Fran Velasquez

Fran is CoinDesk's TV writer and reporter. He is an alum of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and CUNY's Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, where he earned his master's in business and economic reporting. In the past, he has written for Borderless Magazine, CNBC Make It, and Inc. He owns no crypto holdings.

Fran Velasquez

Latest from Fran Velasquez


Juridique

Former CFTC Chair: Here's How SEC and CFTC Can Work Together to Regulate Crypto

Forming a self-regulatory governing committee “might be a way to develop standards for this market,” Timothy Massad said on CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover.”

(Former CFTC Chairman and Harvard University Research Fellow Timothy Massad, CoinDesk TV)

Juridique

Bankrupt Lender Celsius CEO Owes Creditors Transparency, Crypto Lawyer Says

If Alex Mashinsky was “being transparent,” there would be “no need to pull in an independent examiner," said Sasha Hodder, founder of Hodder Law Firm, on CoinDesk TV's "First Mover."

“If [Mashinky] was being transparent, they would not have a need to pull in an independent examiner,” Sasha Hodder, founder of Hodder Law Firm, said on CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover.”  (CoinDesk TV, modified by CoinDesk)

Juridique

US Treasury's Tornado Cash Sanctions Are ‘Unprecedented,’ Warns Congressman

With just 28 legislative days left this year, “it’s unlikely that any crypto legislation is going to move,” Rep. Tom Emmer said on CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” show.

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Juridique

CFTC Commissioner: Crypto Market Needs Clear Guidelines on Its Regulator

Kristin N. Johnson joined CoinDesk TV’s "First Mover" to discuss two bills in Congress that would make her agency the primary crypto watchdog.

Kristin N. Johnson, commissioner of Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CoinDesk)

Finance

‘Consumer Business Is Dead’ for Crypto Lender Celsius, Bankruptcy Expert Says

Thomas Braziel, a partner at 507 Capital, also told CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” customers may get back only 50 to 60 cents on the dollar.

"The consumer business is dead,” 507 Capital founder Thomas Braziel said about bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network on CoinDesk TV's "First Mover" show. (Wilhelm Gunkel via Unsplash)

Juridique

Congress Must Decide How Cryptos Should Be Regulated, Former CFTC Commissioner Says

Dawn Stump told CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” that lawmakers need to determine whether digital assets are commodities or securities.

Former CFTC Commissioner Dawn Stump (Suzanne Cordeiro/Shutterstock/CoinDesk)

Juridique

Tornado Cash US Ban Is ‘Bad Precedent,’ but Monero Was ‘Made for This’: Cake Wallet Exec

Justin Ehrenhofer, vice president of operations at Cake Wallet, joined CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover,” to discuss the implications of government regulation when it comes to privacy coins.

"It's a bad precedent," Justin Ehrenhofer, vice president of operations at Cake Wallet, said regarding the recent sanctions of Tornado Cash, on CoinDesk TV's "First Mover."

Finance

Miner Chandler Guo Repeats Support for Ethereum Fork Post-Merge

Guo told CoinDesk TV he wants to create a new proof-of-work blockchain to help miners.

“A lot of people [miners] are suffering,” Chandler Guo, an ethereum miner, said on CoinDesk TV's "First Mover." (CoinDesk TV, modified)

Finance

Rune Christensen Details How MakerDAO Is Navigating Tornado Cash Sanctions

The DAO founder sees a new era ahead for DeFi, and it isn't pretty, he told CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” program

“We don't really know if we can really rely on working closely with governments in the long run, which has so far really been the strategy of major DeFi projects like Maker,” Rune Christensen said on CoinDesk TV's "First Mover" show. 
(Thomas Lipke via Unsplash)

Finance

After Brutal Q2, Coinbase Needs to ‘Get Smart’ About Revenue Streams: Analyst Says

Michael Safai, managing partner at Dexterity Capital, joined CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” to discuss Coinbase's second-quarter earnings and the outlook for the crypto exchange.

(Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)