Ynys Mon: The island constituency where it’s all to play for in the general election
In the Gwelfor Community Centre in Holyhead, it’s bingo night. Dabbers in hand, players are poised to win.
But there’s another competition brewing here.
Anglesey – and the constituency of Ynys Mon – is one of the most hotly contested seats in Wales.
The Conservatives are desperate to keep hold of it after their narrow win in 2019, but it’s a three-way split, with Plaid Cymru and Labour both vying for victory. All are in with a chance of winning.
In fact, there are double the number of parties running this time, eight in total, compared to the last election.
But every politician in this remote part of Wales has a battle on their hands to convince disillusioned voters.
Bingo caller Margaret Pratchett says politicians in Westminster don’t care about the plight of people in North Wales.
“Just because we’re out in the middle of nowhere, doesn’t mean to say we’re absolutely forgotten,” bingo caller Margaret Pratchett tells me.
I ask whether she thinks politicians in Westminster care about North Wales.
“No. Not one little bit. They’ve got no idea what we need around here. We need work. We need doctors. We need care assistants. All things like that.”
Since Brexit there has been a 14% drop-off in trade at Holyhead
Trade ‘drop off’
Holyhead is a busy working port.
Five times closer to Dublin than London, it is a major freight route between Britain and Ireland.
But since Brexit, trade remains 14% lower – and that impact trickles down to the smallest of businesses.
At the Boathouse B&B, owners Claudia and Chris have seen footfall decline. From port workers to tourists, they’re having to work harder to fill rooms.
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“I think trade overall has gone down, but you can see that with the number of people, the number of freights, everything going through the port that has dramatically dropped off,” Claudia says.
The couple say they’ll vote Plaid Cymru – but Claudia isn’t happy with any of the choices: “It’s more a tactical vote. If you’ve got to pick a rotten tomato, you’re going to pick the least rotten.”
Ynys Mon is one Welsh constituency where it is all to play for.
Mix of opinions
In Breakwater Country Park, 30 or so mums are busy painting, singing and reading with their babies and toddlers.
There’s a mix of opinions here on who to vote for.
“I will vote Plaid Cymru because they’ve got Wales’s priority in mind, I think. And I think the Conservatives haven’t done much for Wales in the last couple of years,” one mum tells me.
Another – happy with the PM’s performance.
“I saw what Rishi Sunak had to say and I supported everything he said to be honest. I think the Conservatives have done a good job since they’ve been in power and I think they deserve a chance to continue,” she said.
Ffion Edwards remains undecided about whom she is going to vote for
While some are decided, the majority are not.
Mum of two Ffion Edwards says she’s been approached by all the big parties.
“Yes. From Labour, Conservative, Plaid Cymru – they’ve each been knocking at the door trying to gain our support,” she tells me.
“I’m still very undecided, so – I will be voting for sure, but I’m just not sure which party to vote for at the moment. I’m feeling a little bit nervous. It’s difficult to anticipate what’s going to happen and how that’s going to affect us locally and nationally.”
The Menai Suspension Bridge
‘Despondency’
Like everywhere in this election, jobs and the economy are often front and centre.
Plans to build a new nuclear power station on the north coast of Anglesey would bring thousands of jobs, but it’ll be decades before it’s powering the lights across the Menai Strait.
Oyster farmer Shuan Krijnen says he is experiencing unprecedented levels of despondency
On the south of the island and fresh from the riverbank is Shaun Krijnen – who for decades has farmed oysters in Anglesey.
They’re shipped to London’s finest restaurants, but he’s not happy about the capital’s political offering.
“I’ve been voting in every election since I was 18. I’m 53 now. I don’t think I’ve felt a level of despondency for an election as I have at the moment,” he said.
“Anglesey’s been Labour. Then it’s been Conservative but it’s also, I would say, one of Plaid’s heartlands really. But for me, I don’t even know…I might make up my decision when I see the names on the ballot paper.”
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While polls show the general election result may be a foregone conclusion, in battleground constituencies like Ynys Mon, there is all to play for.
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Here is the full list of candidates standing in Ynys Mon:
- Virginia Ann Crosbie (Conservatives)
- Leena Sarah Farhat (Lib Dem)
- Emmett Jenner (Reform UK)
- Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru)
- Martin Schwaller (Green Party)
- Sir Grumpus L Shorticus (Monster Raving Loony Party)
- Ieuan Mon Williams (Labour)
- Sam Andrew Wood (Libertarian Party)
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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