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

U.S. Bill Proposes Outlawing Government Use of China-Made Blockchains and Tether's USDT

Government officials would no longer be able to use networks developed by China that power crypto transactions, according to a new bipartisan bill.

US Capital building (Matt Anderson/Getty Images)

Policy

U.S. SEC Said to Open Talks with Grayscale on Spot Bitcoin ETF Push

Representatives of the company are answering questions from two divisions of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the wake of Grayscale's court win over the agency.

Chair Gary Gensler's U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is said to be in new talks with CEO Michael Sonnenshein's Grayscale Investments over its spot bitcoin ETF application. (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Policy

Crypto's Bromance With U.S. CFTC May Be One-Sided

The industry's open preference for the CFTC over the SEC has been answered with record enforcement actions showing the CFTC's enthusiasm for punishing crypto wrongdoing.

Rostin Behnam, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Policy

U.S. Banking Watchdog Hsu Says Tokenization Promising, But Crypto Full of Fraud

Michael Hsu, the acting chief of the U.S Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that oversees banks, is excited about the possibilities of tokenization to solve settlement problems.

Michael Hsu (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Policy

U.S. Federal Reserve's Barr Holds Line on Central Bank Needing Stablecoin Powers

Vice Chairman Michael Barr argued that the Fed needs regulatory and enforcement authority over stablecoin issuers – a point of contention in the debate over legislation.

Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Policy

Ex-FTX Unit LedgerX in Gray Area Beyond CFTC Proposal on Customer Funds: Commissioner

The U.S. derivatives regulator proposed a new rule for how regulated firms should invest clients' funds, but a CFTC commissioner pointed out it doesn't address LedgerX.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission would be granted far-reaching authority over crypto trading and regulation in a new Senate bill. (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Policy

Prisoners’ Dreams to Stash $54M in Crypto in Exotic Locales Dashed as Feds Grab It for Treasury

While convicted traffickers sought the best off-shore destination for crypto riches, U.S. authorities say they listened in and pounced on the ill-gotten gains from darknet drug sales.

The Bahamas. (A. Duarte/Flickr)

Policy

Discredited Crypto Terrorist Funding Figures Gain Fresh Life in House Hearing

Recent reports that terrorism organizations such as Hamas pocketed as much as $130 million in crypto funding have been proved incorrect but were resurrected in Congress today.

U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) cited discredited figures about crypto funding of terrorist groups at a congressional hearing, despite vigorous pushback from the industry on those stats. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Policy

Will Hashdex's 'Undeniable' Distinctions Help Win Bitcoin ETF Race? Some Analysts Think So

Hashdex's decision to use CME, a regulated exchange, per the SEC's requirement of a surveillance-sharing agreement (SSA), might set it apart from the group.

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

U.S. SEC's Knock From Congressional Watchdog May Not Budge Crypto Accounting Policy

Even if the agency is forced by the GAO finding to submit its Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 to Congress for review, lawmakers probably won't strangle the policy, according to experts.

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