Scotland ‘will choose independence’, insists First Minister Humza Yousaf as new policy paper released
Scotland’s First Minister has insisted the Yes campaign would win “comprehensively” if a second referendum on independence was held tomorrow.
Despite several polls putting support for independence at less than 50%, Humza Yousaf made the claim as he published the latest paper from the Scottish government to make the case for leaving the UK.
The document proposes an independent Scotland would adopt a similar system for citizenship as Ireland, allowing people born elsewhere to apply to become Scottish citizens if they have a Scottish parent.
The paper also proposes that EU citizens living in Scotland or the UK before 31 December 2020 would be entitled to receive settled status in Scotland, and children born in Scotland after independence would automatically be a Scottish citizen if at least one of their parents is a Scottish, British or Irish citizen, or has settled status in Scotland.
Mr Yousaf, who described himself as a “proud Scottish Pakistani”, said the “welcoming” and “inclusive” approach being set out could attract more people to Scotland and help tackle the demographic challenge the country faces, with an increasingly elderly population and fewer people of working age.
He said: “We know that one of the biggest challenges we face is that demographic challenge, and therefore having more people of working age coming here contributing, living, studying, working in Scotland, I think is a good thing.”
He insisted: “If there was a referendum tomorrow, we would win it and win it comprehensively.
“That’s also part of the reason why of course I’m publishing these papers, because they help to make the argument, give people the information they need to make that informed decision about independence.”
He also insisted he is “confident” the Scottish government will be able to continue to publish papers in favour of independence, despite Simon Case, the cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, revealing earlier this month that civil servants north of the border could be issued with new guidance on such work within weeks.
Mr Yousaf said: “I’m confident in our position in terms of the publication of these papers.
“But I think it also speaks volumes that those who oppose independence are trying to shut down the debate instead of bringing forward their proposals for maintaining the union. They’re more obsessed with trying to shut down our case.”
Read more:
Indyref2: Does the hunger for independence remain in Scotland’s ‘Yes’ towns and cities?
Yousaf accused of putting party’s general election independence bid ‘on steroids’
First minister sets out ‘radical’ plans for independent Scotland to have written constitution
Scottish Conservative constitution spokesman Donald Cameron said: “People across Scotland will be appalled that Humza Yousaf is focusing on yet another self-indulgent paper touting independence. It is the wrong priority at the worst possible time.”
He branded the paper a “blatant misuse of public money and resources”.
Mr Cameron said: “Rather than wasting taxpayers’ money and civil servants’ time on pushing a divisive, party political agenda, a strong first minister would be concentrating on Scots’ real priorities – cost-of-living difficulties, unacceptable NHS waiting times and the ferries crisis.”
Scottish Labour constitution spokesman Neil Bibby said the latest paper comes while the “NHS is in chaos and people are struggling to make ends meet during the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades”.
He said the Scottish government is being “distracted” from dealing with these issues by its “constitutional obsession”, and said: “Humza Yousaf is completely out of touch with Scotland’s priorities and bereft of new ideas.”
But Mr Yousaf however that independence is “inherent” to tackling issues such as the cost-of-living crisis.
He said: “Because we don’t have independence, we’re suffering austerity from a Westminster government that we didn’t elect. We’re suffering from a hard Brexit that we did not vote for. We’re suffering from a cost-of-living crisis that has been imposed upon us.
“So independence actually is central to the cost-of-living crisis.”
Over $4 trillion worth of real estate could be tokenized on blockchain networks during the next decade, potentially offering investors greater access to property ownership opportunities, according to a new report.
The Deloitte Center for Financial Services predicts that over $4 trillion worth of real estate may be tokenized by 2035, up from less than $300 billion in 2024. The report, published April 24, estimates a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 27%.
The $4 trillion of tokenized property is predicted to stem from the benefits of blockchain-based assets, as well as a structural shift across real estate and property ownership.
“Real estate itself is undergoing transformation. Post-pandemic work-from-home trends, climate risk, and digitization have reshaped property fundamentals,” according to Chris Yin, co-founder of Plume Network, a blockchain built for real-world assets (RWAs).
“Office buildings are being repurposed into AI data centers, logistics hubs and energy-efficient residential communities,” Yin told Cointelegraph.
“Investors want targeted access to these modern use cases, and tokenization enables programmable, customizable exposure to such evolving asset profiles,” he said.
Related: Blockchain needs regulation, scalability to close AI hiring gap
The uncertainty triggered by US President Donald Trump’s import tariffs has boosted investor interest in the RWA tokenization sector, which involves minting financial products and tangible assets on a blockchain.
Both stablecoins and RWAs have attracted significant capital as safe-haven assets amid the global trade concerns, Juan Pellicer, senior research analyst at IntoTheBlock, told Cointelegraph.
The tariff concerns also led tokenized gold volume to surpass $1 billion in trading volume on April 10, its highest level since March 2023 when a US banking crisis saw the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the voluntary liquidation of Silvergate Bank
Related: US banks are ‘free to begin supporting Bitcoin’ — Michael Saylor
Blockchain innovation could drive regulatory clarity
Growing RWA adoption may inspire a more welcoming stance from global regulators, Yin said.
