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

Free Promotional NFTs, Crypto Airdrops Would Be Banned Under New UK Rules, Official Says

Crypto airdrops and NFTs themselves will not be banned, but using such incentives alongside promotions that encourage people to invest would be, said FCA's Matthew Long.

Matthew Long, director of payments and digital assets at the FCA. (FCA)

Finance

Crypto Custody Firm BitGo Reaches Preliminary Agreement to Buy Prime Trust: Sources

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by the source.

Full Shows – Consensus: Distributed

Policy

Providing Regulatory Clarity (Binance and Coinbase Edition)

The SEC sued Binance and Coinbase this week, presenting the industry with both further analysis on why it thinks certain cryptocurrencies are securities and its biggest test to how cryptos may be regulated in the U.S. going forward.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CoinDesk archives)

Policy

Binance Says Gensler Once Offered to Be an 'Informal Advisor'

A letter from Binance’s counsel says that SEC Chair Gary Gensler should be recused from the case, given his history with the exchange and its founder.

Gary Gensler (Third Way/Flickr)

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)

Consensus Magazine

Atomic Wallet Was Breached by North Korean Hackers: Elliptic

Wallets that siphoned Atomic users' funds are connected to the known Lazarus group's addresses, crypto tracing firm said.

(boonchai wedmakawand/Getty Images)

Policy

SEC Seeks Temporary Restraining Order to Freeze Binance.US Assets

The filing comes a day after the SEC sued Binance.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CoinDesk)

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)

Policy

Genesis Bankruptcy Judge Extends Mediation Period Between Genesis, Creditors

The insolvent lender will now have until August 2 to submit a plan to emerge from bankruptcy.

The streets are clear outside the U.S. Court for the Southern District of New York (Dustin D.)

Tech

Swift and Chainlink Will Test Connecting Over a Dozen Financial Institutions to Blockchain Networks

In a new set of experiments, Swift will collaborate with major financial market institutions like the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ), BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, Citi, Clearstream, Euroclear and Lloyds Banking Group.

Sergey Nazarov (left) and Jonathan Ehrenfeld Solé (Chainlink Labs)