Jesse Hamilton

Jesse Hamilton is CoinDesk's deputy managing editor on the Global Policy and Regulation team, based in Washington, D.C. Before joining CoinDesk in 2022, he worked for more than a decade covering Wall Street regulation at Bloomberg News and Businessweek, writing about the early whisperings among federal agencies trying to decide what to do about crypto. He’s won several national honors in his reporting career, including from his time as a war correspondent in Iraq and as a police reporter for newspapers. Jesse is a graduate of Western Washington University, where he studied journalism and history. He has no crypto holdings.

Jesse Hamilton

Latest from Jesse Hamilton


Policy

Coinbase and SEC Dig in With U.S. Judge on Whether Securities Law Applies to Listings

The federal judge must now weigh what a Coinbase lawyer characterized as "a pure question of law," and her answer could have big consequences on the crypto sector.

Coinbase CEO Brian Amstrong and SEC Chair Gary Gensler

Policy

Coinbase's SEC Clash Faces First Major Test as Judge Weighs Longshot Dismissal

A federal U.S. judge will hear arguments about whether or not to toss the case based on legal arguments that the regulator was in the wrong when it sued the exchange.

Coinbase is getting set to tell a judge why the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, under Chair Gary Gensler, has improperly picked a legal fight with the exchange. (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Policy

White Supremacists Lean On Crypto, Says Anti-Defamation League Report on Extremists

The report says white supremacist groups are drawn to crypto funding, but the amounts are relatively small, and it doesn't make a case that digital assets are paying for illegal activity.

White nationalist groups have received crypto from supporters, according to a report from the Anti-Defamation League. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Policy

Gary Gensler's Begrudging Bitcoin ETF Concession: 'We Did Not Approve or Endorse Bitcoin'

The SEC chair said a court forced his hand and that the agency's decision to greenlight a spot bitcoin ETF doesn't signal support of that or any other digital asset.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler says the agency's court loss led to bitcoin ETF approvals. (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Learn

How to Buy a Bitcoin ETF

Now that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first crypto exchange-traded funds to hold digital assets, the actual buying may be the easy part.

(Mohammadreza alidoost/Unsplash)

Policy

New York's Crypto BitLicense Oversight Criticized by State's Comptroller

The New York fiscal chief says the Department of Financial Services let some things fall through the cracks as a crypto watchdog.

Superintendent Adrienne Harris's New York Department of Financial Services is being criticized for missteps in overseeing crypto BitLicense holders. (Shutterstock/CoinDesk)

Policy

With Bitcoin ETF Decision Looming, SEC Chair Gensler Says (Again) That Crypto Is Dangerous

While the industry eagerly awaits the U.S. regulator's decision on spot bitcoin ETFs, Gary Gensler is on X warning investors that crypto is rife with scams.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler in Washington on Oct. 25, 2023 (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Policy

U.S. SEC Seeks to Leverage Terraform Win in Coinbase, Binance Disputes

The agency contends last week's court ruling that offerings from Terraform were securities should help make its case that the exchanges traded unregistered securities.

Chair Gary Gensler's U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is weighing Hashdex's ETF application, which analysts suggest could have a leg up because of its novel approach.  (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Policy

Prometheum Earns Final Regulatory Nod to Try Hand at Fully-Compliant Crypto

The U.S. platform, which drew industry barbs for insisting crypto can comply with SEC rules, is now approved for clearing, though it won't begin for a few months at least.

Prometheum founder and co-CEO Aaron Kaplan went on CoinDesk TV to discuss is Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker-dealer license approval. (CoinDesk)