Who is Sir Jeffrey Donaldson? DUP leader steps down after criminal charges

Published

1 year ago

March 30, 2024

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Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has been an ever-present feature of the political landscape in Northern Ireland for several decades.

But his leadership of the Democratic Unionist Party came to an end on 29 March, when it revealed Donaldson had resigned as chief after he was charged with sexual offences of a “historical nature”.

Born in County Down in the 1960s, he was raised during the Troubles and has been a vocal campaigner for unionism throughout his life.

Donaldson came to the fore after the UK left the EU for his opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol – which he believed undermined Northern Ireland‘s place in the United Kingdom.

Growing up and family deaths

Donaldson was born in 1962 and raised in Kilkeen in County Down alongside four brothers and three sisters in what he described as “a traditional, rural, home-centred upbringing”.

As a boy, his “childhood innocence was shattered” by the Troubles – in 1970 his cousin Samuel Donaldson, a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, was killed in an IRA car bombing.

As a young man, he joined the Orange Order, a protestant group in which he later became an Assistant Grand Master.

He was at one point chairman of the Ulster Young Unionist Council, and also joined the Ulster Defence Regiment – a part of the British Army which mainly consisted of volunteers, who largely spent their time guarding key points, patrolling, carrying out surveillance, and manning vehicle checkpoints.

In 1985 Samuel’s brother, Alex, was also killed by the IRA, in a mortar attack on a police station.

Run up to the Good Friday Agreement and defection

In the early 1980s, Donaldson worked on Enoch Powell’s campaigns to be elected as an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MP for South Down.

Donaldson was later elected as a UUP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1985 at the age of 22.

He was elected to the House of Commons in 1997 and was a member of the UUP’s negotiating team for what became the Good Friday Agreement.

However, he voted against the deal in the subsequent referendum and warned UUP leader David Trimble against supporting it.

In 1998, he was blocked from standing in the elections for the Stormont assembly.

Having continued to agitate under Lord Trimble’s leadership, Donaldson left the UUP in 2003 and joined the DUP, having been re-elected to Stormont.

Brexit, Northern Ireland Protocol and the party leadership

Donaldson has served consistently as the DUP MP for Lagan Valley, but stood down from the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2010, having served in government in Belfast.

He was notable for his opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion – which Westminster legalised in Northern Ireland.

In 2016 he was knighted in the birthday honours list for political service.

In the same year, he supported Brexit, and became associated with the Theresa May administration in 2017 as part of the confidence and supply arrangement which saw the DUP support Mrs May’s government in key votes.

However, the party opposed the deal Mrs May put to parliament in 2019.

Since the implementation of Brexit, Donaldson has opposed the Northern Ireland Protocol, which he says undermines the Good Friday Agreement he voted against.

In 2019 he became the leader of the DUP at Westminster, and was elected leader of the party as a whole in 2021.

He successfully stood in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly elections, but has said he will not take up the seat until the situation with the Northern Ireland Protocol can be resolved.

Last year, Donaldson refused to endorse the Windsor Framework, which was intended to resolve issues with the Protocol – and is still sitting as an MP at Westminster.

Power-sharing returned in Northern Ireland in early 2024, after Donaldson and the DUP agreed on a way forward with the UK government on post-Brexit trade.

His resignation was confirmed on Good Friday 2024, and it was announced that his deputy, Gavin Robinson MP, would be made interim leader.

It is understood Donaldson will be “strenuously contesting” all charges against him.

Politics

Crypto industry is not experiencing regulatory capture — Attorney

Published

3 hours ago

April 19, 2025

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Crypto industry is not experiencing regulatory capture — Attorney

Brandon Ferrick, general counsel at Douro Labs, said that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) openness to public input on crypto policy and their roundtable discussions are positive signs that the crypto industry is not currently experiencing regulatory capture.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Ferrick identified signs of regulatory capture including, a public-to-private sector revolving door of employees, the same roster of attendees at regulatory events, and special treatment given to certain crypto projects. However, Ferrick added:

“The reason why I am not worried today is that a lot of what you’re seeing from the regulatory side, like the SEC, for example, is totally open, public, and there are available opportunities to have conversations with the regulators about changing or thinking about the regulatory structures.”

“[The SEC] has a public portal where you can just submit written commentary on your thoughts for the crypto regulatory environment, and you can schedule meetings with them,” the attorney continued.

As the crypto industry becomes more integrated with the traditional financial system and engages state regulators more, some analysts and executives are worried that the industry is experiencing regulatory capture that will skew incentives and politicize the burgeoning crypto sector.

SEC hosts several roundtable discussions on crypto policy

The SEC has hosted several crypto roundtable discussions and panels, with more slated in the coming months — a sharp contrast from the agency’s regulation-by-enforcement approach under former SEC chairman Gary Gensler.

On March 21, the regulatory agency hosted its first crypto roundtable, which featured crypto industry executives, SEC officials, and even opponents of the crypto industry.

Former SEC official John Reed Stark was highly critical of the industry and opposed comprehensive regulatory reform, arguing that digital assets must comply with existing securities laws.

The SEC’s April 11 roundtable focused on trading rules and included a different set of panelists, including representatives from Uniswap and Coinbase.

