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

Kalshi confirms $1 billion raise at $22 billion valuation amid prediction market boom

Institutional trading volume surged 800% over the past six months on the platform, while annualized trading activity reached $178 billion despite growing regulatory scrutiny.

Kalshi co-founders Luana Lopes Lara and Tarek Mansour (Kalshi)

Finance

Aave to overhaul collateral and listing standards after KelpDAO exploit

The lending giant is expanding its asset listing criteria beyond financial risk to include cybersecurity and architecture, and wants the rest of DeFi to follow.

(Consensus Miami 2026)

Finance

Dominance of Tether and Circle is a net bad for stablecoins, says Bridge executive

Circle and Tether are going to make it harder for stablecoins to feel like money, said Ben O'Neill, head of money movement at Bridge.

 Ben O'Neill, head of money movement at Bridge

Finance

Consensus Miami Day 2: Real-time coverage and highlights from on the ground

It's day two of Consensus Miami 2026 on Wednesday. Stay tuned for updates throughout the day.

Consensus Miami 2026 Mainstage

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Finance

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

Finance

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

Finance

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)

Finance

Citi exec says fragmented crypto systems risk repeating old banking problems

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)

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Finance

Overseas demand for U.S. equities is growing, says Robinhood's Johan 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)

Finance

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