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UK politician proposes ban on political crypto donations over foreign interference risks

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UK politician proposes ban on political crypto donations over foreign interference risks

Some Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom, led by the chairman of the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy, Matt Western, are pushing for a temporary ban on political crypto donations due to concerns over foreign interference.

Summary

  • UK MPs have proposed a temporary moratorium on crypto donations to political parties until the Electoral Commission issues statutory guidance.
  • The proposal calls for the use of FCA-registered platforms, mandatory source verification and a ban on mixer-linked funds among other provisions.

A letter directed to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed, has proposed a temporary moratorium on cryptocurrency donations to political parties until the Electoral Commission produces statutory guidance.

In the letter, Western raised concerns around “foreign state intent to interfere in UK political finance” as there is “no clear national enforcement lead for political finance and foreign interference risk.”

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“As the security environment worsens and the UK’s military role in Europe grows, the value of influencing the UK’s political positions (for example, on Ukraine, or US/EU relations) is likely to increase,” Western said.

He has urged the Electoral Commission to introduce interim safeguards, such as only allowing political parties to process crypto donations through Virtual Asset Service Providers registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, and accepting contributions where there is high confidence in identifying the ultimate source of the funds.

He also suggests prohibiting the use of crypto mixers or tumblers that can be used to obscure the provenance of assets, alongside a mandate that political parties should convert donations into pound sterling within 48 hours of receipt.

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Further, Western recommended stricter source of wealth checks for donors and a review of sentencing for electoral finance offences, alongside higher penalties for breaches involving foreign money and expanded powers for regulators to pursue violations.

Last month, Western, along with a group of other committee chairs, lobbied for a full ban on cryptocurrency donations by including a provision in the Representation of the People Bill. That, however, was not included in the legislation when the bill was introduced to the House of Commons on Feb. 12.

According to a BBC report, Reform UK was the first party at Westminster to accept political cryptocurrency donations in the UK, led by pro-crypto figure Nigel Farage, who announced the move after appearing at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas.

However, details on the party’s official website state that it does not accept anonymous donations and applies permissibility checks to ensure funds originate from UK-registered companies or individuals listed on the electoral register, with contributions above £500 subject to standard compliance procedures.

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Across the globe, crypto donations became a defining feature of the U.S. election cycle last year, with several political figures, including current President Donald Trump, having embraced digital asset fundraising. Trump’s campaign began accepting cryptocurrency contributions during the 2024 race.

As previously reported by crypto.news, Representative Mike Collins from Georgia also announced plans to accept cryptocurrency donations last year.

The Federal Election Commission permits cryptocurrency contributions to political committees, provided they adhere to existing contribution limits, disclosure standards, and other reporting requirements.

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Centrifuge price explodes as CFG trading goes live on Upbit

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Raydium Altcoin Up
Raydium Altcoin Up
  • Centrifuge price exploded by more than 180% to hit highs of $0.25.
  • The sharp rise followed as news of CFG trading going live on Upbit.
  • Profit-taking threatens to wipe out all the intraday gains as the price hovers near $0.16.

Centrifuge (CFG) has surged dramatically in the past 24 hours, posting gains of over 180% amid excitement over its listing on South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, Upbit.

Notably, the rally aligns with broader market gains, as Bitcoin climbed about 7% to near $70,000 before settling around $68k as of writing.

Several top altcoins also posted positive moves, including Ethereum’s uptick to above $2,000 despite continued selling by co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

On-chain data shows whale accumulation is picking up and could surge as price breaks above the $2k level.

CFG is up amid this potential market bounce, with the Upbit listing a major catalyst.

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However, the overall crypto market sentiment remains cautious, and profit-taking could see a sharp pullback for several altcoins.

Centrifuge price rockets on Upbit listing news

Upbit, South Korea’s leading crypto exchange, announced that trading support for CFG would go live on February 26, 2026, at 2 PM KST.

The exchange added spot pairs against KRW, BTC, and USDT, and revealed that deposits and withdrawals would be available shortly after the announcement.

