He became Scotland’s youngest ever first minister, and the first from an ethnic minority background to hold the post.
Image: Pic: PA
Now a year on, Mr Yousaf says the role continues to be the “greatest honour” of his life but accepts that “there’s still a lot more to do to deliver for the people of Scotland”.
Mr Yousaf said: “I am honoured every day to lead a government driven by clear values, and I am absolutely committed to continuing to make Scotland a better place to live, work and study for everyone who makes it their home.”
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Yousaf said going forward he will continue to campaign for Scottish independence and will seek a Section 30 Order to hold a second referendum if Sir Keir Starmer is elected prime minister at the next general election.
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He said, “notwithstanding” the challenges his party has faced over the past year, support for independence is “rock solid”.
Mr Yousaf added: “What we’ve got to continue to do as a government is demonstrate progress in how we’re delivering for the priorities of the people.”
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The first minister said he would continue to showcase how much progress Holyrood can make under devolution, adding: “Then, of course, we can make the argument and should be making the argument that imagine what we could do with the full powers of a normal independent country.”
Image: The first minister taking part in a dance performance during a visit to Edinburgh Community Performing Arts re-connect project earlier this month. Pic: PA
The first minister’s highs: • Highlighting some of his government’s accomplishments, Mr Yousaf said Holyrood would continue to focus on reducing child poverty. He claimed the Scottish government’s policies will keep 100,000 children out of relative poverty and 70,000 out of absolute poverty in 2024-25, according to recently published analysis • He said the national council tax freeze would protect households amid the cost of living crisis. • The first minister said a record £19.5bn has been invested into Scotland’s NHS – without losing a single day to pay-related strike action. • He added that a record number of junior doctors are joining the country’s NHS. • Mr Yousaf stated that Scotland led every other nation and region last month for private sector employment growth. • The first minister noted that record numbers of school leavers are going on to a “positive destination”. This includes a record high number of young Scots from deprived areas applying to study at university. • He stated that Scotland’s GDP per head has grown at a faster rate than the UK average. • Mr Yousaf also said his government has pledged up to £500m to support the offshore wind industry to help create thousands of green jobs. • And also worth celebrating, the first minister is expecting a child this July with wife Nadia El-Nakla. The couple already have two children – their daughter Amal is four and Mr Yousaf is stepfather to 14-year-old Maya – and are now set to become the first family to welcome a baby while in Bute House.
Image: Mr Yousaf with his family after winning the SNP leadership contest last year. Pic: PA
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The first minister’s lows: • It was a hard year for the SNP as former leader Nicola Sturgeon, ex-chief executive Peter Murrell and former treasurer Colin Beattie were each arrested and released without charge amid a police probe into the party’s funding and finances. Police erected a blue forensics tent outside Ms Sturgeon and husband Mr Murrell’s home during a search.
Image: Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell’s home was searched as part of the police probe. Pic: PA
• Mr Yousaf’s in-laws became trapped in Gaza following the breakout of the Israel-Hamas war in October. Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla eventually made it back home to Dundee one month later, with Ms El-Nakla telling Sky News her life had “changed forever”.
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Mr Yousaf’s mother-in-law spoke to Sky News about her time trapped in Gaza
• Scottish Labour trounced the SNP in the battle for former MP Margaret Ferrier’s Rutherglen and Hamilton West seat. Ms Ferrier, who had the SNP whip removed for breaching COVID rules during lockdown, was ousted from Westminster following a successful recall petition. Michael Shanks defeated Katy Loudon by 17,845 votes to 8,399 – a majority of 9,446 and a 20.36% swing from SNP to Scottish Labour.
