Crypto World
USDT Returns to Bitcoin: How RGB and Lightning Network Are Rebuilding Settlement Infrastructure
TLDR:
- Tether co-led a $7.5M seed round in Utexo, formally endorsing RGB as the native path for USDT on Bitcoin
- RGB protocol enables confidential, client-side asset verification, offering fixed costs and full transaction privacy on Bitcoin.
- Utexo merges Bitcoin’s base layer, Lightning Network, and RGB into one API built for PSPs, exchanges, and HFT desks.
- Lightning Network hit a record $1.17B in monthly volume in November 2025, strengthening the case for Bitcoin-native stablecoin rails.
Tether’s USDT stablecoin is returning to Bitcoin through a new technical stack combining the RGB protocol and Lightning Network.
This marks a structural shift in how the two largest crypto assets interact. Utexo, the first implementation to merge these three layers, recently secured $7.5 million in seed funding.
Tether co-led the round alongside BigBrain VC and Portal Ventures, signaling formal endorsement of RGB as the path for native USDT on Bitcoin.
Tether’s Migration Back to Bitcoin
USDT was originally launched on Bitcoin via the Omni Layer protocol in 2014. Over time, demand for programmability pushed Tether toward Ethereum, then Tron, and eventually other blockchains.
Today, roughly 92% of total USDT supply sits on Ethereum and Tron, according to data from Allium Labs and Visa’s on-chain analytics platform.
Ethereum provides deep DeFi liquidity, while Tron handles low-cost retail transfers efficiently. However, both networks carry systemic risks for institutional players.
Gas fee volatility, reliance on custodial intermediaries, and full transaction transparency remain persistent concerns for B2B operators.
RGB protocol addresses these problems directly by enabling confidential asset issuance on Bitcoin. Asset transfer validity is verified client-side, meaning proof data moves between sender and recipient without broadcasting to the wider network. Only a small cryptographic commitment is published on-chain to prevent double-spending.
This approach keeps transaction costs fixed and preserves full privacy — two properties that Ethereum and Tron have not been able to deliver simultaneously at scale.
How Utexo Combines All Three Layers
Utexo is the first platform to integrate Bitcoin’s base layer, Lightning Network, and RGB into a single payment stack accessible through one API.
The platform targets PSPs, crypto exchanges, and high-frequency trading desks rather than retail users. Operators benefit from fixed fees denominated in USDT, instant finality through Lightning, and self-custody throughout every transaction stage.
Utexo posted on X in March: “Utexo has raised $7.5M from Tether, BigBrainVC, and Portal Ventures to bring USDT natively on Bitcoin. After more than a decade, USDT is finally coming home.” The round reflects genuine institutional appetite for Bitcoin-native stablecoin infrastructure.
Lightning Network activity further supports this direction. River Financial reported that November 2025 saw $1.17 billion in monthly volume across 5.2 million transactions — an all-time record.
Additionally, Secure Digital Markets completed a $1 million Lightning transaction on Kraken in January 2026, settling in 0.43 seconds with minimal fees.
For treasury teams and exchanges, the combination of Bitcoin’s security model, Lightning’s speed, and RGB’s privacy creates a settlement architecture previously unavailable in a single stack.
Bitcoin started the week drifting near $64,000, sitting out a rally in Asian equities as the US and Iran moved closer to a lasting peace deal.
The token traded around $63,996 on Monday, down 0.4% over 24 hours and 2.2% on the week, per CoinDesk data. The rest of the market was mixed. Solana rose 3.7% on the week to $74 and tron added 2.2%, while ether held roughly flat at $1,733. The losses ran deeper down the board, with BNB off 4.2% on the week, XRP down 4.3% to $1.13 and dogecoin the weakest major, off 6.5%. Hyperliquid’s HYPE, the standout of early June, fell 5% on the day and has cooled to a 1.9% weekly gain.
The macro backdrop turned friendlier without pulling crypto along. The US and Iran agreed on a roadmap toward a final peace deal within 60 days, and Brent crude slid 1.7% to about $79 a barrel.
An MSCI gauge of Asian stocks rose 0.6%, led by a technology rally tied to continued optimism over artificial intelligence, while US futures were softer, with S&P 500 contracts down 0.5%.
The first session of high-level US-Iran talks concluded in Switzerland on Monday. Mediators from Qatar and Pakistan confirmed a roadmap toward a final deal within 60 days under the framework of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.