Upbit boasts a massive user base and liquidity, and these factors have historically seen listed tokens pump hard.

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CFG’s price rose sharply amid the potential flip in visibility and adoption.

The token’s value jumped from around $0.08 to over $0.25, with trading volume spiking over 4,000% to $79 million.

With assets like Polkadot, NEAR, and Uniswap trending among the top 10 gainers, it’s Centrifuge’s vertical jump that stood out.

CFG market cap ballooned past $120 million before slipping lower as prices retreated from the intraday highs.

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Centrifuge price forecast

Centrifuge is a crypto project focused on tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs), a market that’s attracting huge attention.

The CFG token powers governance on the platform, allowing holders to participate in protocol decisions.

Despite market potential, its price has largely followed the bearish trend across crypto.

A short-term upside tied to Upbit’s liquidity influx helped bulls revisit prices last seen in October 2025.

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If Korean inflows persist, buyers could test higher resistances around $0.30 and move to $0.40.

Centrifuge Price Chart
Centrifuge price chart by TradingView

However, broader profit deals have already seen CFG pull back, currently trading near $0.16.

The MACD suggests bullish sentiment, but an extended RSI signals overbought risks.

If prices fall below the 50-day and 100-day simple moving average lines, the nosedive could accelerate to $0.10 or lower.

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Perplexity launches all-in-one AI platform as AMD and Meta expand deal

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Crypto Breaking News

Key insights:

  • Perplexity Computer combines research, coding, design, and deployment in one system, reducing reliance on multiple AI tools.
  • The company shifts to subscriptions and expands features, including patents search, shopping, and Galaxy voice assistant support.
  • AMD and Meta sign a long-term AI infrastructure deal using Instinct GPUs and custom chips to power large-scale model training.

Perplexity introduces unified AI workspace

Perplexity AI unveiled Perplexity Computer, a platform that manages projects from idea to deployment inside a single environment. The system allows users to research information, design products, write code, and launch applications without switching services.

The company reported that the platform also monitors live operations after deployment. Developers can review performance and adjust workflows directly within the interface. Perplexity aims to reduce fragmented workflows that often slow production across multiple AI tools.

Expanding products and subscription strategy

Perplexity has diversified its products over the last one year. In October 2025, it published Perplexity Patents, a component that enables end-users to query filings of global intellectual property using natural language queries. The tool is aimed at researchers, startups and law firms in need of quicker patent analysis.

The firm also partnered with Samsung to integrate its assistant, branded “Hey Plex,” into Galaxy devices. Meanwhile, U.S. Pro users gained an in-app shopping feature linked with commerce platforms such as Shopify. The company ended advertising trials and moved toward a subscription model, citing trust and answer neutrality as priorities.

AMD and Meta scale AI infrastructure

Separately, AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) and Meta (NASDAQ: META) announced a multiyear AI infrastructure agreement valued by analysts near $100 billion. AMD will supply up to six gigawatts of Instinct GPUs for training and inference workloads in Meta’s systems.

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The companies will coordinate silicon, hardware systems, and software development to improve efficiency. Meta will also receive custom chips based on AMD’s MI450 architecture. Initial shipments are scheduled for the second half of the year.

Meta already operates millions of AMD EPYC processors and large numbers of MI300-series GPUs. The new agreement expands collaboration within the Open Compute Project and strengthens Meta’s computing capacity for future AI models.

Risk & affiliate notice: Crypto assets are volatile and capital is at risk. This article may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure

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USD/JPY Pulls Back After a Period of Gains

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USD/JPY Pulls Back After a Period of Gains

As the USD/JPY chart shows, the pair posted solid bullish momentum in the second half of February. This move was driven by a combination of fundamental factors, including:

→ The appointment of two academics to the central bank’s board, both regarded as strong advocates of economic stimulus through a weaker yen and accommodative lending conditions.

→ Concerns over further interest rate hikes, voiced by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a meeting with Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda.

