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. Treasury Targets Gaza Crypto Business in Sanctions to Squeeze Hamas

The Treasury Department issued a list of sanctions that included a business providing money transfers and digital assets exchange services in Gaza.

The U.S. Treasury Department's financial crimes arm reported on the use of bitcoin in human trafficking and other global crimes. (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Policy

Crypto World Hopeful as California Chases BitLicense in Absence of U.S. Feds

The BitLicense axis between New York and California may draw in other jurisdictions as the states solidify their position as the only regulatory option for crypto businesses in the U.S.

Crypto insiders credit California Governor Gavin Newsom's administration as good listeners as they work on their own version of New York's BitLicense. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Policy

Digital Dollar May Pose 'Significant Risk,' Fed Governor Bowman Says

Governor Michelle Bowman suggests other payments services, including FedNow, may do a CBDC's job better, and she's also suspicious of the dangers of stablecoins.

(Ryan Quintal/Unsplash, Modified by CoinDesk)

Policy

SEC Won’t Appeal Loss in Grayscale Case, Boosting the Odds GBTC Can Become a Bitcoin ETF

Bitcoin’s price immediately shot up after the news came out.

Photo of the SEC logo on a building wall

Policy

Hamas' Crypto Ties May Lend Energy to Sen. Warren's Money Laundering Bill

The prominent Massachusetts senator has argued the Hamas connection shows it's time to "crack down on crypto-financed crimes."

Israeli forces bombard Gaza City, Gaza, in response to attacks from Hamas, whose cryptocurrency backing may lend energy to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's effort to combat crypto money laundering. (Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images)

Policy

U.S. House Speaker Drama Could Threaten to Unravel Crypto's 2023 Chances

Majority Leader Steve Scalise dropping out means digital assets legislation remains on hold. Crypto fan Tom Emmer also won't have the No. 2 role to seek, another potential blow.

Key U.S. lawmakers met Thursday to talk about how to advance stablecoin legislation. (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Policy

SEC Deadline on Grayscale's Bitcoin ETF Dispute Approaching at Midnight

The agency has hours left to seek an appeal of the court order to erase its rejection of Grayscale’s trust-to-ETF conversion application.

SEC head Gary Gensler (SEC, modified by CoinDesk)

Policy

Coinbase Sounds Alarm on IRS Crypto Tax Proposal

As the U.S. crypto exchange called the recent IRS proposal for taxing crypto “incomprehensible,” the tax agency flagged that the industry isn’t paying its fair share.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong (Coinbase)

Policy

Voyager Ex-CEO Charged by U.S. Regulators With Fraud, Making False Claims

Former Voyager Digital CEO Steve Ehrlich is facing complaints from the Federal Trade Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which also used the case to reinforce its view of USDC as a commodity.

Voyager Digital's Ex-CEO Steve Ehrlich is under the gun from multiple regulators accusing him of fraud and making false claims to customers. (CoinDesk)

Policy

Crypto Bills May Depend on U.S. House GOP Battle Over Scalise Speaker Pick

If Republicans can’t unify behind Scalise or another choice to be speaker, paralysis in the House over crypto legislation and a potential government shutdown could continue.

U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise got the nod from his party to be the next speaker of the House. But several fellow Republicans may vote against him anyway, so his ascent isn't assured. (Photo courtesy of Rep. Steve Scalise; illustration by Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)