Image: Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar (right) with Michael Shanks. Pic: PA
• The Scottish government’s bottle deposit return scheme was delayed until at least October 2025 after Westminster rejected an application for an exemption to the Internal Market Act – effectively blocking glass from the scheme. Circularity Scotland, the company tasked with overseeing the scheme, later folded with £86m in debts. Veteran SNP MSP Fergus Ewing was suspended from the party’s Holyrood group for voting against government minister and Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater in a confidence vote. Ms Slater, who was criticised over her handling of the scheme, survived the vote. • It was a year of jumping ship with ex-SNP leadership rival Ash Regan MSP leaving for the Alba Party and Dr Lisa Cameron MP defecting to the Tories. Angus MacNeil MP was expelled from the SNP following a row with the party’s chief whip at Westminster. Mr MacNeil refused to rejoin the group at the end of a suspension and was subsequently given the boot. The MP has vowed to stand as an independent candidate at the next general election. • In December, the Scottish government announced it would take no further legal action against Westminster’s veto of its controversial gender reform bill. It came after Scotland’s highest civil court ruled that the UK government acted lawfully in blocking the bill from receiving royal assent. Westminster is now seeking reimbursement for the legal costs it incurred defending its decision. • Michael Matheson was forced to quit as health secretary last month amid a probe into an £11,000 iPad data roaming bill. Mr Matheson initially billed the taxpayer after claiming he ran up the eye-watering invoice undertaking constituency work during a family holiday in Morocco. After the story hit the headlines, it then emerged his teenage sons had used the iPad as a hotspot to watch football while abroad. The Falkirk West MSP was found to have breached Holyrood’s code of conduct but has ignored calls to resign. Mr Yousaf has continually defended Mr Matheson, saying that “decent people can make mistakes”.
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Michael Matheson admitting his sons racked up the iPad bill
Reflecting on Mr Yousaf’s first year in charge, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said it’s been “nothing short of a disaster”.
Mr Ross said: “It’s a tale of independence obsession, abject failures and broken promises; of a first minister out of his depth and unable to control his feuding, scandal-ridden party.
“Humza Yousaf has ignored the real priorities of Scots – fixing our ailing public services and growing the economy – and instead doubled down on the SNP’s fixation with breaking up the UK, while cosying up to the anti-growth Greens.
“Later this year voters will get the chance to cast their verdict on his and the SNP’s dire reign.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar described Mr Yousaf as a “weak leader who is out of his depth”.
Mr Sarwar added: “Not only is it clear to the people of Scotland that Humza Yousaf has no vision for the future – even his own former cabinet colleagues are saying so in public.
“This is a record of shame and failure.
“With Humza Yousaf scrambling for a new election strategy on a weekly basis, it is no surprise that the people of Scotland are now looking for change.”
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed deciding on whether to greenlight two proposed cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) holding Dogecoin and XRP, filings show.
The US regulator has delayed its deadline for ruling on the proposed ETF listings until June, according to two filings reviewed by Cointelegraph.
The filings were responses to March requests from US exchanges NYSE Arca and Cboe BZX Exchange to list Bitwise’s Dogecoin (DOGE) ETF and Franklin Templeton’s XRP (XRP) ETF, respectively.
They came on the same day that Nasdaq, another US exchange, asked for permission to list a 21Shares Dogecoin ETF.
Dogecoin is the world’s most heavily traded memecoin, with a market capitalization of around $26 billion as of April 29, according to data from CoinGecko. XRP is the native token of the XRP Ledger blockchain network. It has a market capitalization of approximately $133 billion, CoinGecko data shows.
The SEC has delayed its deadline for reviewing Franklin’s XRP Fund. Source: SEC
In 2025, the SEC has fielded requests to authorize dozens of altcoin ETFs for US listing. As of April 21, approximately 70 crypto ETFs were awaiting the SEC’s review.
Asset managers are proposing funds holding “[e]verything from XRP, Litecoin and Solana to Penguins, Doge and 2x Melania and everything in between,” Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas said in an April 21 post on the X platform.
The deluge of proposals comes as US President Donald Trump pushes the SEC to take a more accommodating stance toward cryptocurrencies.
However, analysts caution investor demand for altcoin ETFs may be tepid in comparison to funds holding core cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).
