Harborne, Reform’s biggest donor, said in an article published by the Telegraph newspaper on Saturday that he had matched a record £36 million donation announced on Friday by fellow cryptocurrency entrepreneur Ben Delo.

“A strong country is one that is funded by a vigorous economy which is creating jobs. That’s why I’m putting my money into what I believe is the only viable cause which will get the job of regeneration done,” Harborne wrote in the newspaper.

“My view is that Nigel Farage and the party fully understand what a government needs to do to get our country back on the right track.

“Whilst I have been making donations to Reform of around £1m a month, Ben Delo told me he was going to make a record donation of £36 million. My competitive spirit inspired me to match it, so that is what I’ve done,” Harbone said.

The donations amount to £72 million in funding for the party over 48 hours.

(Reuters)

MOKAS data shows that seized assets totalled €63.2 million in 2024 and €27.6 million in 2025. The unit attributes the overall increase in asset seizures in recent years to a coordinated effort launched in 2023 by MOKAS, the police, and the prosecuting authority to enforce proceeds-of-crime recovery measures more effectively.

According to MOKAS’s annual report, stripping criminals of illegal proceeds is a key enforcement tool — both as a punishment and as a safeguard against dirty money entering the legitimate economy.

2025 domestic seizures

In 2025, domestic criminal investigations saw seizures of illegal proceeds exceeding €10 million. Combined with assets frozen following five requests from foreign authorities, the total exceeded €27 million.

Assets frozen under domestic court orders issued on MOKAS applications included real estate worth €8 million, cash totalling €1.55 million, $1,605 and £465. Cryptocurrencies worth over €617,000 were also seized, along with vehicles worth €252,000, jewellery worth €30,000, and other luxury items.

Assets frozen under foreign court orders, issued on the basis of mutual legal assistance requests, totalled €17.1 million. These comprised €7.1 million in cash, $522,000, and €1.9 million, along with cryptocurrencies worth €183,000, real estate worth €7.3 million, and other luxury items.

Confiscations also up

Separately, 2025 saw an increase in asset confiscations — a distinct measure from freezing — with the value of confiscated assets exceeding €6.5 million. Of that total, €6.3 million related to domestic confiscation orders, with the remainder linked to foreign orders.

Suspicious transaction reports rise

The Financial Intelligence Unit intensified its analysis of priority reports and increased the number of referrals to competent authorities — both for criminal investigation and for identifying and freezing illegal proceeds.

MOKAS referrals rose by around 70% in 2025, reaching 572. The unit also exchanged information with counterpart units abroad in 631 cases and forwarded reports in a further 77 cases.

Suspicious transaction reports received from obliged entities also increased. A significant share came from entities licensed in Cyprus that provide services across the European area. In total, 21,857 reports were submitted to MOKAS in 2025, of which 246 concerned the Financial Intelligence Unit.

Read more:

CySEC announced today that licensed entities can now notify the regulatory authority of their intention to provide crypto services, with application and notification forms available on the commission’s website.

“This preliminary stage is designed to ensure a smooth transition to MiCAR, which marks a significant step forward for investor protection in financial markets”, said CySEC chairman Dr George Theocharides.

The commission clarified that final decisions on licensing approvals, rejections, or notification completeness will only be made after MiCAR comes into effect for CASPs on December 30, 2024.

Read more:

The victim claimed to have been lured into a fraudulent investment scheme on a specific website, where he was encouraged to invest in cryptocurrencies by an online contact. Upon realising the website was fake, he discovered the substantial loss.

Authorities are now probing the incident, urging the public to be vigilant against online scams.

The police advise individuals to conduct transactions and investments only through reputable companies and approved advisors. Protecting personal information, including bank details and online account credentials, is also crucial in preventing such fraud.

Bitcoin BTC= jumped 5% during the Asian session to an intraday peak of $66,540 in volatile trading, not too far from Tuesday’s record high of $69,202. It was last 4% higher at $65,946.