“While regulation is a hurdle, regulation follows usage,” he explained, likening tokenization to Uber’s growth before widespread regulatory acceptance:
“Tokenization is similar — as demand increases, regulatory clarity will follow.”
He added that making tokenized products compliant with a wide range of international regulations is key to unlocking broader market access.
However, some industry watchers are skeptical about the benefits introduced by tokenized real estate.
“I don’t think tokenization should have its eyes directly set on real estate,” said Securitize chief operating officer Michael Sonnenshein at Paris Blockchain Week 2025.
“I’m sure there are all kinds of efficiencies that can be unlocked using blockchain technology to eliminate middlemen, escrow, and all kinds of things in real estate. But I think today, what the onchain economy is demanding are more liquid assets,” he added.
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United States Senator Cynthia Lummis suggests the crypto industry may be celebrating too soon over the US Federal Reserve softening its crypto guidance for banks.
“The Fed withdrawing crypto guidance is just noise, not real progress,” Lummis said in an April 25 X post. Lummis called the Fed’s April 24 announcement — withdrawing its 2022 supervisory letter that had discouraged banks from engaging with crypto and stablecoin activities — “just lip service.”
Lummis’ tone was different from the rest of the crypto industry
Lummis, a pro-crypto advocate known for introducing the Bitcoin (BTC) Strategic Reserve Bill in July 2024, pointed out several flaws in the Fed’s announcement, even as Strategy founder Michael Saylor and crypto entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano suggested it was a step forward for banks and crypto.
She argued that the Fed continues to “illegally flout the law on master accounts” and still relies on reputational risk in its bank supervision practices. It comes as the Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation (FDIC) is working on a rule to stop examiners from considering reputational risk when reviewing a bank’s operations, according to a recent Bloomberg report.
Lummis also highlighted the Fed’s policy statement in Section 9(13), which hasn’t been withdrawn, stating that Bitcoin and digital assets are considered “unsafe and unsound.”
She also reiterated many of the same staff behind Operation Chokepoint 2.0 are still involved in crypto policy today.
“We are NOT fooled. The Fed assassinated companies within the industry and hurt American interests by stifling innovation and shuttering businesses. This fight is far from over.”
“I will continue to hold the Fed accountable until the digital asset industry gets more than a life jacket, Chair Powell — they need a fair shake,” Lummis said.
Related: If Trump fired Powell, what would happen to crypto?
Custodia Bank founder and CEO Caitlin Long seemed to share a similar view to Lummis.
“THANK YOU for seeing this for what it is,” Long said.
However, many crypto executives praised the Fed’s announcement as a positive development for the industry. Saylor said in an April 25 X post that the Fed’s move means that “banks are now free to begin supporting Bitcoin.”
Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum, said the Fed’s decision “is a significant development, as it will simplify the path to institutional adoption.”
Magazine: Ethereum is destroying the competition in the $16.1T TradFi tokenization race
In one of his first appearances as the recently sworn-in chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins delivered remarks to the agency’s third roundtable discussion of crypto regulation.
In the “Know Your Custodian” roundtable event on April 25, Atkins said he expected “huge benefits” from blockchain technology through efficiency, risk mitigation, transparency, and cutting costs. He reiterated that among his goals at the SEC would be to facilitate “clear regulatory rules of the road” for digital assets, hinting that the agency under former chair Gary Gensler had contributed to market and regulatory uncertainty.
“I look forward to engaging with market participants and working with colleagues in President Trump’s administration and Congress to establish a rational fit-for-purpose framework for crypto assets,” said Atkins.
Some critics of US President Donald Trump see Atkins’ nomination to lead the SEC as a nod to the crypto industry, acting on campaign promises to remove Gensler — the former chair resigned the day Trump took office — and cut back on regulation. Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee questioned Atkins on his ties to the industry, potentially presenting conflicts of interest in his role regulating crypto.
Related: Atkins SEC era sparks massive industry optimism, crypto execs speak out
The direction of the SEC under new leadership
“We’ve noticed that we don’t have to be as concerned […] about being accused of things that we’re not doing, like being broker-dealers for securities,” Exodus chief legal officer Veronica McGregor, who participated in the roundtable, told Cointelegraph on April 24.”It’s just a less scary regulatory environment in general. It is, however, still unclear what the ultimate regs are going to look like for crypto.”
The SEC crypto task force is scheduled to hold two more roundtables in May and June to discuss tokenization and decentralized finance, respectively. Commissioner Hester Peirce, who leads the task force, told Cointelegraph in March that she welcomed the opportunity to work with Atkins to “reorient the agency,” hinting at an SEC with regulations more favorable to the crypto industry.
In addition to the roundtables, the crypto task force has reported several meetings with digital asset firms to discuss various policies and considerations in developing a regulatory framework.
Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered
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