The joint statement confirmed the creation of a High-Level Committee providing political oversight, with chief negotiators leading dedicated working groups on nuclear issues, sanctions, and dispute resolution.
The parties also formed a communication line to prevent incidents and ensure safe commercial passage through the Strait of Hormuz. A de-confliction cell involving the US, Iran, and Lebanon will enforce the termination of military operations there. Technical talks continue through the remainder of the week at Burgenstock.
What to Expect When Markets Open
The statement resolves the sharpest fear heading into Monday’s session. A reported Iranian walkout on Sunday had raised Black Monday fears across oil and crypto, keeping traders on edge into the open.
Oil is the most direct read. The Strait of Hormuz communication line, confirmed explicitly in the joint statement, is the detail markets will price most aggressively. When the original June 14 memorandum was announced, oil fell over 12% and the Dow Jones hit a record high. A credible, institutionalized Hormuz mechanism could extend that oil price relief.
Equities should follow, with lower energy costs easing inflation expectations and improving the earnings outlook. That same macro channel feeds crypto. Bitcoin has tracked risk sentiment tightly throughout the conflict, rising on de-escalation and selling off on fresh strikes, with BTC holding near $64,200 ahead of Monday.
The ceiling on any rally remains the Federal Reserve. The Fed’s hawkish hold on June 17 erased post-MoU gains across stocks and crypto. The Lebanon de-confliction cell is the geopolitical tripwire to watch, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called it the “first real test” of the agreement, and any renewed fighting there is the fastest path back to risk-off across all asset classes.
The post US-Iran Agree on 60-Day Deal Roadmap: Markets Open Monday appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has defended recent AI content tests after users criticized an AI-generated post shared through Input Output’s X account.
Summary
- Hoskinson said AI agents could help Cardano scale updates, community tasks and Midnight City activity.
- Midnight City uses autonomous agents to test privacy views for users, auditors and regulators alike.
- The debate followed backlash over AI-generated influencer content shared through Input Output’s X account recently.
The discussion followed his June 20 post titled “AI Slop, IOG X, and the Future of Marketing,” where he addressed how the team is testing new tools for communication.
Hoskinson said the AI-generated influencer came from work around Midnight City and was shared in good faith. He said the goal was to show what new systems can do, not to replace people or mislead the community. The response showed that parts of the Cardano audience remain careful about synthetic media.
Midnight City becomes test ground for agents
Midnight City is an interactive simulation tied to the Midnight Network. It uses autonomous AI agents that work, trade and create economic activity inside a digital city. The project lets users watch activity through different views, including public, auditor and regulatory lenses.
The platform also serves as a testing area for privacy tools. Midnight Network uses zero-knowledge technology and selective disclosure to protect data while still allowing approved parties to see needed information. This design supports the project’s wider pitch around private but compliant blockchain activity.
Marketing plans move toward AI agents
Hoskinson said Cardano and Midnight cannot rely only on human teams if the user base grows by millions.
“We’re going to need agents and AI to be able to organize and sort all that out and broadcast on a regular basis what’s going on in Midnight City,” he said.
He also linked the discussion to OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent platform. Hoskinson described AI agents as tools that could support community management, media updates and broadcasting. He said the team is watching “where the future is going with AI CMOs” and lifelike content systems.
Cardano context and next steps
The comments come as Midnight remains one of the main projects connected to Cardano’s next phase. Crypto.news earlier reported that Midnight launched its federated mainnet on March 31, 2026, with a privacy model built around programmable disclosure. The network also uses NIGHT for governance and DUST for transaction costs.
Cardano has faced a harder market backdrop in recent weeks. As previously reported by crypto.news, ADA fell below $0.20 earlier this month, hitting its lowest level in more than five years.
Meanwhile, at press time, the token traded at $0.16, indicating over 2% decline in the past 24 hours (per crypto.news market data). That price pressure has kept attention on whether Midnight can bring more builders, users and activity to the ecosystem.
Hoskinson said the team will keep testing AI standards as Midnight City grows. “It’s why it’s one of our most important projects,” he said, adding that the team plans to explore where the technology goes next. He also said agentic trading and affiliate relationships could help bring more users to Midnight.
An attacker exploited an “infinite mint” vulnerability in a smart contract on the Secret Network, creating wrapped Axelar assets without proper backing. The incident resulted in a reported $4.67 million loss, according to blockchain research firm Common Prefix.
