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


Finans

Kraken eyes IPO as it partners with MoneyGram to bridge crypto-to-cash gap

Payward and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi says the exchange is “80% ready” to go public, as a new partnership with MoneyGram aims to expand access to digital assets by solving last-mile cash conversion.

Miami Consensus 2026

Finans

State Street says institutions want improved blockchain security in wake of recent DeFi attacks

Angus Fletcher, State Street’s head of digital assets said the young crypto industry needs to find solutions now before trillions in RWAs come on-chain.

Angus Fletcher, State Street’s head of digital assets (left) and Morpho head of institutional, Dennis Bree

Finans

Crypto's 'barbell': speculation and stablecoin payments drive adoption, Tempo's Romero says

Stablecoins are quietly powering real-world money flows as other crypto experiments than speculative trading have failed to scale, Romero said at Consensus 2026.

Dan Romero, GTM at Tempo, speaking at Consensus 2026 in Miami (CoinDesk)

Finans

Citi exec says tokenized finance has bright future, but acknowledges challenges

Tokenized money efforts face limits as corporate clients demand real-time payments that work seamlessly across banks, Citi’s Ryan Rugg said at Consensus in Miami.

Ryan Rugg, Head of Digital Assets, Treasury and Trade Solutions at Citi at Consensus Miami (CoinDesk)

Reklam

Finans

Overseas demand for U.S. equities is growing, says Robinhood's Johann Kerbrart

The trading app's senior vice president said tokenization, 24-hour trading, and regulatory shifts are driving broader investor access beyond domestic markets.

Johann Kerbrat Senior Vice President and General Manager, Crypto and International Robinhood. (CoinDesk)

Finans

Crypto ETFs go mainstream as traditional finance locks in

As traditional finance deepens its footprint, issuers say ETFs are reshaping access, liquidity, and the global structure of digital asset investing.

Crytpo ETFs go mainstream panel at Consensus Miami 2026

Piyasalar

Strategy posts $12.54 billion Q1 loss on declining bitcoin price

The price of bitcoin fell from about $87,000 to $68,000 during the first three months of 2026.

Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor (CoinDesk Television)

Finans

Drift outlines a recovery plan for users after $295 million DPRK-linked exploit

The lending protocol proposed tokenized claims, a revenue-backed pool and a security overhaul as it works with law enforcement to recover the stolen funds.

Hacker facing screens with lines of code (Boitumelo/Unsplash)

Reklam

Finans

Tokenization won't disrupt banking rails but improve them, Wall Street executives say

Executives from Citigroup, JPMorgan and DTCC said at Consensus that genuine client demand is driving real-world use of tokenized assets.

Kara Kennedy, Global Head of Market Development of J.P. Morgan (left), Nadine Chakar, Global Head of Digital Assets of DTCC (center) and Evan Auyang, Group President of Animoca Brands speak at Consensus 2026 in Miami (CoinDesk)

Piyasalar

Bitcoin extends gains to $81,500 as tokenization push lifts Bullish, Galaxy, Centrifuge

Crypto market momentum could extend further unless geopolitical risks flare up again, one analyst said.

Bitcoin (BTC) price on May 5 (CoinDesk)