The digital asset’s meteoric rally – having already surged 55% for the year so far – has been fuelled by investors pouring money into U.S. spot exchange-traded crypto products and the prospect that global interest rates may fall.

The rally is backed by ETF flow and an outlook that includes an ethereum upgrade and bitcoin “halving,” which slows the flow of bitcoin minting, said Lennix Lai, global chief commercial officer at crypto exchange OKX.

“The trend also indicates an elevated level of mainstream acceptance of bitcoin, perhaps more than ever before.”

The approval of 11 spot bitcoin ETFs by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in late January had marked a watershed moment for the industry, following an 18-month long crypto winter plagued by a string of high-profile corporate bankruptcies and scandals.

Even institutional investors who once shunned the token due to its sharp and wild moves, have begun committing long-term money too, which experts say could help sustain the latest leg of its rally.

The recent optimism over bitcoin has also spilled over to its counterparts, with ether ETH=, the second largest cryptocurrency, similarly up more than 60% for the year.

It was last 6.4% higher at $3,750.

Still, some say it’s hard to shake off the speculative nature of these assets. After hitting the record high on Tuesday, bitcoin sharply reversed course and fell more than 10% back below the $60,000 level.

“That looks like classic bitcoin behaviour – it chews you up then spits you back out,” said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index.

“A pump and dump to previous record highs wiped out some weaker hands, and I suspect we’re now in the volatile and erratic phase we usually see when it reaches a record high.”

(Reuters)

The world’s largest cryptocurrency hit a high of $69,202, topping November 2021’s all-time peak of $68,999.99. Investor interest has increased since the Securities and Exchange Commission approved 11 spot bitcoin ETFs in late January.

Bitcoin’s meteoric nearly 160% ascent since October, of which 44% came in February alone, marks a sharp contrast to 2022, when the market was beaten into an 18-month long crypto winter, plagued by a string of high-profile corporate bankruptcies and scandal.

In addition to demand from a wider pool of investors, bitcoin, and crypto generally, has gotten a boost from the prospect of the Federal Reserve cutting U.S. interest rates, which often prompts investors to divert capital into assets that are higher yielding or more volatile.

Investors have lapped up crypto, mega-cap technology stocks and investment-grade corporate bonds in particular this year.

Analysts say bitcoin also benefited ahead of April’s so-called halving event – a process that takes place every four years in which the rate at which tokens are released is cut in half, along with the rewards given to miners.

Supply of bitcoin is limited to 21 million, of which 19 million have already been mined.

Despite its recent popularity, for many investors, bitcoin is simply too volatile and lacks enough real-world applications to be anything other than a speculative asset.

Yet, in addition to the cocktail of flows of money into ETFs, the prospect of constrained bitcoin supply and an eventual decline in U.S. interest rates, some companies are adding crypto to their corporate coffers.

In February, software firm MicroStrategy MSTR.O – a long time holder of bitcoin – said it had recently bought about 3,000 more bitcoins for $155 million, while social media platform Reddit also said in a regulatory filing it had bought small amounts of bitcoin and ether ETH=.

(Reuters)

It touched $64,285 early in the Asian day, its highest since late 2021, and was last 2% firmer for the session at $63,850. Bitcoin’s record high is $68,999.99 set in November 2021.

The largest cryptocurrency by market value has gained 50% this year and most of the rise come in the last few weeks where trading volume has surged for U.S.-listed bitcoin funds.

Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds were approved in the United States earlier this year. Their launch opened the way for new large investors and has re-ignited enthusiasm and momentum reminiscent of the run up to record levels in 2021.

“The flows are not drying up as investors feel more confident the higher price appears to go,” said Markus Thielen, head of research at crypto analytics house 10x Research in Singapore.

Smaller rival ether ETH= has hitched a ride on speculation that it too may soon have exchange-traded funds driving inflows. It’s up 50% year-to-date though at $3,490 on Monday stayed just shy of two-year highs made last week.

