the emergency budget” to “fix her own mistakes and end Labour’s war on enterprise”.

Ms Reeves will defend her record in the spring statement, saying she is “proud” of what Labour has achieved in its first nine months in office.

However, on the eve of the statement, polling showed the public is pessimistic about what is to come.

According to More in Common, half think the cost of living crisis will never end, while YouGov found three-quarters of people want to see a tax on the richest over spending cuts.

Ms Reeves is not expected to announce any tax hikes, having said her tax-raising budget in October was a once-in-a-parliament event.

Defence increase to ‘deliver security’

In a bid to fend off criticism, she will also announce an extra £2.2bn will be spent on defence over the next year to “deliver security for working people”.

The money is part of the government’s aim to hike defence spending to 2.5% of the UK’s economic output by 2027 – up from the 2.3% where it stands now.

Ms Reeves will insist this plan, set out by the prime minister in February, was the “right decision” against the backdrop of global instability, saying it will put “an extra 6.4bn into the defence budget by 2027”.

“This increase in investment is not just about increasing our national security but increasing our economic security, too,” she will say.

The money is coming from reductions to the international aid budget and Treasury reserves, and will be used to invest in new technology, refurbish homes for military families and upgrade HM Naval Base Portsmouth.

Politics

Google Play blocks access to 17 unregistered exchanges in South Korea

Published

1 hour ago

March 26, 2025

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Google Play blocks access to 17 unregistered exchanges in South Korea

Google Play implemented access restrictions to 17 unregistered overseas crypto exchanges catering to local users in South Korea at the request of the country’s regulators.

On March 21, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it was considering sanctions against operators that did not report to the relevant authorities.

Authorities require virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to report to regulators under the country’s Specified Financial Information Act.

At the time, the FIU said it was coordinating with the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), the regulator in charge of the internet, on how they could block access to the exchanges.

By March 26, the FSC published a list of 22 unregistered platforms, highlighting 17 that had been blocked from the Google Play store. The move restricts new downloads and updates for affected apps, effectively limiting user access.

Google Play restricts access to 17 unregistered exchanges

The FSC said the 17 exchanges highlighted on the list were now restricted in the Google Play Store. This means their applications will not be available for new users to download and install. In addition, existing users will be unable to access updates from the apps.

Exchanges in the access restriction list include: KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex, XT.com, Biture, CoinW, CoinEX, ZoomEX, Poloniex, BTCC, DigiFinex, Pionex, Blofin, Apex Pro, CoinCatch, WEEX and BitMart.

The FSC expects the move to help prevent money laundering acts using crypto assets and potential future damages to local users. The FIU said it is also coordinating with Apple Korea and the KCSC to block internet and App Store access to the exchange platforms.

KuCoin previously told Cointelegraph that it was monitoring regulatory developments in all jurisdictions, including South Korea. The exchange said compliance was essential for crypto’s sustainable growth. However, the exchange did not provide detailed information on its plans for South Korea.

South Korean exchanges face controversies

South Korean regulators’ actions against unregistered exchanges follow the country’s increased scrutiny of crypto trading platforms.

On March 20, Seoul’s Southern District Prosecutors’ Office raided Bithumb offices in the country, as prosecutors suspected financial misconduct involving the exchange’s former CEO. Prosecutors suspected Bithumb board member Kim Dae-sik of using company funds to purchase a personal apartment.

In addition, a Wu Blockchain report of intermediaries being paid to list token projects on Bithumb and Upbit surfaced. In response to the report, Upbit demanded the release of the identities of crypto projects that claimed to have paid intermediaries to be listed.

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IMX surges 15% after Immutable says SEC ended probe

Published

7 hours ago

March 26, 2025

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IMX surges 15% after Immutable says SEC ended probe

The token tied to the crypto gaming giant Immutable surged 15% in the hours after it announced that the US Securities and Exchange Commission closed its investigation into the firm and would take no further action.

