Sam Kessler

Sam is CoinDesk's deputy managing editor for tech and protocols. His reporting is focused on decentralized technology, infrastructure and governance. Sam holds a computer science degree from Harvard University, where he led the Harvard Political Review. He has a background in the technology industry and owns some ETH and BTC. Sam was part of the team that won a 2023 Gerald Loeb Award for CoinDesk's coverage of Sam Bankman-Fried and the FTX collapse.

Sam Kessler

Latest from Sam Kessler


Finance

Avalanche Is Back Up After Failing to Produce Block for Four Hours

Block finalization started to resume on Friday afternoon after developers released a software update that resolved a faulty logic in the code.

Avalanche. (Unsplash)

Tech

Risk Manager Gauntlet Terminates Relationship with Aave, Citing DAO Dysfunction

Gauntlet co-founder John Morrow said his team "found it difficult to navigate the inconsistent guidelines and unwritten objectives" of Aave's "largest stakeholders."

Risk (Gino Crescoli/Pixabay)

Tech

Bitcoin Zero-Knowledge Rollup Citrea Raises $2.7M in Seed Funding

Citrea says it plans to use zero-knowledge cryptography to help grow Bitcoin's budding decentralized finance (DeFi) and NFT ecosystems.

Citrea says its zero-knowledge rollup will help expand Bitcoin's ability to accommodate NFTs and DeFi. (Unsplash modified by CoinDesk)

Tech

As Crypto 'Points' Farming Grows, So Does Risk of Vague Promises

Liquid restaking protocols based on EigenLayer are offering "point" incentives attached to the vague prospect of future airdrops, but the trend carries risks.

Crypto projects are offering "points" to lure in new users. (Sigmund/Unsplash)

Tech

Liquid Restaking Protocol Puffer Rakes in $1B in Deposits in Just 3 Weeks

Liquid restaking protocols are seeing ample demand from users as speculation mounts over potential applications for the Ethereum restaking juggernaut EigenLayer, and the prospects for rewards paid out to early users.

Puffer fish (Stelio Puccinelli/Unsplash)

Tech

Liquid Restaking Tokens or 'LRTs' Revived Ethereum DeFi. Can the Hype Last?

New liquid restaking platforms like Puffer and Ether.Fi have attracted billions of dollars in deposits, but they've birthed a speculative "points" frenzy that carries some risks.

(Getty Images)

Policy

Did Elizabeth Warren Just Endorse Bitcoin? Not So Fast

A stunt from Bitcoin supporters led to the appearance that the U.S. senator and staunch cryptocurrency opponent Elizabeth Warren signed an order for a flag to be flown over the U.S. capitol commemorating Satoshi Nakamoto.

Senator Elizabeth Warren tries her hand at standup. (Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons, modified by CoinDesk)

Finance

CoinDesk’s New Owner Bullish Replaces CEO in Restructuring

Sara Stratoberdha replaces Kevin Worth, who has led CoinDesk since 2017.

Kevin Worth, former CEO of Coindesk (Shutterstock/CoinDesk)