Stephen Alpher

Co-regional news chief, Americas

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.

Latest from Stephen Alpher

News Analysis

Harris Likely to Pick Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro for Veep, Prediction Markets Say

Also: the Democrat gains on Trump but hasn't closed the gap, unlike in polls; Polymarket punters trade on Olympic women's boxing controversy.

Aug 5, 2024

AMBLER, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 29: Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro speaks during a campaign rally for Vice President Kamala Harris on July 29, 2024 in Ambler, Pennsylvania. Shapiro and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer campaigned to bring supporters behind Vice President Harris's campaign to protect Americans' freedoms, lower costs for families, and slam Trump's Project 2025 agenda. (Photo by Hannah Beier/Getty Images)

CoinDesk Indices

CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: Index Plunges 22.6% Amid Global Market Decline

NEAR and LINK were among the hardest hit as the CoinDesk 20 tumbled over the weekend.

Aug 5, 2024

9am CoinDesk 20 Update for 2024-08-05: laggards

Markets

Bitcoin Tumbles to $53K, Ether Turns Negative for 2024 as Panic Grips Markets

Japan's Nikkei fell more than another 6% early Monday, bringing that index's three-day decline to about 15%.

Aug 5, 2024

(H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images)

Policy

As Trump Suggests Crypto as a Fix to U.S. Debt, Harris Camp Highlights His Remarks

Former President Donald Trump shared some more thoughts on his recent crypto crush, and the campaign for Kamala Harris responded as it often has: It shared Trump's own words.

Aug 2, 2024

Former President Donald Trump praised crypto again while Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign seemed to mock the comments. (Mornings With Maria, Fox Business)

Markets

Bitcoin Slumps Below $63K, Altcoins Rekt, as Crypto Succumbs to Risk Off Mood

Likely also hitting prices was the movement of nearly $2 billion of BTC and ETH in wallets linked with Genesis Trading.

Aug 2, 2024

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Markets

CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: Index Gains 1.2% With BCH and ETC Leading

Bitcoin cash rose 3% and Ethereum classic added 2.5%.

Aug 2, 2024

Markets

U.S. Added Just 114K Jobs in July, Unemployment Rate Shoots Up to 4.3%

The price of bitcoin initially showed little reaction to the soft data even as traders quickly amped up bets on big Fed rate cuts in the second half of the year.

Aug 2, 2024

Instead of a gated community, think of your entry-level talent pool as a community garden where anyone can come and contribute. (Tim Mossholder/Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)

Finance

MicroStrategy Reports Q2 Loss; Bitcoin Holdings Rise to 226,500

Still not switching over to mark-to-market, the company booked an impairment charge of $180.1 million in the second quarter.

Aug 1, 2024

MicroStrategy executive chairman and co-founder Michael Saylor. (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

Markets

DeFi Protocol Convergence Hacked, CVG Token Plunges 99% on Curve

The exploiter created 58 million of the protocol's CVG token and then swapped for roughly $200,000 worth of wrapped ETH and crvFRAX and forwarded to Tornado Cash.

Aug 1, 2024

Markets

Bitcoin Plunges More Than 10% Since Hitting $70K 72 Hours Ago

The slide in the odds of a Donald Trump victory in November might have bulls rethinking some bets.

Aug 1, 2024