‘A haemorrhaging of public servants out of Northern Ireland’: The impact of years without a govt
Without political input, many important decisions on budgets and public sector pay have been impossible to pass.
Successive suspensions at Stormont over the years have contributed to long-term issues in the public sector, with impacts seen across all areas of public services.
But perhaps nowhere more so than in the health and social care sector.
There are over 420,000 people currently waiting for their first consultant-led outpatient appointment following referral, an increase of more than fivefold since 2008.
While some individuals may appear on the list more than once awaiting separate treatments, this is still a huge figure in a population of 1.9 million.
In the latest available figures to the end of September, half of these had been waiting for more than a year to see a consultant, up from 5% in June 2015.
And nearly one in three patients had been waiting for more than two years for their initial consultation, up from 0.1% in September 2015.
Health and Social Care Northern Ireland’s figures are not directly comparable with NHS England, which uses a different measure (from referral to treatment rather than to first appointment).
However, as a broad comparison, while waiting times have also been poor in England in November, only 4.7% had been waiting more than a year to complete their entire treatment journey following initial referral and less than 0.01% for more than two years.
Meadbhba Monaghan, chief executive of the Patient and Client Council (PCC), told Sky News: “The issues facing Health and Social Care (HSC) services in Northern Ireland are significant and varied; they have been building over a long period of time, and will not be fixed overnight.
“Through our work in supporting the public, we can clearly see many people are concerned about how they are communicated with, and how they experience services. This includes the quality of care they are receiving and how long they have to wait to access that care.
“Our physical and mental health is fundamental to our wellbeing, the current pressures on the HSC system and staff will be having a negative impact on individuals and their families.”
What has happened in the political vacuum
The devolved government has been suspended on five other occasions since it first sat in 1999 following the Good Friday peace agreement, with the longest suspension lasting for four-and-a-half years between October 2002 and May 2007.
However, in the context of post-pandemic recovery and an unprecedented cost of living crisis, the recent suspension has been “vastly more difficult”, according to recently retired senior civil servant Andrew McCormick.
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Stormont deal divides MPs
The former director general of international relations in the Executive Office and ex-permanent secretary at the Department for the Economy told Sky News: “Civil servants can make some routine decisions to keep things going as best they can, but it’s very limited.
“I know that my former colleagues have found it incredibly, incredibly difficult this last couple of years, with the cost of living and inflation making the situation much more fraught [than the last suspension of 2017-2020].
“It’s been a ridiculous position to be in and a complete abdication of responsibility.”
In the absence of ministers in Stormont, the Westminster parliament can still pass legislation and have taken responsibility for budgets and other ad hoc areas of legislation.
In the past two years, departmental budgets have plateaued despite exceptionally high levels of inflation.
And there has been a vacuum in which civil servants cannot take day-to-day decisions which are political in nature.
This includes coming to public sector pay deals because any commitments would take departments over current budgets.
Public sector pay
Last month saw one of the biggest strikes in Northern Ireland’s history, with an estimated 150,000 public sector workers joining marches and picket lines across the country to demand a resolution to pay disputes.
Median pay for public sector workers in the UK as a whole increased by 20% from £30,540 to £36,708 between 2016 and 2023. In Northern Ireland, pay has increased at a slower rate of 16.1% over the same period from £31,570 to £36,651 and is now below the UK average.
In its latest employee earnings report, the Department for the Economy noted real earnings in the public sector fell by 7.2% in the year to 2023, compared with an increase of 1.4% in the private sector.
Carmel Gates, general secretary of Northern Ireland’s largest public sector union NIPSA, which has around 45,000 members, told Sky News: “Quite frankly, what we are witnessing is haemorrhaging of public servants out of Northern Ireland, either to different parts of these islands where they’re better paid or to further abroad.
“It isn’t just in the last two years that the problems emerge, Northern Ireland has been underfunded for quite a period of time.
“The strikes on 18 September is the most galvanised and unified the trade union movement here has been probably ever and involved almost all public service unions.”
After many years of disruption over Brexit, COVID, the cost of living crisis, and prolonged periods without governance, many are hoping for swift and decisive action from the newly resumed executive in the coming days to stabilise the situation in Northern Ireland.
“When they get back they will need to set a budget very quickly, and that will help a lot in the short term,” says Andrew McCormick.
“They then have to face up to the longer-term issues. Much more needs to be done on stabilising public services.”
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
Cryptocurrency markets saw another week of consolidation following last week’s long-awaited market recovery.
While Bitcoin (BTC) remained above the key $90,000 psychological level, investor sentiment continued to be dominated by “fear,” with a marginal improvement from 20 to 25 within the week, according to CoinMarketCap’s Fear & Greed index.
In the wider crypto space, the Ether (ETH) treasury trade appears to be unwinding, as the monthly acquisitions by Ethereum digital asset treasuries (DATs) fell 81% in the past three months from August’s peak.
Still, the biggest corporate Ether holder, BitMine Immersion Technologies, continued to amass ETH, while other treasury firms carried on with their fundraising efforts for future acquisitions.
