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


Merkado

Bitcoin Pulls Back to $106K After Record Monthly Close

Altcoins also posted losses Tuesday as profit-taking and weakness in tech stocks dragged crypto markets lower.

Bitcoin price chart (Messari)

Merkado

Litecoin Slides as ETF Optimism Battles Wider Market Slowdown

Technical analysis suggests a potential "golden cross" pattern, which could precede a multi-week rally.

LTC price chart (CoinDesk Data)

Finance

MARA Holdings Nears 50K Bitcoin Treasury Milestone

The company in June saw a 25% decrease in blocks won mostly due to weather-related curtailments.

Bitcoin ASIC miner (CoinDesk Archives)

Markets

Circle's Valuation Not Stretched, Says Citi, Starting Coverage With Buy Rating

Citi's $243 price target suggests roughly 34% upside from last night's close just above $181.

Major banks' logos light up the night atop skyscrapers. (Miquel Parera/Unsplash)

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Finance

Crypto Investors Lost $2.5B to Hacks and Scams in the First Half of 2025: Certik

The majority of incidents took place on the Ethereum network, followed by Bitcoin.

Under a low-light red lamp, a pair of hands types on a keyboard. (Wesley Tingey/Unsplash+)

Finance

Circle Applies for National Trust Bank Charter

A federal trust charter would bring Circle under direct federal bank regulator oversight, aligning it with how traditional financial institutions are overseen.

Circle's logo and name (Sandali Handagama/ CoinDesk)

Markets

Bitcoin Carried Crypto Markets in 2025's First Half as Altcoins Crumbled. What's Next?

Crypto stayed flat in a volatile first half of the year thanks to bitcoin. Meanwhile, Ethereum's ETH, Solana's SOL and small caps endured steep losses.

Bull and Bear (nosheep/Pixabay)

Finance

Katana Mainnet Goes Live as Pre-Deposits Hit $232M

Depositors will receive rewards such as randomized NFT "Krates" and a portion of KAT tokens.

CoinDesk

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Markets

Fold Holdings Slumps 7% on Delay in Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card

The stock has lost more than 50% of its value since coming public earlier this year in a SPAC deal.

A bear cools itself, lying on its back in shallow water. (Unsplash, mana5280)

Markets

Litecoin Slips Below $86 as Resistance Holds; Traders Watch Bitcoin Dominance

The decline occurred as bitcoin's dominance increased alongside lowered volatility.

CoinDesk