The breach occurred on June 10 but was identified a week later, on June 17, after a failed cross-chain transaction triggered an “insufficient funds” error tied to the drained account, Common Prefix said in a report released Friday. The funds were then routed to Ethereum and distributed across multiple wallets before being moved to exchanges, the firm added.
Key takeaways
- Common Prefix attributes the $4.67 million exploit to an infinite-mint flaw in a Secret Network contract that minted unbacked Axelar-wrapped tokens.
- The issue was traced to missing verification of the source of inbound transfers before minting, allowing forged deposits on an attacker-controlled channel.
- Wrapped assets affected included saUSDT, saUSDC, saDAI, saWETH, saWBTC, saWBNB and sawstETH.
- Secret Network said holders of Axelar-bridged saXXX tokens may face loss, while both Secret and Axelar emphasized that Secret’s token SCRT and Axelar’s infrastructure were not directly compromised.
How the exploit worked on Secret’s Axelar bridge
Secret Network is a privacy-focused layer-1 blockchain built on the Cosmos ecosystem. Axelar, meanwhile, is designed to enable interoperability between different blockchain networks. The exploit targeted a smart contract handling Axelar-wrapped assets on Secret, where wrapped “saTokens” are expected to represent collateral held in escrow.
Common Prefix reported that the contract failed to verify the provenance of inbound transfers before minting. As a result, the attacker could “forge” deposits over an attacker-controlled channel, triggering the minting of “genuine saTokens with no assets backing them,” the firm said.
After minting, the attacker redeemed the Axelar-wrapped assets back through legitimate channels. Common Prefix said the redemption drained the real Axelar-wrapped assets held in escrow, converting the unbacked representations into backed value.
Timeline and discovery: from June 10 to June 17
While the exploit itself took place on June 10, the crucial indicator of trouble appeared later. Common Prefix said the breach was discovered on June 17 after a cross-chain transaction failed due to an “insufficient funds” error connected to the account that had been drained.
This delay matters for users because it highlights how bridge or escrow-related systems can continue operating normally—or at least not immediately signal obvious failures—until specific downstream actions surface the shortfall. In practice, that can mean the window between minting and detection may be long enough for assets to be redistributed before investigators fully connect the dots.
Where the stolen funds went
Common Prefix reported that after exploiting the wrapped tokens, the attacker moved the assets to the Ethereum blockchain and converted them to Ether (ETH). The firm also said the attacker split the proceeds among roughly 30 wallets.
Those wallets were then used to move funds into exchanges, including KuCoin, ChangeNow, and HitBTC, according to the report. The multi-wallet approach is a common tactic in laundering activity, aimed at complicating tracing by breaking up transaction flows and distribution patterns.
Which tokens were affected—and what Secret said to users
The affected Axelar-wrapped assets minted without backing included saUSDT, saUSDC, saDAI, saWETH, saWBTC, saWBNB and sawstETH. Common Prefix emphasized that the backing of these tokens was compromised, meaning token holders may not be able to redeem them for their intended collateral.
On Saturday, Secret Network issued a security notice stating that holders of Axelar-bridged saXXX tokens on Secret should expect their backing to be affected and that their funds “may be lost.”
Secret’s own native token, Secret (SCRT), was not reported as impacted by the incident. However, the notice underscores that this was not a general compromise of the network itself, but a targeted weakness in the minting path for specific bridged assets.
Axelar’s response: not compromised, firewall contained impact
Axelar acknowledged the incident on Saturday after “some confusion” emerged around the breach. In its statement, Axelar said neither Axelar nor IBC (Inter-Blockchain Communication) was compromised.
Axelar added that the exploited token smart contract “was not developed, deployed, or maintained by Axelar,” and that Axelar’s firewalling prevented the impact from spreading to other chains.
For investors and builders, the distinction is significant: it narrows the likely source of failure to the contract logic on the Secret side rather than Axelar’s core interoperability infrastructure. Even so, cross-chain systems remain tightly coupled through assumptions about escrow, message integrity, and minting verification—exactly where this exploit appears to have broken those assumptions.
Part of a wider wave of protocol attacks
This breach arrives amid a broader pattern of cross-chain and protocol exploitation. Common Prefix noted it is among a series of hacks and exploits occurring this month, with at least 22 incidents reported by DeFiLlama’s ongoing hack tracking.
