Target Towns: ‘We were promised something different but it just hasn’t materialised’
As the floodlights illuminated the rows of chimneys on the terraced streets around Blundell Park there was a tense second half ahead.
One-nil up, the home supporters were desperate to hang on to the win as they fight for survival in League Two.
It has been like this for generations of football fans in Grimsby – a club founded in 1878 – the ground has been home since 1899.
A proper old-school venue – there are fewer and fewer places like this now in English football.
Although it is actually in neighbouring Cleethorpes, the club is a Grimsby institution.
The two towns are being merged into one constituency for the next general election, with both the Conservatives and Labour desperate to win it.
There is no shortage of political opinions before kick-off.
Kiosk worker Sean Gifford
Sean Gifford was opening up the Snack Shack kiosk behind the Pontoon Stand.
He quickly identified what he believes is the biggest problem in British politics.
“It’s the narrative. Do you believe the narrative of what any politician tells you? I don’t.”
He added: “It’s being able to speak one’s mind, as opposed to always toeing the party line and making sure that the truth is spoken without any spin doctor, without any PR machine behind it.
“People just cannot speak the truth for fear of backlash.”
He isn’t just disillusioned with one or two characters in politics, it’s all of them, and he is not sure who can solve it.
“It takes somebody of almost Churchillian stature, and where’s the Churchillian prime minister of the future? I just don’t see one.”
On the hotdog stand on the other side of the ground, Kirsty and Kylie were lining up their foot-long Lincolnshire sausages ready for the half-time rush.
Hot dog seller Kirsty Johnson
Kirsty is also frustrated by politicians. She told Sky News: “I think it needs someone with balls who can sort it out, take it by the horns and actually shake it up a bit.”
She doesn’t know who that is and certainly doesn’t feel that Rishi Sunak or Sir Keir Starmer fit her job criteria.
“They don’t do it for me, nobody does really.”
The existing seat of Great Grimsby voted Conservative under Boris Johnson in 2019 – the first time they had not elected a Labour MP since the Second World War.
The former prime minister surprised many here by wearing a Grimsby Town bobble hat when he was seen arriving and departing the COVID Inquiry in London in December.
Boris Johnson leaves the COVID inquiry last December in a Grimsby Town bobble hat
Some here were amused by it, while 700 others signed a petition calling on him to stop bringing the club into disrepute.
He is still a divisive figure but it’s the collective frustration with all politicians that shines through.
Former police officer Alan Rutter is exasperated by the decay of public services. “I have friends who are still in the force… and it is just a desecrated service, same with the NHS – it’s just all in crisis,” he said.
The club’s chairman Jason Stockwood grew up here but, like so many others, moved away to pursue a career before returning home. He is backing Labour but told Sky News that bigger changes are needed.
“This town voted vehemently for Brexit because it was a promise of something different and a new politics and it just hasn’t materialised at all.
“My sense is that people just want some adults in the room again, rather than just the personalities of the last few years, they want truth and they want integrity.”
Grimsby Town FC chairman Jason Stockwood
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He wants to see a constructive general election, not one that lurks in the extremes of politics.
“I think what people will be looking for is an honest conversation where people are prepared to turn up and have difficult conversations with everyone in our community because people [here] are forthright, they are passionate, they care about the community.
“I think there’s also an obligation on citizens as well,” he added.
“Politicians have a role to play. But everyone does need to step into and take ownership of the future they want as well.
Grimsby Town fans watching their side take on MK Dons
“We’re seeing that in Grimsby. So there is hope.”
Their club held on to a 1-0 win over MK Dons. Hope is restored, on the pitch at least.
The Codheads – as the fans call themselves – tell it like it is.
Politicians fishing for votes here this year will find a tough crowd.
Sky News’ Target Towns series aims to follow the build-up to the general election from a key constituency prized by both Conservatives and Labour – Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes. Send in your stories to targettowns@sky.uk.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has officially dropped its investigation into the New York-based tokenization platform Ondo Finance, which it initiated in 2023.
Ondo Finance has received formal notice that a confidential, multi-year SEC investigation into the platform has been closed without any charges, the company announced on Monday.
“The probe examined whether Ondo’s tokenization of certain real-world assets complied with federal securities laws as well as whether the ONDO token was a security,” the statement said.
The SEC’s decision to end the investigation reflects a broader shift in the US policy regarding real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, bringing it on the authority’s formal agenda, Ondo noted.
A new chapter of tokenization in the US
According to a report by Crypto in America, the SEC initially opened the probe in October 2023 under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who was known for his stringent stance toward the crypto industry.
However, since Paul Atkins took over as SEC chair, the agency has closed a number of crypto-related cases involving major companies, including Coinbase, Ripple and Kraken.
“When the inquiry began in 2024, the US regulatory environment for digital assets was defined by caution, confusion, and occasionally overbroad enforcement actions,” Ondo Finance said in its blog post.
Against that backdrop, Ondo was “one of the only firms focused on tokenizing publicly listed equities at scale,” it said, adding: “Being early, and being successful, came with scrutiny.”
According to Ondo, the resolution of the SEC inquiry marks the end of one chapter for Ondo and the beginning of another, where tokenized securities become a “core part of the US capital markets.”
“The future of global finance, including U.S. capital markets, will be onchain and Ondo will help lead that transition,” Ondo said.
Most US tokenization platforms serve overseas markets
The news comes as most tokenization platforms offer tokenized equity products primarily to customers outside the US, including firms such as Kraken-owned Backed, the issuer of xStocks.