Investors are also awaiting the key interest rate decision during the US Federal Reserve’s upcoming meeting on Wednesday to provide more cues about monetary policy leading into 2026.
Markets are pricing in an 87% chance of a 25 basis point interest rate cut, up from 62% a month ago, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Ethereum treasury trade unwinds 80% as handful of whales dominate buys
The Ethereum treasury trade appears to be unwinding as monthly acquisitions continue to decline since the August high, though the largest players continue to scoop up billions of the Ether supply.
Investments from Ethereum DATs fell 81% in the past three months, from 1.97 million Ether in August to 370,000 ETH in November, according to Bitwise, an asset management firm.
“ETH DAT bear continues,” wrote Max Shennon, senior research associate at Bitwise, in a Tuesday X post.
Despite the slowdown, some companies with stronger financial backgrounds continued to accumulate the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency or raise funds for future purchases.
BitMine Immersion Technologies, the largest corporate Ether holder, accumulated about 679,000 Ether worth $2.13 billion over the past month, completing 62% of its target to accumulate 5% of the ETH supply, according to data from the Strategicethreserve.
BitMine holds an additional $882 million worth of cash according to the data aggregator, which may signal more incoming Ether accumulation.
Citadel causes uproar by urging SEC to regulate DeFi tokenized stocks
Market maker Citadel Securities has recommended that the US Securities and Exchange Commission tighten regulations on decentralized finance regarding tokenized stocks, causing backlash from crypto users.
Citadel Securities told the SEC in a letter on Tuesday that DeFi developers, smart-contract coders, and self-custody wallet providers should not be given “broad exemptive relief” for offering trading of tokenized US equities.
It argued that DeFi trading platforms likely fall under the definitions of an “exchange” or “broker-dealer” and should be regulated under securities laws if offering tokenized stocks.
“Granting broad exemptive relief to facilitate the trading of a tokenized share via DeFi protocols would create two separate regulatory regimes for the trading of the same security,” it argued. “This outcome would be the exact opposite of the “technology-neutral” approach taken by the Exchange Act.”
Citadel’s letter, made in response to the SEC looking for feedback on how it should approach regulating tokenized stocks, has drawn considerable backlash from the crypto community and organizations advocating for innovation in the blockchain space.
Arthur Hayes warns Monad could crash 99%, calls it high-risk “VC coin”
Crypto veteran Arthur Hayes has issued a warning over Monad, saying the recently launched layer-1 blockchain could plunge as much as 99% and end up as another failed experiment driven by venture capital hype rather than real adoption.
Speaking on Altcoin Daily, the former BitMEX chief described the project as “another high FDV, low-float VC coin,” arguing that its token structure alone puts retail traders at risk. FDV stands for Fully Diluted Value, which is the market value of a crypto project if all its tokens were already in circulation.
According to Hayes, projects with a large gap between FDV and circulating supply often experience early price spikes, followed by deep selloffs once insider tokens unlock. “It’s going to be another bear chain,” Hayes said, adding that while every new coin gets an initial pump, that does not mean it will develop a lasting use case.
Hayes said most new layer-1 networks ultimately fail, with only a handful likely to retain long-term relevance. He identified Bitcoin, Ether, Solana (SOL) and Zcash (ZEC) as the small group of protocols he expects to survive the next cycle.
Last year, Monad raised $225 million in funding from venture capital firm Paradigm. The layer-1 blockchain went live on Monday, accompanied by an airdrop of its MON token.
$25 billion crypto lending market now led by “transparent” players: Galaxy
The crypto lending market has become more transparent than ever, led by the likes of Tether, Nexo and Galaxy, and has just hit an aggregate loan book of nearly $25 billion outstanding in the third quarter.
The size of the crypto lending market has increased by more than 200% since the beginning of 2024, according to Galaxy Research. Its latest quarter puts it at its highest since its peak in Q1 2022.
However, it has yet to return to its peak of $37 billion at that time.
The main difference is the number of new centralized finance lending platforms and much more transparency, said Galaxy’s head of research, Alex Thorn.
Thorn said on Sunday that he was proud of the chart and the transparency of its contributors, adding that it was a “big change from prior market cycles.”
Portal to Bitcoin raises $25 million and launches atomic OTC desk
Bitcoin-native interoperability protocol Portal to Bitcoin has raised $25 million in funding amid the launch of what it describes as an atomic over-the-counter (OTC) trading desk.
According to a Thursday announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the company raised $25 million in a round led by digital asset lender JTSA Global. The fundraise follows previous investments by Coinbase Ventures, OKX Ventures, Arrington Capital and others.
Alongside the fresh funding, the company rolled out its Atomic OTC desk, promising “instant, trustless cross-chain settlement of large block trades.” The newly deployed service is reminiscent of crosschain atomic swaps offered by THORChain, Chainflip, and more Bitcoin-focused systems such as Liquality and Boltz.
