‘We can still trust the Americans’, minister says despite breakdown between Trump and Zelenskyy
The UK can still trust the US with Ukraine’s future despite the bad-tempered clash at the White House between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a minister has said.
Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds told Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips there was “no ambiguity” over whether the US continued to be an important ally for Britain despite the unpleasant scenes that unfolded in the Oval Office on Friday.
There are concerns among Western leaders that the exchange – which resulted in Mr Zelenskyy leaving empty-handed and without having signed an important minerals deal to continue US support – could result in the White House withdrawing aid for Ukraine’s war effort.
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But Mr Thomas-Symonds, who is also minister for the constitution and European Union relations, said he believed we could “still trust the Americans”.
And he said that in the event the US did pull financial support for Ukraine, the UK would “continue to be an honest broker” and “bring the different parties together”.
Echoing the US’s president’s language, he added: “We will also continue to make the case that peace is made from a position of strength, not a position of weakness.
“So, it remains critical to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position.”
On whether Britain could still trust the Americans, Mr Thomas-Symonds replied: “Yes, I do believe we can trust the Americans.
“We do have an ally in the United States that we can trust,” he continued. “There’s no ambiguity about that.”
Sir Keir Starmer’s desire to act as bridge between the US and Europe will be tested as he hosts a number of EU leaders for a summit in London.
Present will be the leaders of Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Finland, Denmark, Norway, the Czech Republic and Romania. Canada and Turkey will also attend.
The PM’s role as a peacemaker takes on greater significance following the breakdown in relations between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy that unfolded in front of the world’s TV cameras.
In the aftermath of the fallout, Sir Keir phoned Mr Zelenskyy and invited him to Downing Street on Saturday ahead of today’s summit in a show of support for Ukraine.
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Blow-by-blow: Inside Zelenskyy and Trump’s clash
He also phoned the US president, saying his “driving purpose” was to “bridge this and get us back to the central focus”.
Turning to the scenes at the Oval Office on Friday, Mr Thomas-Symonds admitted he had “never seen anything quite like that”.
“Obviously that is not how it should have happened.”
His sentiments were echoed by shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel, who said she was “absolutely aghast” at “the whole spectacle” which saw Mr Trump accuse the Ukrainian president of “disrespecting” the United States and “gambling with World War Three”.
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In a sign of how badly the meeting went, the minerals deal the pair had expected to sign – which would have established a new fund for the US to invest in Ukraine’s minerals, rare earth materials and other valuable natural resources – was put on ice.
Mr Trump viewed the minerals transaction as a fair way to recover the billions of dollars that the US has given Kyiv in its war effort and as necessary to guarantee further US military support for Ukraine.
Ms Patel said the scenes at the White House were “unedifying and undignified”.
“When we look at President Zelenskyy…I think he’s a hero,” she went on.
“He’s an absolute hero in the way in which he stood up to authoritarianism. He’s fighting for the sovereignty of his country.
“He also know when the going gets tough. You keep your disagreements not in front of cameras, but you keep them private. So, you know, we are where we are.”
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency.
The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies.
While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past.
According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975.
Source: Web.archive.org
Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership.
The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto, which holds over 1 million BTC, has laid dormant for more than 16 years despite BTC rising from $0 to an all-time high above $109,000 in January.
Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Lugano, Switzerland. Source: Cointelegraph
Nakamoto’s 50th birthday comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, marking the first major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the US financial system.
Related: Bitcoin at 16: From experiment to trillion-dollar asset
Nakamoto’s legacy: a “cornerstone of economic sovereignty”
“At 50, Nakamoto’s legacy is no longer just code; it’s a cornerstone of economic sovereignty,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.
“Bitcoin’s reserve status signals trust in its scarcity and resilience,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding:
“What’s fascinating is the timing. Fifty feels symbolic — half a century of life, mirrored by Bitcoin’s journey from a white paper to a trillion-dollar asset. Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, peer-to-peer money has outgrown its cypherpunk roots, entering the halls of power.”
However, lingering questions about Nakamoto remain unanswered, including whether they still hold the keys to their wallet, which is “a fortune now tied to US policy,” Lian said.
Related: Bitcoin’s next catalyst: End of $36T US debt ceiling suspension
Is Satoshi Nakamoto wealthier than Bill Gates?
In February, Arkham Intelligence published findings that attribute 1.096 million BTC — then valued at more than $108 billion — to Nakamoto. That would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the global wealth rankings, according to data shared by Coinbase director Conor Grogan.
Satoshi’s new addresses. Source: Conor Grogan
If accurate, this would make Nakamoto the world’s 16th richest person.
Despite the growing interest in Nakamoto’s identity and holdings, his early decision to remain anonymous and inactive has helped preserve Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos — a principle that continues to define the cryptocurrency to this day.
Magazine: 10 crypto theories that missed as badly as ‘Peter Todd is Satoshi’
The United States stock market lost more in value over the April 4 trading day than the entire cryptocurrency market is worth, as fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to ramp up.
On April 4, the US stock market lost $3.25 trillion — around $570 billion more than the entire crypto market’s $2.68 trillion valuation at the time of publication.
Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market”
Among the Magnificent-7 stocks, Tesla (TSLA) led the losses on the day with a 10.42% drop, followed by Nvidia (NVDA) down 7.36% and Apple (AAPL) falling 7.29%, according to TradingView data.
The significant decline across the board signals that the Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market” after falling 6% across the trading day, trading resource account The Kobeissi Letter said in an April 4 X post. This is the largest daily decline since March 16, 2020.
“US stocks have now erased a massive -$11 TRILLION since February 19 with recession odds ABOVE 60%,” it added. The Kobessi Letter said Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement was “historic” and if the tariffs continue, a recession will be “impossible to avoid.”
Source: Anthony Scaramucci
On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries.
Trump said the reciprocal tariffs will be roughly half the rate US trading partners impose on American goods.
Related: Bitcoin bulls defend $80K support as ‘World War 3 of trade wars’ crushes US stocks
Meanwhile, the crypto industry has pointed out that while the stock market continues to decline, Bitcoin (BTC) remains stronger than most expected.
Crypto trader Plan Markus pointed out in an April 4 X post that while the entire stock market “is tanking,” Bitcoin is holding.
Source: Jeff Dorman
Even some crypto skeptics have pointed out the contrast between Bitcoin’s performance and the US stock market during the recent period of macro uncertainty.
Stock market commentator Dividend Hero told his 203,200 X followers that he has “hated on Bitcoin in the past, but seeing it not tank while the stock market does is very interesting to me.”
Meanwhile, technical trader Urkel said Bitcoin “doesn’t appear to care one bit about tariff wars and markets tanking.” Bitcoin is trading at $83,749 at the time of publication, down 0.16% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.
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