“Having your coin get ETF-ized is like being in a band and getting your songs added to all the music streaming services,” Balchunas said.
“Doesn’t guarantee listens but it puts your music where the vast majority of the listeners are.”
Although US exchanges are embracing crypto ETFs, they are also urging the SEC to take a tough regulatory posture toward digital assets. In an April 25 comment letter, Nasdaq encouraged the SEC to hold digital assets to the same compliance standards as securities if they constitute “stocks by any other name.”
The United States exchange Nasdaq has asked regulators for permission to list a 21Shares exchange-traded fund (ETF) holding the popular memcoin Dogecoin, regulatory filings show.
The move follows 21Shares’ April 10 filing of its initial proposal to launch its Dogecoin ETF, shortly after similar applications from rivals Bitwise and Grayscale. The asset manager has also sought regulators’ permission to list ETFs holding other cryptocurrencies, including Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), and Polkadot (DOT).
Nasdaq must gain approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before it can list and trade the fund. The request amounts to a regulatory review process that could determine whether Dogecoin becomes accessible to a broader range of investors through an ETF structure.
Fund issuers requested to list dozens of altcoin ETFs after US President Donald Trump instructed the SEC to take a friendlier stance toward cryptocurrencies after his second term began in January.
As of April 21, more than 70 crypto ETFs were awaiting the SEC’s review. The list includes alternative layer-1 (L1) native tokens, such as SOL and Sui (SUI), as well as memecoins such as Bonk (BONK) and Official Trump (TRUMP).
While exchanges such as Nasdaq seek to list more crypto ETFs, they are also pushing for firmer US regulatory oversight of digital assets. In an April 25 comment letter, Nasdaq urged the SEC to hold digital assets to the same regulatory standards as securities if they constitute “stocks by any other name.”
The proof-of-work blockchain network is designed as a faster, cheaper alternative to Bitcoin (BTC) for peer-to-peer payments.
It processed more than 40,000 transactions in the past 24 hours, according to data from Bitinfocharts.com.
In September 2024, blockchain developers QED Protocol and Nexus tipped plans to launch a layer-2 (L2) scaling solution designed to bring smart contracts to Dogecoin.
The United Kingdom’s Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, have proposed new crypto rules aimed at “support[ing] innovation while cracking down on fraudsters.”
In an April 29 notice, the UK government announced draft rules for cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), that would bring “crypto exchanges, dealers and agents” in line with regulations, as many residents were “exposed to risky firms and scams.” It cited discussions with US government officials, including a proposed US-UK cross-border sandbox from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Hester Peirce.
“Today’s announcement sends a clear signal: Britain is open for business — but closed to fraud, abuse, and instability,” said the notice. “The government will bring forward final cryptoasset legislation at the earliest opportunity, following engagement on the draft provisions with industry.”
Treasury and Reeves said the UK was committed to making the country a “global hub for digital asset technologies,” referencing the goals of the previous government under the Conservative Party. A 2023 consultation paper from Treasury proposed “bringing a wide range of cryptoasset activities” — including trading and issuing stablecoins — in line with UK regulations.
Praise from industry
In a statement shared with Cointelegraph, Ian Silvera, the associate director for the self-regulatory trade association CryptoUK, called the government announcement a “very much welcomed and a big victory” for crypto firms. However, he added that the industry could also benefit from regulatory clarity on liquid staking and DeFi.
“Though there has been good regulatory progress from the [Financial Conduct Authority], which published its crypto roadmap late last year, the UK government first committed to becoming a global crypto hub in 2022,” said Silvera. “Progress has been slow since then, but as the Chancellor has recognised herself the mainstreaming of the industry has continued, with now 12% of all UK adults owning some sort of crypto, up from 4% in 2021.”
The FCA plans to publish final rules on crypto sometime in 2026, setting the groundwork for the UK regulatory regime to go live. The roadmap to greater regulatory clarity in the UK could follow the European Union, which started to implement its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework in December.