The rally has come in tandem with records tumbling on stock indexes from Japan’s Nikkei .N225 to the S&P 500 .SPX and tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC and with volatility gauges in equities .VIX and foreign exchange .DBCVIX turning lower.

“In a world where Nasdaq is making new all-time highs, crypto is going to perform well as bitcoin remains a high-volatility tech proxy and liquidity thermometer,” said Brent Donnelly, trader and president at analysis firm Spectra Markets.

“We are back to a 2021-style market where everything goes up and everyone is having fun.”

(Reuters)

The approval and launch of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S. this year has opened the asset class to new investors and reignited the excitement that evaporated when prices collapsed in the “crypto winter” of 2022.

The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation BTC= was last up 3.4% at $62,205, having changed hands at $63,933 overnight, the highest since late 2021.

Bitcoin’s monthly gain is more than 47%, its largest since December 2020, and its rally has pulled ether ETH= along in its wake. The smaller cryptocurrency topped $3,500 for the first time since April 2022 on Wednesday and was last up 4.3% at $3,466, taking its February increase to 52%.

The momentum in bitcoin suggested “a test and likely break” of $69,000, said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at brokerage IG Markets. That would put bitcoin beyond its record high set in the heady days of crypto peaks in November 2021.

“If this were any other market, it would likely be in the ‘blow-off top – don’t go near that bubble’ category,” said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index.

“But bitcoin is back in its parabolic-rally phase, with no immediate signs of a top.”

The head of Coinbase Global COIN.O said the exchange was dealing with a surge in traffic and LSEG data shows around $612 million flowed into the 10 largest spot bitcoin ETFs on Wednesday, the most since Feb 14.

BlackRock’s iShares bitcoin trust IBIT.O was the major beneficiary, with $550 million in flows – the most in a single day to the fund since its inception in January.

Traders have also poured into bitcoin ahead of April’s halving event, a process that takes place every four years in which the rate at which tokens are released is cut in half, along with the rewards given to miners.

Supply of bitcoin is limited to 21 million, of which 19 million have already been mined.

In addition, the prospect of the U.S. Federal Reserve delivering a series of interest rate cuts this year has lowered the yields available on bonds and boosted investor appetite for riskier assets, including fast-growing tech stocks.

“Rate cuts matter,” said Geoff Kendrick, head of crypto research at Standard Chartered, “If you can get higher returns elsewhere, Treasury yields are higher, then you’re comparing that against what you can earn from bitcoin”.

Kendrick said the health of the U.S. economy and the inflows into bitcoin funds have been more important factors.

“The ETF inflows have been huge,” he added.

(Reuters)

Bitcoin BTC= was last up 4.5% at $59,244, its highest since December 2021.

Traders have poured into bitcoin ahead of April’s halving event – a process designed to slow the release of the cryptocurrency. In addition, the prospect of the Federal Reserve delivering a series of rate cuts this year has fed investor appetite for higher-yielding or more volatile assets.

“Bitcoin is being driven by the support of consistent inflows into the new spot ETFs and outlook for April’s halving event and June’s Fed interest rate cuts,” Ben Laidler, global markets strategist at retail investment platform eToro, said.

The value of all the bitcoin in circulation has topped $2 trillion this month for the first time in two years, according to crypto platform CoinGecko, while the price of the token itself has doubled in just four months.

The bigger bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have seen a definite pickup in interest this week.

The three most popular, run by Grayscale GBTC.O, Fidelity FTBC.K and BlackRock IBIT.O, have seen trading volumes surge.

On Monday and Tuesday, around 110 million shares in the biggest three changed hands, about 51% of the 215 million shares traded in the market’s most valuable companies – Apple AAPL.O, Microsoft MSFT.O and Nvidia NVDA.O, according to LSEG data.

