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

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)

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)

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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)

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)

Markets

Bitcoin Plunges Below $100K for First Time Since June as Crypto Correction Worsens

The largest crypto has now tumbled more than 20% since hitting a record high above $126,000 only one month ago.

Bitcoin Logo

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Markets

Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman Outlines 3 Ways Blockchain Can Fix Finance

Friedman sees post-trade streamlining, collateral mobility and better payments as key blockchain breakthroughs.

CoinDesk

Markets

Bitcoin Careens Toward $100K as Morning Bounce Fails

Ether, XRP, dogecoin and solana are all lower by 15%-20% over the past week.

Bitcoin plunges below $40K (Eva Blue/Unsplash)