The next SEC panel will occur on April 25 and focus on establishing guidelines for crypto custodians and other firms holding crypto on behalf of customers.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Politics

UK firm buys $250M Bitcoin as analysts eye quiet Easter weekend

Published

7 hours ago

April 19, 2025

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UK firm buys 0M Bitcoin as analysts eye quiet Easter weekend

Whales and institutions are increasing their Bitcoin holdings ahead of Easter, as market analysts predict a weekend with less volatility after two weeks of heightened volatility driven by escalating global trade tensions.

London-based investment firm Abraxas Capital acquired 2,949 Bitcoin (BTC) worth more than $250 million during the four days leading up to April 19.

In the latest transaction, the firm bought over $45 million worth of Bitcoin from Binance on April 18, according to crypto intelligence firm Lookonchain, citing Arkham Intelligence data.

UK firm buys $250M Bitcoin as analysts eye quiet Easter weekend — *Source: Arkham Intelligence,* *Lookonchain*

The investment came days after Michael Saylor’s Strategy bought $285 million worth of Bitcoin at an average price of $82,618 per BTC, as the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holders signal continued confidence in Bitcoin, amid global tariff uncertainty.

Large Bitcoin investors, or whales, continue accumulating, absorbing over 300% of Bitcoin’s yearly issuance as exchanges continue losing coins at a historic pace, Cointelegraph reported on April 18.

Crypto analysts eye quiet Easter weekend after weeks of turmoil

Despite continued accumulation from whales and institutions, volatility concerns were raised by significant movements from the medium-term Bitcoin cohort, which holds coins for an average of three to six months.

Over 170,000 Bitcoin entered circulation from the medium-term cohort, a development that may signal “imminent” crypto market volatility, according to pseudonymous CryptoQuant analyst Mignolet.

“The effect of this metric on LTF moves is overstated as large onchain movement of coins hardly ever affects weekend price action since it’s not on liquid markets or CEX markets,” analysts at Bitfinex exchange told Cointelegraph, adding:

“It is important to note that funding rates remain relatively flat currently. Moreover, US markets are closed as we have a long weekend for Easter, so volatility could be suppressed barring headlines from the White House.”

Marcin Kazmierczak, chief operating officer of RedStone Oracles, added that the recent movements may be operational transfers, not necessarily signs of imminent selling pressure.

Still, concerns over weekend volatility have been amplified over the past two weeks after the Mantra (OM) token’s price collapsed by over 90% on Sunday, April 13, from roughly $6.30 to below $0.50, triggering market manipulation allegations and highlighting “critical” liquidity issues in the industry.

Two weeks ago, on April 6, Bitcoin fell below $75,000 on Sunday, as investor concerns spread from a record-breaking $5 trillion sell-off from the S&P 500, its largest on record.

The correction was caused by Bitcoin’s 24/7 trading availability, which made it the only large liquid asset available for de-risking on Sunday, Blockstream CEO Adam Back told Cointelegraph.

“On a weekend, there’s not much volume. So you have a worse risk of rapid sort of flash crashes or flash dips that get filled in again,” he said.

Magazine: Bitcoin ATH sooner than expected? XRP may drop 40%, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 23 – 29

Politics

Crypto, DeFi may widen wealth gap, destabilize finance: BIS report

Published

9 hours ago

April 19, 2025

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Crypto, DeFi may widen wealth gap, destabilize finance: BIS report

The growing adoption of cryptocurrencies may pose risks to the traditional financial system and exacerbate wealth inequality, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

In an April 15 report, the BIS warned that the number of investors and amount of capital in crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi) have “reached a critical mass,” with investor protection becoming a “significant concern for regulators.”

The size of the crypto market signals that authorities should be worried about the “stability of crypto over and above the role it may have for TradFi and the real economy,” the report states, highlighting the role of stablecoins, which the BIS said have “become the means through which participants transfer value within crypto.”

The report calls for targeted stablecoin regulation on stability and reserve asset requirements that will guarantee the redemption of stablecoins for US dollars during “stressed market conditions.”

The report comes two weeks after the US House Financial Services Committee passed the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act, with a 32–17 vote on April 2.

Cryptocurrencies, Banking, Banks, Central Bank, Bitcoin Price, Investments, Bitcoin Regulation, United States, BIS, Stablecoin, Cryptocurrency Investment, Bitcoin Adoption — *Source:* *Financial Services GOP*

The STABLE Act aims to create a clear regulatory framework for dollar-denominated payment stablecoins, emphasizing transparency and consumer protection.

On March 13, the GENIUS Act, short for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 18–6. The act aims to establish collateralization guidelines and require full compliance with Anti-Money Laundering laws from stablecoin issuers.

Crypto may exacerbate wealth gap

The BIS also raised concerns about how crypto markets may worsen income inequality by enabling larger investors to capitalize on the emotions of less sophisticated retail participants, as seen during the FTX collapse in 2022.

“As prices tumbled in 2022, users actually traded more,” the BIS report noted. “Most disturbingly, large bitcoin holders (“whales”) were selling as ordinary retail investors (“krill”) were buying.” It added:

“This implies that the crypto market, which is often presented as an opportunity for inclusive growth and financial stability, can be a means for redistributing wealth from the poorer to the wealthier.”

The report concludes that DeFi and TradFi have similar underlying economic drivers, but DeFi’s “distinctive features,” like “smart contract and composability,” present new challenges that need proactive regulatory interventions to “safeguard financial stability, while fostering innovation.”