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

SEC’s Gensler Rebuffs Crypto Complaints, Says Gave Ample Warning Heat Was Coming

Gary Gensler, chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, delivered a speech explaining his thinking after hammering Coinbase and Binance in back-to-back actions.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler  (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Policy

Robinhood Joins Coinbase in Saying It Tried to 'Come In and Register' Like SEC Wanted

The companies’ top lawyers testified in a House crypto hearing that they spent months trying to get the SEC to help them comply before being rebuffed.

U.S. Securities Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler advises in video that crypto firms need to register. (CoinDesk screen grab from SEC investor-education video)

Policy

One-Two Punch Finally Registers SEC View on Binance, Coinbase, Rest of Crypto

The mystery is over for how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will come after the digital assets sector’s big platforms, though alleged skeletons in Binance’s closet drew more ire.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler (Bill Clark-Pool/Getty Images)

Consensus Magazine

Privacy Concerns Dominate CBDC Discussion at Consensus 2023

Some Consensus 2023 participants argue that the economic benefits of CBDCs are not worth the threats to privacy in an excerpt from CoinDesk’s first-ever Consensus @ Consensus Report.

Full Shows – Consensus: Distributed

Policy

U.S. House Republicans Push for Crypto Oversight With Bill to Make SEC Play Ball

Draft legislation from key committee chairs represents this year’s most significant proposal for how the federal government might build guardrails around the digital assets sector.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Policy

U.S. Commodities Agency May Change Risk Rules to Consider Crypto

The CFTC has proposed an overhaul of risk-management requirements, and one commissioner says it should factor in emerging crypto dangers.

Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Policy

Bitcoin Miners Gain Support From Texas With Two Bills Passed, One Halted

Two bills that seem to embrace mining have been sent to the governor, whereas one that would adversely affect miners was stopped at the committee stage.

Texas flag. (Shutterstock)

Policy

Welcome, Crypto, to the Fiery Cauldron of U.S. Presidential Politics

Before the push for the White House really gets rolling, digital assets – including bitcoins and CBDCs – are being hefted as ideological effigies, but will it matter?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis greets former President Donald Trump in 2020, before they became campaign rivals.  (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Policy

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren Calls for Shutdown of Crypto Funding for Fentanyl

In a Senate hearing, a top U.S. Treasury official said Chinese drug makers have found crypto payments “appealing,” and Warren cited Elliptic research to back a push for legislation.

Prescription fentanyl (Daniel Tahar/Wikimedia Commons)

Policy

U.S. CFTC Warns About Clearing Derivatives Tied to Digital Assets

The derivatives agency said that clearing organizations need to address risks as they move into the crypto space, and Commissioner Johnson suggests it's time for agency rules on this point.

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)