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


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)

Policy

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)

Policy

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)

Finance

Ethereum’s Move From Proof-of-Work Essential for the Network, Crypto Exec Says

Brian Norton, chief operations officer of MyEtherWallet, joined CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” to discuss the blockchain’s upcoming software update.

Brian Norton, CEO of MyEtherWallet (CoinDesk)

Policy

Tornado Cash Ban May Not Stop Bad Actors but Could Put a Dent in Their Efforts, Former DEA Agent Says

William Callahan joined CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” to discuss the Treasury Department’s sanctioning of the mixing service.

The attacker behind last week’s exploit of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol TempleDAO has moved the entirety of the illicitly-gained process to privacy mixer Tornado Cash. (Source/NOAA CC BY 2.0)

Finance

Justin Sun Says Proof-of-Work 'Essential' Part of Ethereum

Tron's controversial founder said his stablecoin, USDD, will be the first to support the post-Merge Ethereum fork, on CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover.”

Justin Sun (CoinDesk)

Policy

US Crypto Regulation Bill Needs More Work to Define Boundaries, Former Prosecutor Says

Grant Fondo told CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” that the bill doesn’t settle the issue of which government agency should regulate what.

Bitcoin is increasingly moving in the opposite direction to the inflation-adjusted bond yield. (Pixabay)