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

Bitcoin Gives Up Gains as U.S. Election Anxiety Unleashes Crypto Volatility

The worst case scenario for risk assets including cryptocurrencies would be a delayed or contested election where the result is unknown for weeks, one observer noted.

Bitcoin price on Nov 5 (CoinDesk)

Markets

‘It’s So Early’: How Solana Is Competing With Ethereum for Institutional Interest

Solana has a reputation as a memecoin hub, but financial institutions are looking to build on the network.

Solana's offices in New York City (Danny Nelson)

Markets

Bitcoin Breaks Above $70K as Crypto and U.S. Stocks Move Higher Early on Election Day

Semler Scientific's 26% gain following quarterly results was leading the advance for crypto-linked stocks.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 13: Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, watches a video of Vice President Kamala Harris during a campaign rally at The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas on September 13, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. With 53 days before election day, Former President Trump continues to campaign.  (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Markets

MakerDAO's Christensen Hopes for 'Firm Decision' as MKR Holders Vote on Sky Brand

Early polling indicates MKR holders want to keep the SKY brand, though participation in the poll is still low.

Rune Christensen (Trevor Jones)

CoinDesk Indices

CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: NEAR Gains 4.8% as Almost All Assets Trade Higher

Hedera was also among the top performers, rising 4.1% from Monday.

9am CoinDesk 20 Update for 2024-11-05: leaders

Finance

New Global Dollar Stablecoin Backed by Robinhood, Kraken, Paxos and Other Crypto Heavies

The Global Dollar Network, whose participants will earn yield for helping foster adoption of USDG, also includes Anchorage Digital, Bullish, Galaxy Digital and Nuvei.

Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

Finance

Semler Scientific Added 47 Bitcoin to Holdings, Bringing Stack to 1,058 BTC

To this point, Semler is at about breakeven on its bitcoin investment.

Semler Scientific stacked additional bitcoin in third quarter (Markus Spiske/Unsplash)

Finance

First UK Pension Fund Invests in Bitcoin

Moving bitcoin into pension schemes is “a bold step that reflects the forward-thinking nature of the trustees involved,” pension specialist Cartwright told Corporate Advisor magazine.

The first U.K.-based pension fund has allocated money into bitcoin. (Camomile Shumba/CoinDesk)

CoinDesk Indices

CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: UNI Falls 8.6% as All Market Constituents Trade Lower

Aptos also joined Uniswap as an underperformer, declining 7.6% from Friday.

9am CoinDesk 20 Update for 2024-11-04: laggards

Markets

Bitcoin Pulls Under $68K as Crypto Markets Falter Ahead of Election

At least according to betting markets, the U.S. presidential election has moved to nearly a 50/50 race versus the outlook for an easy Trump victory just days ago.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris on screen at a Presidential debate. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)