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 Tells US-Listed Companies They’d Better Disclose Crypto Damage

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued letters to companies flagging the need to disclose any potential impacts from mayhem in the crypto markets.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Policy

US Watchdog Says Banks Shying Away From Stumbling Crypto Industry

The OCC chief says lenders seem to be backing away from the industry’s recent dramas, and a new report from his regulatory agency criticizes the sector for "weak," risky practices.

Acting OCC chief Michael Hsu (Jesse Hamilton for CoinDesk)

Policy

Gensler Says SEC Is Fine Going After Crypto With Its Current Authority

As a new Congress prepares to work on uncertain crypto legislation next year, the SEC chairman says his agency needs nothing apart from more money and more reach overseas.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, on Capitol Hill, September 15, 2022 in Washington, DC.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Policy

US House Investigators Say Rep. Cawthorn Improperly Promoted Crypto Token

The probe concluded the North Carolina Republican broke rules but it didn’t find sufficient evidence he’d used inside information to pump up his own investment.

Outgoing U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn (Republican National Committee via Getty Images)

Policy

A16z Elevates Former US CFTC Commissioner Quintenz to Policy Chief

Brian Quintenz, who served at the agency that’s expected to oversee crypto trading, has dabbled in industry advisory roles since leaving the CFTC last year.

Brian Quintenz, a former commissioner at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is a16z's new head of policy. (CFTC, modified by CoinDesk)

Consensus Magazine

The Members of Congress Who Have Stablecoin Issuers Watching Their Next Moves

Anticipation for a crypto bill out of the House Financial Services Committee ran so high this year that stablecoin issuers have been trying to meet the bill’s expected standards before the rules are even set. That’s why Rep. Maxine Waters and Rep. Patrick McHenry are two of CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2022.

Maxine Waters and Patrick McHenry (Will Ess for Pixelmind.ai/CoinDesk)

Policy

Facebook Parent Meta Dips Toe Back Into Policy Circles to Boost Metaverse

Still haunted by its Libra debacle, the company offers a gentle nudge on how governments might pursue metaverse policies.

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg (Mandel Ngan-Pool/Getty Images)

Policy

US CFTC Commissioner Cites Latest Crypto Sanction in Call for New Rules

Commissioner Kristin Johnson is pushing for her agency to work on policies to further tighten custody of customer assets as the CFTC sanctions another crypto Ponzi scheme.

CFTC Commissioner Kristin N. Johnson and Conrad Bahlke, counsel at Willkie Farr & Gallagher at Crypto Connection 2022 (Amitoj Singh/CoinDesk)

Policy

After Months at Arm’s Length, Sen. Brown Opens Door for Crypto Legislation

The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee – the missing ingredient in previous efforts – has invited Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to start working with him on legislation.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), chairman of the Senate Banking Commitee (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Policy

Sam Bankman-Fried Called to FTX Hearing by Texas Securities Regulator

The Texas State Securities Board has been investigating FTX US since October.

Former FTX CEO Sam-Bankman-Fried (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)