Cheyenne Ligon

Cheyenne is a features and opinions editor at CoinDesk. Previously, she covered U.S. policy and regulation, with a focus on court proceedings and crime. She was part of the Gerald Loeb award-winning team that chronicled the downfall of FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried. She has no significant crypto holdings.

Cheyenne Ligon

Latest from Cheyenne Ligon


Finance

Most Influential: Changpeng “CZ” Zhao

Zhao’s exit from Binance did little to dim his prominence.

Changpeng "CZ" Zhao

Markets

Filecoin Trades Little Changed, Underperforms Wider Crypto Markets

The token has major support at the $1.36 level and resistance at $1.40.

"Filecoin Falls 1.66% to $1.39 as DePIN Tokens Lead Market Selloff with Trading Volumes Up 29%"

Markets

MiCA Will Make or Break Euro-Pegged Stablecoins by 2026: DECTA

German payments processor DECTA expects euro-pegged stablecoins to gain traction in payments and tokenized finance as MiCA takes full effect across the EU.

Stablecoin networks (Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)

Policy

Terraform's Do Kwon Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Fraud

The Terraform Labs co-founder pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud in August.

Do Kwon (CoinDesk archives)

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Policy

Do Kwon’s Sentencing Hearing Drags on as Court Weighs Mountain of Victim Testimony

District Judge Paul Engelmeyer offered the Terraform Labs co-founder the chance to postpone his sentencing date, in light of hundreds of victim impact statements shared with the court in the past 24 hours.

TerraForm Labs founder and CEO Do Kwon (CoinDesk TV, modified by CoinDesk)

Finance

Most Influential: The Social Media Traders

Crypto Twitter’s social media traders turned their X dashboards into public PnL reality shows in 2025, sending billions in volume through memecoins and perp DEXs in real time.

screen with chart

Finance

Most Influential: Sirgoo Lee

Lee shaped the exchange that defines Korea’s crypto market, but even after his exit this year, the country’s hyperactive retail engine will keep moving.

Upbit Sirgoo Lee

Finance

Most Influential: Shayne Coplan

Once mired in legal trouble that included federal probes and law enforcement raids, Polymarket founder and CEO Shayne Coplan has emerged victorious this year, casting off the yoke of regulatory scrutiny and growing the prediction market he founded into a $9 billion betting empire.

Shayne Coplan Polymarket

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Finance

Most Influential: Arthur Hayes

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has re-emerged in recent years as one of the industry’s most consistently influential macro thinkers.

Arthur Hayes

Finance

Most Influential: Cathie Wood

Throughout crypto’s ups and downs, Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood has remained unflaggingly bullish on the industry’s future.

Cathie Wood