What sets Portal to Bitcoin apart is its focus on the Bitcoin-anchored crosschain OTC market for institutions and whales, along with its tech stack. “Portal provides the infrastructure to make Bitcoin the settlement layer for global asset markets, without bridges, custodians, or wrapped assets,” said Chandra Duggirala, founder and CEO of Portal.
DeFi market overview
According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week in the red.
The Canton (CC) token fell 18%, marking the week’s biggest decline in the top 100, followed by the Starknet (STRK) token, down 16% on the weekly chart.
Thanks for reading our summary of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and education regarding this dynamically advancing space.
The lower house of Poland’s parliament failed to secure the required three-fifths majority to override President Karol Nawrocki’s veto of the Crypto-Asset Market Act, pushing the country further away from regulating its digital-asset sector at a moment when lawmakers argue that oversight is increasingly urgent.
As Bloomberg reported Friday, the legislation — advanced by Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government — was intended to align Poland with the European Union’s MiCA framework for crypto markets. The bill was introduced in June but did not survive the president’s veto.
Nawrocki blocked the measure last week, arguing it would “threaten the freedoms of Poles, their property, and the stability of the state,” as Cointelegraph previously reported.
With the president’s veto upheld, the bill will not move forward, forcing the government to restart its crypto lawmaking process.
The proposal has sharply divided lawmakers and the crypto industry. Supporters framed the bill as a national security priority, saying that comprehensive rules are necessary to curb fraud and prevent potential misuse of crypto assets by foreign actors, including Russia, according to Bloomberg.
However, several crypto-industry groups opposed the legislation, warning that its requirements were overly burdensome and could drive startups out of the country.
Critics pointed to stringent licensing rules, high compliance costs and criminal-liability provisions for service-provider executives, arguing that the bill risked stifling innovation and creating an uncompetitive business environment.
Related: EU plan would boost ESMA powers over crypto and capital markets
Crypto adoption in Poland ramps up amid regulatory pause
Cryptocurrency use in Poland continues to accelerate even as the country stalls on comprehensive regulation. Chainalysis recently identified Poland as one of Europe’s “large crypto economies,” noting that the country’s onchain activity has expanded significantly over the past year.
According to the company’s 2025 Europe Crypto Adoption report, Poland recorded more than 50% year-over-year growth in overall transaction volume.
Polish investors are also increasing their exposure to Bitcoin (BTC), reflected in a surge in Bitcoin ATM installations in recent years. In January, Cointelegraph reported that Poland had become the world’s fifth-largest Bitcoin ATM hub, surpassing even El Salvador — a country that has made Bitcoin a central element of its monetary and financial system.
Magazine: When privacy and AML laws conflict: Crypto projects’ impossible choice
US attorneys representing the federal government have requested that a judge send Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon to prison for 12 years at his sentencing hearing next week.
In a Thursday filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, prosecutors asked that a judge sentence Kwon “to a term of twelve years’ imprisonment and finalize the forfeiture of his criminal proceeds.”
The filing came about four months after the Terraform co-founder pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud.
“In just a few years, Kwon caused losses that eclipsed those caused by Samuel Bankman-Fried […] Alexander Mashinsky […] and Karl Sebastian Greenwood [….] combined [emphasis included in filing],” said the Thursday filing. “The Terraform market crash triggered a cascade of crises that swept through cryptocurrency markets and contributed to what has since become known as ‘Crypto Winter.’”
Kwon, who is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday, was indicted by US authorities in March 2023 for charges including securities fraud, market manipulation, money laundering and wire fraud related to his role at Terraform.
Though his whereabouts were initially unknown after the collapse of Terra in 2022, authorities in Montenegro arrested him on charges unrelated to his role at the company, and he was later extradited to the US.
Related: South Korea targets sub-$680 crypto transfers in sweeping AML crackdown
The price of Terra’s native token, LUNA, surged by more than 40% in the previous 24 hours amid the release of the sentencing recommendation, from about $0.07 to $0.10 at the time of publication. However, the token reached an all-time high price of more than $19.00 before the ecosystem collapsed in May 2022.
Kwon says he could still face prison time in South Korea
In a November court filing, lawyers representing Kwon asked that the Terraform co-founder be given a sentence of no more than five years. His attorneys presented several arguments in favor of a shorter sentence, including that the co-founder could face 40 years in prison in his native South Korea, where prosecutors are also working on a case against him.
“He would not be able to walk out of jail in the United States as a free man for any amount of time: He will be taken from whatever facility in which he serves his sentence directly to an immigration detention center to await a deportation flight to Seoul, where he will immediately reenter pretrial detention pending his criminal charges in South Korea,” said Kwon’s lawyers.
Although Kwon’s and prosecutors’ respective recommendations will remain under consideration, the judge overseeing the sentencing hearing has the authority to sentence the Terraform co-founder to decades in prison, or a significantly shorter time. In contrast, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is serving a 25-year sentence after his conviction on seven felony charges, former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years in prison, and a judge sent Karl Sebastian Greenwood to prison for 20 years for his role in the OneCoin scheme.
Magazine: When privacy and AML laws conflict: Crypto projects’ impossible choice
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