Stephen Alpher

Stephen is CoinDesk's managing editor for Markets. He previously served as managing editor at Seeking Alpha. A native of suburban Washington, D.C., Stephen went to the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, majoring in finance. He holds BTC above CoinDesk’s disclosure threshold of $1,000.

Stephen Alpher

Latest from Stephen Alpher


Markets

Crypto Leverage Hits Record High in Q3 as DeFi Dominance Reshapes Market Structure: Galaxy

Onchain lending drove crypto-collateralized debt to a new peak in last quarter, but the leverage underpinning the market is now better collateralized than during the previous cycle.

(Creative Commons)

Markets

Bitcoin Slips Back Below $90K — Crypto Correction Now Ranks Among Worst Since 2017, K33 Says

After a rare spot of outperformance on Tuesday, bitcoin has resumed sliding, with one analyst eyeing $84,000–$86,000 as potential local bottom.

Bitcoin (BTC) price on Nov. 19 (CoinDesk)

Markets

Crypto ETFs Enter Maturity Phase as IRS and SEC Actions Drive Rapid Expansion of Products

Staking guidance, broader listing standards and new index tools show how crypto ETFs are becoming core holdings.

Wall street signs, traffic light, New York City

Finance

'Permissionless Assets’: Robinhood’s 3-Phase Tokenization Plan to Disrupt TradFi

Robinhood is working on infrastructure developments, said Offchain Labs' A.J. Warner, including 24/7 trading, and leveraging technologies like Arbitrum Stylus for compatibility.

Robinhood website (PiggyBank/ Unsplash/ Modified by CoinDesk)

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Markets

Chainlink's LINK Bounces 4% to Near $14 as Cryptos Rebound

LINK could target $14.50 if momentum sustains, CoinDesk Research's analysis tool suggested.

Chainlink (LINK) price on Nov. 18 (CoinDesk)

Markets

Bitcoin Backwardation Returns, a Pattern That Often Marks Market Bottoms

Futures prices for BTC are trading below spot prices, signaling "extreme fear," which can sometimes be read as a contrarian buy signal.

Futures Annualized Rolling Basis (3M) (Glassnode)

Markets

Bitcoin Gains Tuesday as Traditional Markets Slump in Rare Occurrence of Crypto Outperformance

After plunging below $90,000 overnight, BTC has regained the $93,000 level in U.S. morning action.

(Midjourney/Modified by CoinDesk)

Finance

Obex Raises $37M to Build 'Y Combinator' for RWA-Backed Stablecoins, Led by Framework, Sky

The incubator aims to fund stablecoin projects backed by compute, energy and fintech credit using Sky's up to $2.5 billion commitment, Framework Ventures' Vance Spencer said in an interview.

Vance Spencer, co-founder of Framework Ventures (Framework Ventures)

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Markets

Bitcoin Hashprice Falls to Five-Year Low

Falling revenue and record difficulty could tighten the squeeze on bitcoin miners, though many are more driven by their AI infrastructure initiatives.

Hashprice (Luxor)

Finance

Tether Invests in Ledn to Expand Bitcoin-Backed Lending Amid Surging Demand

The stablecoin issuer's investment comes as BTC-backed lending scales rapidly, with Ledn surpassing $1 billion in originations this year and positioning for global expansion.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino at White House