Three weeks ago, this percentage was closer to 15%.

“Essentially, we’re seeing the ETF effect ahead of schedule. Inflows into them stepped up quickly last week and have been sustained, and we think it’s reflective of advisors getting out there very quickly to start selling the ETFs to clients,” Joseph Edwards, head of research at Enigma Securities, said.

LSEG data showed flows into the 10 largest spot bitcoin ETFs brought in flows of $420 million on Tuesday alone, the most in almost two weeks.

Crypto investor and software firm MicroStrategy MSTR.O earlier this week disclosed it had recently bought about 3,000 bitcoins for $155 million, while social media platform Reddit also said in a regulatory filing it had bought small amounts of bitcoin and ether.

Meanwhile, the world’s second biggest crypto currency ether, ETH=, which underpins the Ethereum blockchain network, rose 2.2% to $3,320, having hit another two-year high earlier in the day. The price has risen 47% in February, the biggest monthly gain since a 70% rally in July 2022.

Some investors are hoping U.S. regulators will approve applications for ETFs based on spot ether.

Enigma Securities’ Edwards said the run higher felt reasonably steady.

“There certainly isn’t a manic feeling to who’s buying and why – ether gaining against the field also speaks to a more measured environment – but there’s at least a little FOMO (fear of missing out) going on right now,” he said.

(Reuters)

Its resurgence has electrified the broader cryptocurrency market, including ether ETH= and other digital coins, which has now exceeded $2 trillion, as per data from CoinGecko.

The sector has been bolstered by the U.S. regulatory approval of several spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), from BlackRock and Fidelity among others, which allow access to the crypto coin vis regular stock exchanges.

The U.S. spot ETFs added 60,000 bitcoin in the first month of their launch, more than twice the miner production in the same period, brokerage Bernstein said.

“The amount of flows far outstrips anyone’s expectation,” said Mark Connors, head of research at Canada’s 3iQ Corp.

Crypto trading volumes are also robust.

Total spot trading volumes on centralized exchanges rose 4.4% to $1.4 trillion in January, recording the fourth consecutive monthly increase and the highest reading since June 2022, a report by London-based researcher CCData said.

The resurgence of interest helped the largest listed crypto exchange Coinbase GlobalCOIN.O post its first quarterly profit in two years last week .

“The bitcoin appreciation is contributing to better spot bitcoin ETF flows, which is in turn driving bitcoin prices higher, and pulling other tokens higher as well,” J.P.Morgan analysts said.

$150,000 BITCOIN IN 2025?

Many industry watchers say the outlook is looking bright at the moment, with investors buying bitcoin ahead of the blockchain’s “halving” – a preplanned process that reduces mining rewards in half every four years – due in April.

Gautam Chhugani, analyst at Bernstein, expects 2024 to be a break-out year for cryptocurrencies where bitcoin hits all-time highs followed by a peak of $150,000 by mid-2025.

“This optimistic outlook is bolstered by the expectation of an upcoming halving event and the possibility of interest-rate reductions,” CCData analysts said.

While bitcoin remain 32% away from its record high of $69,000, it notched an all-time high against the Japanese yen BTCJPY= at 7,919,000 yen last week.

BEWARE GREEDY CORRECTION

It’s not all crypto high-fives: There are some signs the market is being by investors driven by FOMO.

CoinGlass’ Crypto Fear & Greed Index, a scale of 0 to 100 where zero denotes “extreme fear” and 100 signals “extreme greed”, hovered at 72. Usually when investors get too greedy, it signals the market is due for a correction.

Riskier assets such as bitcoin could be threatened by persistently high interest rates; traders’ have pushed back bets of a rate cut to June from March following a string of strong U.S. economic data.

“While we remain bullish with liquidity rushing back into risk assets, inflation being sticky over 3% remains a downside risk and would also mean increased volatility across markets,” analysts at crypto trading firm QCP Markets said.

(Reuters)