Alex Salmond says ‘never say never’ about reconciliation with Nicola Sturgeon
Alex Salmond has refused to rule out a reconciliation with his successor Nicola Sturgeon, saying he would be “sad” if they remained on poor terms.
Ms Sturgeon, who stepped down as SNP leader and Scottish first minister earlier this year, was once close to him, but they had a well-publicised falling out after Mr Salmond faced sexual harassment allegations.
He was cleared of all charges following a high court trial, but Ms Sturgeon, 53, has continued to insist the relationship with her former mentor cannot be repaired.
Asked about the falling out as he appeared at Iain Dale All Talk at the Edinburgh Fringe on Tuesday, Mr Salmond, 68, would only say “never say never” when it came to trying to rebuild their relationship.
The former SNP leader, who now heads up the rival pro-independence Alba Party, said he had been “oblivious” when Ms Sturgeon had told the same show last year she had not been in touch with Mr Salmond since.
Asked if he could see a situation where the pair could ever reconcile, Mr Salmond said: “You should never say never.”
On the prospect of not speaking to his successor again, he added: “I would be sad if that was the case.”
But, referring to the Police Scotland investigation into SNP finances, where both Ms Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell were arrested, before being released without charge, Mr Salmond added to “be quite frank I think Nicola has got more immediate things to worry about”.
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Alex Salmond speaking to Sky News about Nicola Sturgeon
His comments came as he claimed the Alba Party could potentially win 24 seats at the next Scottish Parliament elections – adding the party could become a “key part” in an independence coalition at Holyrood.
Alba has not yet had a parliamentarian elected to either Westminster or Holyrood, with the party’s two MPs, Neale Hanvey and Kenny MacAskill, both defecting from the SNP to Alba after being elected.
Speaking about the support for his party, Mr Salmond said “these things take time”, adding that “political parties take time to establish themselves”.
With Holyrood elections fought using proportional representation, Mr Salmond continued: “The target for Alba is to get 15% of the vote on the regional list vote, that will get us about 24 seats.
“And if the cards fall correctly we will be able to be a key part of an independence coalition in that parliament.”
That coalition should then proceed “in terms of seeking a mandate to negotiate independence”, Mr Salmond said, saying “the referendum route has been blocked, partly due to the tactics employed by Nicola”.
He also insisted he still had “something to contribute” in the fight for Scottish independence.
Mr Salmond said: “The vote didn’t go the way I wanted it to but at least we had the mechanism for people to exercise the right of self-determination, and I think I could help contribute to that again.”
New Hampshire has approved the issuance of a $100 million municipal bond backed by Bitcoin, in what appears to be the first structure of its kind at the US state level.
Minutes from a Nov. 17 meeting of the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority (BFA), the state’s business financing agency, show the board planned “to consider approving a resolution authorizing up to $100,000,000 bonds for a project to acquire and hold digital currency.”
Minutes from the following day record that directors voted to “approve the preliminary official intent, with no reservation, to issue a taxable conduit revenue bond for WaveRose Depositor, LLC of up to $100,000,000.”
According to a Wednesday Crypto in America report, the bond is backed by Bitcoin (BTC) and would let companies borrow against overcollateralized BTC held by a private custodian. The state or taxpayers do not back the bond; instead, BFA approves and oversees a private deal, while Bitcoin — reportedly held in custody by BitGo — covers investors.
According to the report, asset manager Wave Digital Assets and bond specialist Rosemawr Management designed the bond to utilize Bitcoin as collateral under the same rules that govern municipal and corporate bonds. Wave co-founder Les Borsai said the goal is to “bridge traditional fixed income with digital assets” for institutional investors.
Related: New Hampshire, North Dakota introduce bills for Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
“We believe this structure shows how public and private sectors can collaborate to responsibly unlock the value of digital assets and digital asset reserves,” he added.
The borrower is expected to post approximately 160% of the bond’s value in Bitcoin as collateral, and if the price of BTC drops below roughly 130%, a liquidation would ensure that bondholders stay whole. According to BFA Executive Director James Key-Wallace, fees from the transaction will fund the local innovation and entrepreneurship program, the Bitcoin Economic Development Fund.
New Hampshire dives headfirst into crypto
The news follows New Hampshire becoming the first US state to allow its government to invest in cryptocurrencies in May after Governor Kelly Ayotte signed a bill allowing the municipality to “invest in cryptocurrency and precious metals.”
Related: US won’t start Bitcoin reserve until other countries do: Mike Alfred
New Hampshire is also working on a bill to deregulate local cryptocurrency mining operations. In late October, a committee voted 4–2 to send the measure for further review in an interim study after it had been deadlocked in the State Senate twice.
The local administration is viewed as particularly welcoming to the cryptocurrency industry. In early February, Brendan Cochrane, an Anti-Money Laundering specialist at YK Law in New York City, argued that it could become an alternative for crypto companies relocating to the Bahamas.
The latest moves build on a longer history of crypto engagement. Back in 2015, New Hampshire was already working on a bill that would have allowed the state government to accept tax and fee payments in Bitcoin.
The bill ultimately failed in 2016, but it shows how early the local administration began to show interest in this asset class. Additionally, as early as 2016, some advocates were already arguing that New Hampshire was among the world’s most Bitcoin-friendly communities.
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Ondo Global Markets, a US-based tokenization platform, has received regulatory approval to offer tokenized stocks to European investors.
Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority (FMA) has granted Ondo approval to launch its tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the European Union and the broader European Economic Area (EEA), the company announced on Tuesday.
“With this milestone, more than 500 million investors in 30 European countries can soon access regulated exposure to US markets directly onchain,” Ondo said.
The news came a few weeks after Ondo partnered with Boerse Stuttgart Group’s digital asset arm BX Digital to enable the tokenized stock trading in Switzerland on Nov. 3.
Liechtenstein adopts MiCA despite not being EU member state
Liechtenstein’s approval positions Ondo to offer tokenized stocks and ETFs to retail investors across all 30 EEA countries, including all 27 EU nations plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
The regulatory milestone positions Ondo to operate within a “unified, regulated European framework consistent with established investor-protection standards,” the company said.
Ondo did not specify the framework under which it secured approval to offer tokenized stocks in Europe, but highlighted Liechtenstein’s passporting regime, which extends across the EEA.
As an EEA member state, Liechtenstein implemented the EU-wide Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework through the EEA MiCA Implementation Act, EWR-MiCA-DG, which entered into force in February.
Following the expiry of the transitional regime on Dec. 31, 2025, crypto asset service providers (CASPs) must hold MiCA authorization from Liechtenstein’s FMA.
Related: Ondo tokenizes over 100 US stocks and ETFs on BNB Chain
Cointelegraph approached Ondo and the FMA for comment regarding the nature of the approval but had not received a response at the time of publication.
The news arrives amid rising tensions within the EU over the extent of supervisory authority that member states should retain under MiCA. According to reports, EU officials are drafting plans to designate the European Securities and Markets Authority as the direct regulator for all CASPs across the bloc.
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