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


Policy

CFTC Launches Digital Assets Pilot Allowing Bitcoin, Ether and USDC as Collateral

Acting Chair Caroline Pham has unveiled a first-of-its-kind U.S. program to permit tokenized collateral in derivatives markets, citing "clear guardrails" for firms.

Caroline Pham, acting chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Markets

Bitcoin Treads Water Near $90K as Bitfinex Warns of 'Fragile Setup' to Shocks

BTC's relative weakness compared to stocks points to tepid spot demand, making the largest crypto vulnerable to macro volatility, Bitfinex analysts said.

Bitcoin (BTC) price on December 8 (CoinDesk)

Markets

CoreWeave Stock Falls 8% on $2B Convertible Debt Offering

Though remaining sharply higher than their IPO price, shares have struggled over the past six months, losing 50%.

The CoreWeave Executive Leadership team pose for a photo during the company's Initial Public Offering at the Nasdaq headquarters on March 28, 2025 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Markets

Digital Assets to Shift From Disruption to Integration in 2026, CoinShares Says

'Hybrid finance' is taking hold as traditional institutions tokenize funds and deposits on public blockchains.

Wall street signs, traffic light, New York City

Advertisement

Finance

Tom Lee's BitMine Immersion Ramps Up Ether Acquisition, Adding $435M of ETH to Treasury

This was the firm's largest weekly haul in more than a month; the company also increased its cash holdings to $1 billion.

Screenshot of Tom Lee on CoinDesk TV (CoinDesk)

Markets

BlackRock Files for Staked Ethereum ETF

The iShares Ethereum Staking Trust marks a bold push into on-chain yield exposure, as the SEC's tone has shifted under new leadership.

The BlackRock company logo is seen outside of its NYC headquarters. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Markets

ONDO Token Gains as SEC Ends Investigation Into RWA Tokenization Platform

The agency closed a confidential investigation started in 2024 without any charges, according to Ondo Finance, as real-world asset tokenization momentum continues gaining momentum.

Securities and Exchange Commission logo (CoinDesk)

Markets

Wall Street Saw Ripple as 90% XRP — Offered $500M, but With Safety Net: Bloomberg

Multiple investors concluded that at least 90% of Ripple’s net asset value was tied to XRP, the closely-linked token that maintains distance from the company legally.

ripple

Advertisement

Markets

Strategy Bought Nearly $1B in Bitcoin Last Week as Saylor's Company Returns to Big Purchases

Last week's acquisition was mostly funded via the sale of common stock.

Strategy CEO Michael Saylor

Opinion

Trump's National Security Strategy Ignores Bitcoin and Blockchain

The U.S. president's latest national security strategy focused on AI, biotech, and quantum computing.

Donald Trump