Danny Nelson

Danny is CoinDesk's managing editor for Data & Tokens. He formerly ran investigations for the Tufts Daily. At CoinDesk, his beats include (but are not limited to): federal policy, regulation, securities law, exchanges, the Solana ecosystem, smart money doing dumb things, dumb money doing smart things and tungsten cubes. He owns BTC, ETH and SOL tokens, as well as the LinksDAO NFT.

Danny Nelson

Latest from Danny Nelson


Markets

BitClub Programmer Admits Mining Scheme Stole $722M in Bitcoin

The Romanian programmer pleaded guilty to wire fraud and the offering and sale of unregistered securities.

Balaci’s testimony indicates that BitClub never ran the lucrative bitcoin mining pools it lured victim investors with. (Shutterstock)

Markets

CFTC Hints at Future Digital Asset Regulatory Framework

The U.S. commodities regulator has a four-year plan for fostering responsible innovations in the crypto asset space.

CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert

Markets

Texas Securities Regulator Accuses South African Trading Pool of Crypto Fraud

Texas' securities watchdog ordered Mirror Trading International to cease operations, alleging the South African bitcoin and forex "investor club" is a multilevel marketing scam.

“These quick-to-profits schemes rely on a little bit of smoke and the shine of mirrors,” said Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles. (Danny Nelson)

Markets

Coinbase Taps Former Facebook Lawyer to Head Legal Team

Coinbase has hired Paul Grewal, former U.S. magistrate judge and Facebook legal alum, to lead the cryptocurrency exchange giant’s legal team.

Former Facebook deputy general counsel Paul Grewal is joining Coinbase as its new chief legal officer. (Coinbase)

Markets

23-Year-Old Who Lied to Bank About Bitcoin Holdings Pleads Guilty to Fraud

Randall Joseph Smail faces up to 30 years in prison for lying to a bank about having $640,000 in bitcoin to get a loan.

(Roman R/Shutterstock)

Markets

Only 23% of Hodlers Have a Crypto Estate Plan: Survey

The late Gerald Cotten wasn't the only investor who failed to make a plan for his crypto, according to a survey by the Cremation Institute.

The Inheritance, by Jacques Callot (R.L. Baumfeld Collection/National Gallery of Art)

Markets

Crypto Tracer Chainalysis Raises $13M as It 'Doubles Down' on Government Ties

Chainalysis is also adding former Treasury Department official Sigal Mandelker on as an advisor.

As part of the deal, the crypto tracing firm adds Ribbit Capital general partner Sigal Mandelker as an adviser. (CoinDesk archives)

Policy

Binance Ordered to Halt Offering Derivatives Trading in Brazil

The order is the regulator’s first public stance on cryptocurrency derivatives trading.

Brazilian law treats all derivatives products as securities, no matter the underlying asset. (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk, altered with PhotoMoosh)

Markets

Iran Gives Crypto Miners One Month to Register With the State

The government wants to "eliminate the confusion of cryptocurrency activists" with its call for mass mining registration.

Iranian First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri announced the new mining requirement. (Mohammad Hassanzadeh/Tasnim/Wikimedia Commons)

Markets

Arca Labs Launches Ethereum-Based SEC-Registered Fund

After nearly 20 months of discussions, the Los Angeles money manager finally cleared a hurdle involving what appears to be the first regulated fund represented by digital shares.

Arca CEO Rayne Steinberg (CoinDesk archives)