Ian Allison

Senior Reporter

Ian Allison is a senior reporter at CoinDesk, focused on institutional and enterprise adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Prior to that, he covered fintech for the International Business Times in London and Newsweek online. He won the State Street Data and Innovation journalist of the year award in 2017, and was runner up the following year. He also earned CoinDesk an honourable mention in the 2020 SABEW Best in Business awards. His November 2022 FTX scoop, which brought down the exchange and its boss Sam Bankman-Fried, won a Polk award, Loeb award and New York Press Club award. Ian graduated from the University of Edinburgh. He holds ETH.

Latest from Ian Allison

Finance

IBM Teams With 3 European Power Grids to Build Green Energy Blockchain Platform

IBM has created a new blockchain consortium with power grid operators TenneT, Swissgrid and Terna to help facilitate the transition to renewable energy.

May 5, 2020

EV BOOST: Tesla owners in the Netherlands could soon use an IBM-built blockchain to monitor their power usage. (Credit: Shutterstock)

Finance

Crypto Data Provider Skew Raises $5M, Launches Trade Execution Platform

The $5 million round, led by Octopus Ventures, adds to a $2 million seed round raised in September of last year.

Apr 29, 2020

Skew's founding team, Emmanuel Goh and Tim Noat. (Credit: Skew)

Policy

COVID-19 Tracing Apps Have to Go Viral to Work. That’s a Big Ask

How do you make it so people actually want to download a contact tracing app?

Apr 24, 2020

Finance

Everledger Offers Diamond Industry Blockchain-Based Carbon Offsetting

Track-and-trace blockchain pioneer Everledger is using its technology to help the diamond industry offset its carbon footprint.

Apr 22, 2020

Diamonds. (Credit: Shutterstock/MstudioG)

Finance

'Long Bitcoin' It Ain't: Crypto Traders Make Sense of Renaissance Filing

How might Renaissance approach bitcoin as an underlying asset, given the hedge fund’s reputation for using mind-bending math to find profits?

Apr 21, 2020

SECOND COMING? News of asset manager Renaissance considering bitcoin futures set off a raft of institutional speculation. (Detail from "Last Judgement" by Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel. Credit: Shutterstock)

Finance

New Layoffs Hit Ethereum Incubator ConsenSys

ConsenSys is laying off dozens more staffers, two people familiar with the matter tell CoinDesk.

Apr 20, 2020

The ConsenSys headquarters pictured in 2016. (Credit: CoinDesk archives)

Finance

Coinbase Taps Ex-Barclays Markets Exec to Head Institutional Coverage

Coinbase has hired former Barclays markets veteran, Brett Tejpaul, to lead institutional coverage at the San Francisco-based crypto exchange.

Apr 20, 2020

Finance

Why Tech-Minded Climate Groups See COVID-19 as a Trial Run for Massive Change

Reaching the Paris Agreement's lofty climate goals will require the decentralization of decision-making at all levels, say INATBA and others.

Apr 16, 2020

EMPTY: Coronavirus lockdowns have cut into global carbon emissions – but not by as much as is required of hitting Paris Agreement climate goals. (Credit: Shutterstock)

Finance

COVID-19 ‘Immunity Passport’ Unites 60 Firms on Self-Sovereign ID Project

The COVID-19 Credentials Initiative (CCI) is working on a digital certificate to help stop the spread of the virus without compromising user privacy.

Apr 13, 2020

A health worker conducts a COVID-19 test in Kuala Lumpur, April 12, 2020. (Credit: Shutterstock)

Finance

Microsoft, Celo Back Virtual Earth Day Event From Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition

Microsoft is throwing its weight behind the Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition (BSIC) incubator, a six-week hackathon focused on green energy.

Apr 7, 2020