Within that same recent period, other reported bridge-related losses included Humanity Protocol and Syscoin Bridge, which earlier this month suffered reported losses of $32 million and $8 million respectively, according to coverage referenced in Common Prefix’s context.
While each event has its own root cause, the recurring theme is similar: many of the highest-value failures occur where bridging logic meets asset accounting—especially when systems mint representations based on messages or deposits that are not strongly authenticated end-to-end.
Going forward, users holding affected saTokens should watch for further announcements from Secret and for any guidance on whether and how remaining balances can be redeemed. The key open question is how quickly and completely the affected minting pathway can be audited and patched—because in cross-chain ecosystems, even small verification gaps can translate into real, backed-value drains once an attacker finds a redemption route.
An attacker has used an “infinite mint” bug in a vulnerable smart contract on the Secret Network to create unbacked, wrapped versions of Axelar-wrapped assets, resulting in a $4.67 million exploit.
The exploit happened on June 10 but was discovered a week later on June 17, after a failed cross-chain transaction caused by an “insufficient funds” error in the drained account was detected, blockchain research firm Common Prefix reported on Friday.
The attacker redeemed the Axelar-wrapped assets (saTokens) back over legitimate channels to drain the real Axelar-wrapped assets held in escrow because the smart contract did not verify the source of the inbound transfer before minting, so “deposits forged over an attacker-controlled channel minted genuine saTokens with no assets backing them,” Common Prefix said.
It is the latest in a series of crypto protocol hacks and exploits this month, which now number at least 22, according to DeFiLlama. The Secret Network was one of the largest, behind the Humanity Protocol and Syscoin Bridge, which lost $32 million and $8 million, respectively, earlier this month.
The Secret Network is a privacy-focused, layer-1 blockchain built on the Cosmos ecosystem, and Axelar is a decentralized interoperability network that connects different blockchain ecosystems.
The Axelar-wrapped assets minted without backing in the exploit included saUSDT, saUSDC, saDAI, saWETH, saWBTC, saWBNB and sawstETH.
Related: Aztec Connect’s abandoned smart contract exploited for $2.1M
The attacker moved the exploited assets to the Ethereum blockchain and converted them to Ether (ETH). They then split the haul between around 30 wallets, eventually depositing the funds into exchanges including KuCoin, ChangeNow, and HitBTC, according to Common Prefix.
“If you hold Axelar-bridged saXXX tokens on Secret, please be aware their backing was affected, and your funds may be lost,” the Secret Network said on Saturday.
Stolen funds split into multiple wallets for obfuscation. Source: Common Prefix
The Secret Network’s token, Secret (SCRT), was not impacted by the incident, but it remains down 99% from its 2021 all-time high, currently trading at $0.058. Axelar’s native token, Axelar (AXL), is in a similar state, trading at $0.045, down 98% from its 2024 peak.
Axelar posted a confirmation on Saturday following “some confusion” around the incident.
“Neither Axelar nor IBC [Inter-Blockchain Communication] was compromised. The exploited token smart contract was not developed, deployed, or maintained by Axelar. Axelar’s firewalling prevented the impact from spreading to other chains,” it said.
Magazine: Bitcoin decouples from tech stocks, Ether eyes ‘selling wave’: Market Moves
Senator Cynthia Lummis wrote on X: developers should not need lawyers to know if their code is legal. The CLARITY Act, she argues, is the fix.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act has recently cleared two major legislative hurdles, passing the House in July 2025 with a 294-134 bipartisan vote before the Senate Banking Committee advanced it 15-9 in May 2026. The bill now sits on the Senate Legislative Calendar awaiting a floor vote.
When Writing Code Became a Federal Risk
The case that brought this debate into focus is that of Roman Storm, a co-founder of Tornado Cash, an open-source privacy protocol built on Ethereum (ETH).
On August 6, 2025, following a four-week trial, a jury found Storm guilty of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. The jury was deadlocked and unable to reach a verdict on the two more serious charges: conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate sanctions.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The conviction turned on a contested legal question that the CLARITY Act is aiming to address. Tornado Cash provides an open-source protocol that breaks the link between senders and recipients of cryptocurrency in order to enhance privacy. Once deployed, neither the platform itself nor its creators ever took custody of the assets at issue.
Storm’s defense argued that holding a developer liable for what independent users do with self-executing code sets a dangerous precedent. The case asked whether writing and deploying open-source privacy software can expose its creator to criminal liability for how others use it, and after the verdict, that question remains only partially resolved.