The Immutable (IMX) token rose around 15% on March 25 to reach just under $0.74 shortly after the firm announced that the SEC shut its inquiry without any breach of violations, which Immutable said closed “the loop on the Wells notice issued by the SEC last year.”

IMX matched crypto market downtrend

It is the highest price that IMX has reached since March 3, before a broader market decline — driven by prolonged uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and US interest rates — pushed it down to $0.46 on March 11.

At the time of publication, IMX had retraced back to $0.67, according to CoinMarketCap. A move back toward $0.70 would wipe approximately $449,500 in short positions, according to CoinGlass data.

Cryptocurrencies, Markets — *IMX is up 0.34% over the past 30 days. Source:* *CoinMarketCap*

While the token price surged on the positive news, it barely moved when Immutable announced in November it had been issued a Wells notice. However, the broader market was already gaining momentum as Trump’s odds to win the election looked strong in the days before his eventual win on Nov. 5.

Immutable co-founder Robbie Ferguson said in a March 25 X post that the SEC’s dropped investigation was “an enormous win for Web3 gaming.”

“After a year of fighting, this threat to digital ownership rights has finally been put to rest,” Ferguson said.

Among the top gaming crypto tokens by market cap, several have seen an upswing over the past 24 hours. Gala (GALA) is up 2.78%, The Sandbox (SAND) is up 3.78%, FLOKI (FLOKI) is up 1.91%, and Axie Infinity (AXS) is up 1.50%.

IMX hit its all-time high of $9.32 in November 2021 during a major rally in gaming tokens. There’s been speculation about when gaming tokens will experience another significant uptrend, as they’ve historically surged after the broader crypto market moves first.

However, over the past 30 days, the total market cap of gaming tokens has dropped 3.65% to $13.13 billion, while trading volume has taken a bigger hit, falling 33.45% to $1.75 billion.

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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Politics

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

Published

7 hours ago

March 26, 2025

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

North Carolina lawmakers have introduced bills in the House and Senate that could see the state’s treasurer allocate up to 5% of various state retirement funds into cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

The Investment Modernization Act (House Bill 506), introduced by Representative Brenden Jones on March 24, would create an independent investment authority under the state’s Treasury to determine which digital assets could be suitable for inclusion into the state retirement funds.

An identical bill, the State Investment Modernization Act (Senate Bill 709), was introduced into the state’s Senate on March 25.

The bills define a digital asset as a cryptocurrency, stablecoin, non-fungible token (NFT), or any other asset that is electronic in nature that confers economic, proprietary or access rights.

The North Carolina bills don’t set market cap criteria for digital assets, unlike other crypto bills that are working their way into law at the state level.

The newly created agency, dubbed the North Carolina Investment Authority, would, however, need to carefully weigh the risk and reward profile of each digital asset and ensure the funds are maintained in a secure custody solution.

Bitcoin legislation tracker Bitcoin Laws noted on X that House Bill 506 wasn’t drafted as a Bitcoin reserve bill as it does not mandate the investment authority to hold Bitcoin (BTC) — or any digital asset — over the long term.

North Carolina wants in on Bitcoin bill race

On March 18, North Carolina senators introduced the Bitcoin Reserve and Investment Act (Senate Bill 327), which calls for the treasurer to allocate up to 10% of public funds specifically into Bitcoin.

The bill — introduced by Republicans Todd Johnson, Brad Overcash and Timothy Moffitt — aims to leverage Bitcoin investment as a “financial innovation strategy” to strengthen North Carolina’s economic standing.

The treasurer would need to ensure that the Bitcoin is stored in a multi-signature cold storage wallet, and the BTC could only be liquidated during a “severe financial crisis,” with approval from two-thirds of North Carolina’s General Assembly.

The bill would also create a Bitcoin Economic Advisory Board to oversee the reserve’s management.

According to Bitcoin Law, 41 Bitcoin reserve bills have been introduced at the state level in 23 states, and 35 of those 41 bills remain live.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, both of which will initially use cryptocurrency forfeited in government criminal cases.

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