Ian Allison

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.

Ian Allison

Latest from Ian Allison


Finance

A Year After Sam Bankman-Fried's Downfall, Solana and Other FTX Holdings Are Flying High

The FTX founder's downfall began on Nov. 2, 2022 – a year ago Thursday – when CoinDesk published a big scoop. Jurors are poised to begin deliberating his fate on the anniversary of that story, at a time when the SOL tokens FTX owns just got $1 billion more valuable.

FTX logo (Adobe Firefly)

Finance

Team Behind Celsius Bidder NovaWulf Starts New Firm Called Valinor

Former NovaWulf employees Connor Dougherty and Lily Yarborough are spearheading Valinor, with the continued support and collaboration of two former NovaWulf partners.

(Mustang Joe/Flickr)

Policy

BitGo Granted German Crypto Custody License by BaFin

BitGo had already been storing crypto assets under the regulator's supervision since 2019 as part of a transitional regime, the firm said.

CEO of BitGo Mike Belshe in a chair on-stage at Consensus 2023

Finance

BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF Might Have Trading Support of Heavyweights Like Jane Street, Jump and Virtu: Source

Amid the crypto crackdown, a BTC ETF, if approved, would open a new pathway for U.S.-based firms to get a piece of the crypto action – in a way that plays to their conventional strengths.

BlackRock HQ

Finance

Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered Test SWIFT Killer for Stablecoins and CBDCs

The Universal Digital Payments Network instructs and allows transactions, ranging from stablecoins on public blockchains to central bank digital currencies.

Standard Chartered (Shutterstock)

Finance

Mastercard Teams Up With MoonPay for Web3 Push

MoonPay will incorporate compliance-friendly Mastercard's Crypto Credential system and integrate payments tech like Mastercard Send and Click to Pay, according to a blog post.

close up of Mastercard logo and hologram on a payment card

Finance

Mastercard Plans Web3 Collaborations With Self-Custody Wallet Firms

The payments processor is working with MetaMask and Ledger among others, according to a Web3 Workshop presentation.

close up of Mastercard logo and hologram on a payment card

Finance

U.S. Crypto Regulatory Fog Keeps Standard Chartered Rooted in UAE, Asia

Standard Chartered chose Dubai as its base for launching crypto services. Reading between the lines, the message coming from banks and large institutions is that almost anywhere is preferable to the U.S.

Standard Chartered, majority owner of Zodia Custody. (Shutterstock)

Finance

BitGo Buys Crypto Wealth Management Platform HeightZero

Financial details of the deal were not revealed.

Full Shows – Consensus: Distributed

Finance

Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures Raise Crypto Political Capital With University of Arkansas Tech Sprint

As well as some big corporations, Arkansas is home to policymakers like Rep. French Hill and Sen. John Boozman, both of whom have taken an interest in digital asset technology, said Haun Ventures Chief Policy Officer Tomicah Tillemann.

Arkansas has emerged as a player in crypto (Unsplash)