The Tornado Cash case was not isolated. The SEC issued a Wells Notice to Uniswap Labs in 2024, alleging the primary developer of the world’s largest decentralized exchange protocol was operating an unregistered broker-dealer.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) separately pursued the Ooki DAO developers, arguing that participating in open-source governance made individual contributors personally liable for how end-users interacted with the platform.
What the CLARITY Act Changes for Developers
The CLARITY Act addresses this directly through Section 604, drawn from the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA). The provision codifies a principle from FinCEN’s 2019 guidance: that developers and infrastructure providers who do not take custody or control of user funds are not money transmitters under federal law.
Writing open-source software, running a node, or validating transactions would not trigger Bank Secrecy Act obligations.
More than 60 CEOs and founders across the industry, including executives from Coinbase, Uniswap, Kraken, a16z crypto, and Paradigm, signed a letter to Senate leadership in June calling on the full Senate to pass the bill with the developer protections intact, describing Section 604 as a non-negotiable condition of their support.
The post Lummis Says CLARITY Act Will End Crypto Developer Prosecution for Writing Code appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Taiko lost roughly $1.7 million on Monday after an attacker compromised the chain-state verification mechanism.
The latest hack adds to the growing list of attacks targeting crypto networks in 2026.
Taiko Becomes Latest of 20-Plus Crypto Hacks This June
Taiko runs as an Ethereum-equivalent-based rollup that settles its activity back to the mainnet. Earlier today, Blockaid flagged an ongoing exploit in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Taiko confirmed the compromise in a security notice and warned that bridge security assumptions could no longer be trusted.
Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens
Meanwhile, on-chain data shared by Lookonchain shows the attacker has already started cashing out. The wallet moved 1.99 million TAIKO, worth about $189,000, to MEXC. The same address still holds 870.8 ETH valued at nearly $1.52 million.
Taiko said it is working with its Security Council and ecosystem partners to contain the incident. In addition, Taiko signaled that it may take technical and legal action against the attacker.
The team has asked centralized exchanges to suspend TAIKO deposits until it issues an official all-clear.
“We strongly advise all users to withdraw their funds from all bridges deployed on Taiko immediately,” the team said.
Meanwhile, it also shared 4 attacker addresses:
- 0x7506DeA0c38ca0B55364B22424374c5A1ae1B76a
- 0x5fbc60a12bc6635e7d587d8dac52e4b1388b4990
- 0x3cc936b795a188f0e246cbb2d74c5bd190aecf18
- 0x9108828e30f2de407aadb0af677b4a9228e4acd4
Historically, bridges have ranked among crypto’s costliest weak points, and 2026 has been no exception. A tracker from DefiLlama counts more than 20 crypto hacks in June alone.
The published addresses of attackers give investigators a trail to follow as funds move. Whether Taiko can recover the stolen assets may hinge on how fast exchanges freeze the flagged wallets.
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The post Taiko Exploit Adds to June Tally of Over 20 Crypto Hacks appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Global markets are entering the week of June 22 with a clearer pecking order of risk. The Strait of Hormuz and Trump’s war is no longer the dominant driver; the Federal Reserve is.
After months of whipsaw headlines from the US-Iran conflict, traders have largely stopped flinching at each new diplomatic twist. The bigger force repricing oil, gold, stocks, and Bitcoin (BTC) is Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s hawkish debut at the June 17 FOMC meeting.
Oil Deflates as War Premium Fades
Brent crude settled around $80 on Friday, June 19, after US-Iran talks were abruptly called off, yet the reaction was muted. WTI traded near $76, down roughly 34% from conflict highs.
Three Saudi supertankers carrying roughly six million barrels transited the strait last week. Tanker owners report cautious but growing confidence in the waterway. The war premium that once consumed markets is unwinding, even without a signed peace deal.
Warsh Reframes Gold and Stocks
Gold fell to around $4,150 per ounce on Friday, as the dollar climbed to a one-year high. The driver was not geopolitics but the Warsh hawkish FOMC shift, where nine of 18 officials now project at least one rate hike in 2026.
Goldman Sachs cut its year-end gold target to $4,900 from $5,400. US equities held up better, with the S&P 500 recovering from Fed-day losses, closing its 11th winning week in 12.
Bitcoin Caught Between Two Headwinds
BTC trades near $64,000, holding above recent lows but unable to build meaningful momentum. As BeInCrypto reported, Warsh’s press conference sent Bitcoin lower alongside gold, with rate hike odds now at 66% squeezing liquidity expectations that had supported risk assets earlier in the year.