Expectations of a softer yen led to renewed weakness in the currency (A→B), forming the upward trajectory highlighted in purple.

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However, on Wednesday the pair retreated, which appears to be an interim pullback from point B. Technical analysis of the USD/JPY chart suggests that extending the move along the purple trajectory may prove challenging.

Factors that could favour the bears include:

→ The median line of the ascending channel (constructed from key reversal points marked by thicker lines). The median often acts as a balance zone where supply and demand converge and trends lose momentum.

→ The proximity of the significant 157.70 resistance level, which already acted as resistance in 2025. Although price broke above it in January 2026 (with the level briefly showing signs of support), following the sharp sell-off on 23 January it once again served as a barrier for bulls on 9 February.

→ Trend line R, drawn through the lower highs of 2026.

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Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that the lower purple boundary may be breached by bears, potentially leading the market into a period of consolidation while awaiting fresh economic and political catalysts.

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OCC Stablecoin Proposal Targets Yield, Sets Stage for CLARITY Act

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OCC Stablecoin Proposal Targets Yield, Sets Stage for CLARITY Act

The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has dropped a 376‑page proposal to implement the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act that looks to settle the ongoing stablecoin yield fight.

The proposal is open to public comment for 60 days from Wednesday’s publication date, and sets out detailed rules for permitted payment stablecoin issuers under the OCC’s jurisdiction.

Supervised entities would be barred from paying any form of interest or yield, whether in cash, tokens, or other consideration, “solely in connection with the holding, use, or retention” of a payment stablecoin, consistent with section 4(a)(11) of the GENIUS Act

Thania Charmani, partner at global law firm Winston & Strawn, commented on X that the OCC proposed to “resolve the debate on stablecoin yield through rulemaking,” potentially clearing the way for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (CLARITY) to “proceed without that provision.”

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How the OCC proposal implements GENIUS on yield

GENIUS, enacted in July 2025, created a federal framework for payment stablecoins and restricted issuance in the US to licensed permitted issuers such as bank subsidiaries, new federal stablecoin issuers, and certain large state‑regulated firms. 

OCC Requests Comments on Proposal to Implement GENIUS Act. Source: OCC

The OCC’s draft rule translates that statutory framework into operational constraints, including tight limits on how GENIUS‑regulated issuers can structure economics around their stablecoins.

The proposal goes a step further, adding a rebuttable presumption that an issuer is violating the ban on paying yield if it has an arrangement to pay yield to an affiliate or “related third party” and that entity then pays yield to holders of the issuer’s payment stablecoin. 

Related: Ripple CEO confirms White House meeting between crypto, banking reps

Issuers can try to rebut the presumption by submitting written materials to the OCC, but the agency stresses the “close nexus” between issuer payments and end‑holder yield and frames such structures as “highly likely” attempts to evade the statute.

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​The proposal also draws two explicit carve‑outs. It “is not intended to prevent” merchants from independently offering discounts for using payment stablecoins, and it does not bar an issuer from sharing profits from the stablecoin with a non‑affiliate partner in a whitelabel arrangement. 

What the proposal means for CLARITY and Coinbase

If the OCC’s proposed rule is finalized as drafted, it would have direct implications for the separate CLARITY Act debate over stablecoin rewards

CLARITY drafts have focused on whether digital asset service providers should be allowed to pay yield or rewards on payment stablecoin balances, a point of contention that has already caused friction between industry stakeholders, such as Coinbase.

By using GENIUS implementation to prohibit yield at the issuer level, the banking side of the framework effectively establishes a no‑yield baseline for GENIUS‑compliant payment stablecoins.

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For Coinbase and similar firms that have argued they should be able to offer yield on stablecoin balances while operating within a fully regulated US framework, the message is clear:

Stablecoin yield and GENIUS‑compliant, OCC‑supervised payment stablecoins are being put on opposite sides of a regulatory line.

Big Questions: Is China hoarding gold so yuan becomes global reserve instead of USD?