Nikhilesh De

Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation, covering regulators, lawmakers and institutions. He owns < $50 in BTC and < $20 in ETH. He won a Gerald Loeb award in the beat reporting category as part of CoinDesk's blockbuster FTX coverage in 2023, and was named the Association of Cryptocurrency Journalists and Researchers' Journalist of the Year in 2020.

Nikhilesh De

Latest from Nikhilesh De


Policy

Sam Bankman-Fried Can Ask DOJ Witnesses About Drug Use

The judge overseeing the FTX founder's case sorted through some pretrial motions on Tuesday.

FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried exiting a federal courthouse in New York last year. (Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk)

Policy

Sam Bankman-Fried (Probably) Won’t Get a 115-Year Prison Sentence

The FTX founder will be defending himself against wire fraud and conspiracy charges. Here's what that means.

SBF Trial Newsletter Graphic

Policy

Sam Bankman-Fried Sort of Had a Rough Day

Bankman-Fried suffered two procedural losses.

SBF Trial Newsletter Graphic

Policy

Binance, U.S. Affiliate, Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao File to Dismiss SEC Lawsuit

The motions to dismiss leans on major questions doctrine claims, among other arguments.

Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, at Consensus Singapore 2018 (CoinDesk)

Policy

Sam Bankman-Fried Will Remain in Jail Through the Start of His Trial

An appeals court rejected his attorneys’ attempt to free him in the run-up to the trial.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk)

Policy

Judge Blocks Sam Bankman-Fried's Proposed Witnesses From Testifying

SBF's defense can try again to put some of the FTX founder's witnesses on the stand, though the U.S. Justice Department may still object, Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote.

Sam Bankman-Fried outside court in July 2023. (Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk)

Finance

‘You Can Do Nothing’: Crypto Trading Titans Are Yelling at Each Other on Elon Musk’s X

“I never thought that you could be THAT scared of us,” DWF’s Andrei Grachev posted on X. Wintermute’s Evgeny Gaevoy: “We are trembling in your presence.”

DWF Labs managing partner Andrei Grachev (LinkedIn)

Policy

Ex-Senator Who Once Shepherded Crypto Legislation Sees No Path in Current Congress

Former Sen. Pat Toomey is pessimistic about legislation moving through this term, but it may be more likely in the next Congress.

Former Republican Sec. Patrick Toomey says he doesn't think the current Senate is able to pass crypto legislation. (Suzanne Cordeiro/Shutterstock/CoinDesk)

Policy

Here’s How FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s Trial May Play Out

Prosecutors will need a jury to reach a unanimous verdict to convict the FTX founder.

SBF Trial Newsletter Graphic

Policy

U.S. CBDC Efforts Opposed in Legislation Advanced by House Republicans

The House Financial Services Committee approved a bill meant to prevent a U.S. central bank digital currency.

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