While these platforms tokenize major US-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), many of the offerings are aimed at clients located overseas, particularly in Europe.
“The reality is that users in the US already have relatively seamless access to traditional equities such as stocks and ETFs through well-established brokerage platforms,” Alchemy Pay chief marketing officer Ailona Tsik told Cointelegraph in June.
Following the SEC probe’s resolution, it remains to be seen whether RWA platforms like Ondo will begin offering services to US-based clients.
Related: WisdomTree brings options income strategy onchain with new tokenized fund
The news came shortly after Ondo Global Markets received regulatory approval to offer tokenized stocks to European investors in November.
Securitize, a rival US tokenization platform, also obtained regulatory approval to operate as both an Investment Firm and a Trading & Settlement System (TSS) in the EU on Nov. 26. According to the company, the approval positioned it as one of the first operators for regulated digital securities infrastructure in both the US and EU.
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Argentina is considering allowing local financial institutions to engage more directly with cryptocurrencies in a move that would mark a significant shift from its restrictive stance, according to local media report.
According to a Friday report by local news outlet La Nacion, Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA), Argentina’s central bank, is considering allowing traditional banks to trade cryptocurrencies. The story cited “sources close to the organization.” Cointelegraph has not independently verified those claims.
The BCRA stepped in to ban financial institutions from offering crypto trading just days after two of the country’s largest banks signaled they were opening up to digital assets in May 2022. The BCRA said that such initiatives posed risks to users and “to the financial system as a whole.”
New cryptocurrency rules are reportedly being drafted, though La Nación’s sources did not specify when they might be finalized or implemented. Representatives of a locally operated exchange suggested that the measure could be approved as early as April 2026.
Rumors about such a potential shift have circulated for some time among crypto exchanges, bankers and people close to regulators, the report said. A representative of local crypto exchange Lemon told the outlet that the company believes “that a more open financial ecosystem will be a key driver for the mass adoption of digital assets in Argentina.”
Related: An overview of the cryptocurrency regulations in Argentina
Argentina reviews its stance on crypto
The regulatory change suggested in the report aligns with a direction recently taken by Argentina’s government. In mid-March, Argentina’s securities regulator finalized rules for virtual asset service providers, setting clear guidelines for the industry. Crypto service providers have been required to register with local regulators since April 2024.
This followed publicly traded US crypto exchange Coinbase receiving a green light from Argentina’s regulators to expand services in the country in January. In October 2024, Binance also announced that its mobile and web applications were “fully available” to users in Argentina after it was registered as an official crypto service provider. Similarly, crypto exchange Bybit was approved for operations in Argentina in mid-August 2024.
Related: Argentine state-owned energy giant weighs crypto payments for fuel: Report
Argentina sees booming crypto adoption
The country’s crypto industry has also been growing at a steady pace, overtaking Brazil as the top Latin American country in terms of estimated crypto inflows by users in early October 2024. Separate data from July 2024 suggested Argentina was leading the Western Hemisphere in crypto adoption, with analysts often pointing to the peso’s extreme weakness and inflation that had reached around 276% as key drivers.
Until recently, regulators were largely hostile to that trend. In May 2023, the central bank banned payment providers from offering crypto transactions, reinforcing earlier limits on how formal financial institutions could interact with digital assets.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy is heading to Downing Street once again, but Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will be keen to make this meeting more than just a photo op.
On Monday the prime minister will welcome not only the Ukrainian president, but also E3 allies France and Germany to discuss the state of the war in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will join Sir Keir in showing solidarity and support for Ukraine and its leader, but it’s the update on the peace negotiations that will be the main focus of the meet up.
The four leaders are said to be set to not only discuss those talks between Ukraine, the US and Russia, but also to talk about next steps if a deal were to be reached and what that might look like.
Ahead of the discussions, Sir Keir spoke with the Dutch leader Dick Schoof where both leaders agreed Ukraine’s defence still needs international support, and that Ukraine’s security is vital to European security.
But while Russia’s war machine shows no signs of abating, a warm welcome and kind words won’t be enough to satisfy the embattled Ukrainian president at a time when Russian drone and missile attacks continue to bombard Kyiv.
Keir Starmer welcoming Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Downing Street during a previous visit. Pic: AP
What is the latest in negotiations?
Over the weekend, Mr Zelenskyy said he had discussed “next steps” with US President Donald Trump’s advisers and was “determined to keep working in good faith”.
“The American representatives know the basic Ukrainian positions,” Mr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. “The conversation was constructive, although not easy.”
But on Sunday evening, ahead of an event at the Kennedy Center, President Trump said he was “disappointed” with Mr Zelenskyy, as was asked about the next steps in Russia-Ukraine talks following negotiations.
He said: “We’ve been speaking to President Putin and we’ve been speaking to Ukrainian leaders, including Zelenskyy, President Zelenskyy.
“And I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the proposal. That was as of a few hours ago.
“His people love it. But he hasn’t – Russia’s fine with it. Russia’s you know, Russia, I guess, would rather have the whole country when you think of it. But Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelenskyy’s fine with it. His people love it but he hasn’t read it.”
Read more:
Ukraine has become Europe’s war – so why doesn’t it act like it?
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On Saturday, Keith Kellogg, Trump’s outgoing Ukraine envoy, had told the Reagan National Defence Forum that efforts to resolve the conflict were in “the last 10 metres”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised new US security strategy over the weekend, adding that Russia hopes this would lead to “further constructive cooperation with Washington on the Ukrainian settlement”.
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