Bitcoin is trading nearly 50% below its October 2025 all-time high of $126,198. The week ahead brings US GDP and PCE data, two readings that will either reinforce Warsh’s hawkish lean or give Bitcoin price a brief reprieve.
The post Fed Hawkishness Displaces Hormuz Noise as the Dominant Market Risk appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Three catalysts are converging this week that could shift sentiment across equities, chips, and the inflation outlook. FedEx earnings, Micron’s fiscal Q3 results, and the May Personal Consumption Expenditures price index are all due in the coming days.
The combination arrives at a tense moment for markets still digesting the Iran war’s economic fallout and reassessing when the Federal Reserve might next move on interest rates.
FedEx Breaks New Ground Tuesday
FedEx (FDX) reports fiscal fourth-quarter results Tuesday, June 23. The print marks the company’s first as a pure-play logistics and parcel firm following the June 1 spinoff of FedEx Freight.
A calendar shift to a December fiscal year adds another layer of complexity, making year-over-year comparisons difficult. Analysts expect revenue for the quarter to reach $24.04 billion, up 8.8% from a year earlier, while full-year earnings per share are projected at $19.78, up 8.7% from fiscal 2025.
Micron Carries the AI Trade Wednesday
Micron Technology (MU) reports fiscal Q3 results Wednesday, June 24. After a roughly 280% gain in 2026 built almost entirely on the high-bandwidth memory that feeds AI accelerators, the print is the single clearest test of whether that boom is a durable, structural shift or another memory cycle that has run ahead of itself.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank and TD Cowen both raised price targets to $1,500 ahead of the Micron earnings results, citing AI demand outrunning supply through 2028. Key customers remain able to secure only between 50% and two-thirds of their bit demand requirements, with no expectation of supply catching up in the near term.
PCE Data Thursday Tests the Oil Relief Narrative
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, the PCE price index for May, drops Thursday, June 25. Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas estimates the Iran war pushed headline PCE inflation up 1.7 percentage points at an annualized rate in the first quarter of 2026, with effects expected to remain elevated through the third quarter.
However, WTI crude settling near $76 a barrel last week, down sharply from above $90 throughout May, could provide meaningful relief in the months ahead. Whether the chipflation risk from rising AI memory costs offsets some of that energy-driven easing remains an open question heading into the data.
The post FedEx, Micron Earnings and PCE Data Set to Shape Markets This Week appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Donald Trump has all but confirmed reports that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to resign, singling out his government’s ban on new North Sea oil licences as a central cause of his political collapse.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, June 21, Trump wrote that Starmer had “failed badly” on two issues, immigration and energy, demanding the UK “open North Sea oil.”
North Sea Ban Under Fire as Energy Bills Surge
The UK government announced on November 26, 2025 that it would grant no new oil and gas exploration licenses. It became the largest economy to take that step. The move drew immediate criticism, and its political cost has grown sharply since.
The ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran disrupted oil and gas flows across the Middle East and triggered a sharp rise in UK energy prices. Since the outbreak of the conflict, Brent crude surged from around $73 a barrel to nearly $114 — while June gas futures on the Dutch TTF jumped nearly 50%.
Ofgem confirmed a 13% rise in the household energy price cap from July. This lifted the annual dual-fuel bill from £1,641 to £1,862, with gas bills climbing 24% and electricity rising 5%.
Critics have pointed to the North Sea ban as compounding British exposure to that shock. Although analysts from Oxford’s Smith School note that even maximum North Sea extraction would save households only between £16 and £82 per year. This is because any domestic oil is sold at global market prices regardless of origin.
Starmer’s Position Collapses
Trump had previously told reporters that Starmer is “a nice man” but warned he needed to “straighten out immigration” and “start drilling”. Sunday’s post dropped the ambiguity entirely.
Starmer’s political position had weakened significantly following major losses in local elections. Andy Burnham’s decisive win in the Makerfield by-election didn’t help either. There are also around 100 Labour MPs formally requesting his resignation.
UK media reported widely on Sunday that an announcement was expected Monday.
The post Trump Declares Starmer Will Resign, Blames North Sea Oil Ban appeared first on BeInCrypto.
UK’s Starmer could set out exit timetable on Monday as Burnham waits in the wings
What next as bitcoin drifts under $64,000
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