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


Finance

Securitize, VanEck Bring VBILL Tokenized Treasury Fund To Aave

The integration, powered by Chainlink’s NAVLink oracle technology, represents another leap in bridging traditional finance and decentralized finance together.

(VanEck)

Finance

Cango Eyes Strengthening of Bitcoin Mining Operations, Entry Into AI HPC Market

The Chinese automotive transaction firm turned bitcoin miner Cango issued an update to its shareholders.

Cango reception (Credit: Cango)

Policy

Central Bank of Ireland Fines Coinbase $24.6M for Anti-Money Laundering Failures

The penalty relates to Coinbase Europe breaching its anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing transaction monitoring obligations between 2021 and 2025.

Tom Duff Gordon, vice president of international policy at Coinbase, hosts a panel with former UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and former UK Chancellor George Osborne at the recent Coinbase Crypto Forum in London (Coinbase, modified by CoinDesk)

Markets

Robinhood’s Crypto Trading Revenue Soared 339% in Q3 as Company Tops Street Earnings Estimates

The brokerage platform saw a record $80B in crypto trading volume; shares dipped in after hours action despite the earnings beat.

Robinhood logo on a mobile phone. (appshunter.io/Unsplash)

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Markets

Citi and DTCC Say Tokenized Collateral Works and Now Regulators Must Keep Pace

As financial giants test cross-asset collateral, they say legal gaps — not tech — are the biggest threat to scale.

(Unsplash)

Markets

Bitcoin Bulls' Last Stand? $95K, According to This Well-Followed Analyst

Nearly 57% of all money ever invested in bitcoin is in the red at the $100,000 level according to James Check.

Custer's last stand

Markets

Galaxy's Research Chief Capitulates on Bullish Bitcoin Call After Tuesday's Plunge

Bitcoin was managing a modest bounce early Wednesday following yesterday's tumble below $100,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) price today (CoinDesk)

Markets

Hut 8’s Tuesday Tumble Misguided and a Buying Opportunity: Benchmark

Investors overreacted to the absence of a hyperscaler deal announcement, overlooking Hut 8’s long-term potential in AI, energy, and bitcoin infrastructure.

A Hut 8 mining facility (hut8.io)

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Markets

Ripple Raises $500M at $40B Valuation in Fortress-Led Round

Pantera, Galaxy Digital and Citadel Securities joined the deal, which expands Ripple’s institutional base as its payments and stablecoin businesses surge.

Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple Labs (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Markets

Ripple's Stablecoin Hits $1B Milestone; Company President Discusses M&A Strategy to Fuel Growth

The U.S. dollar stablecoin of the blockchain firm climbs the ranks faster than most, tapping into its global payments network to accelerate adoption.

Ripple President Monica Long (left) on stage at Ripple Swell 2025 in New York. (Ripple)