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

$114M Mango Markets Exploiter Outs Himself, Returns Most of the Money

Avraham Eisenberg defended his actions after returning $67 million. The Mango DAO plans to vote on how to divvy up the funds next week.

Sliced mango served up on a table (Desirae Hayes-Vitor/Unsplash)

Finance

Arbitrum Builder Offchain Labs Buys Prysmatic Labs, a Core Team Behind Ethereum’s Merge

By acquiring the team behind Prysm, Ethereum’s most popular consensus layer client, Arbitrum is stretching its layer 2 tentacles down to Ethereum’s base layer.

The co-founders of Offchain Labs, the firm behind Arbitrum. (Offchain Labs)

Tech

Ethereum’s Second-Layer Projects Duke It Out for Dominance

Ethereum's layer 2 scaling platforms are taking center stage in the network's newest chapter, and it is unclear whether first movers hold the greatest advantage.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Finance

Solana-Based Decentralized Finance Platform Mango Hit by $100 Million Exploit

Mango's MNGO token was down over 40% after suffering from the latest massive decentralized finance exploit.

Sliced mango served up on a table (Desirae Hayes-Vitor/Unsplash)

Finance

LFG Slow-Walks Plan to Repay Small-Time Terra Holders, Citing Legal Threats

The Luna Foundation Guard still has about $100 million in reserves that it has pledged as compensation.

The Terra logo inside the luxury club at Nationals Park. (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

Finance

BNB Chain Halts After 'Potential Exploit' Drained Estimated $100M in Crypto

The chain has now resumed operations after fixing a problem that let someone create $570 million of the token, though they were only able to abscond with a smaller amount.

Binance's Changpeng Zhao speaking at Messari Mainnet (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

Tech

Lido’s stETH Token Expands to Layer 2 Networks Optimism and Arbitrum

Users of Ethereum’s quicker, cheaper layer 2 networks will have access to the wrapped staked ETH (wstETH) token.

(Getty Images)

Tech

Native USDC on Cosmos to Fill Vacuum Left by Terra’s UST Stablecoin

Collateralized USDC is assuming a role formerly held by Terra’s algorithmic UST stablecoin – raising questions as to whether decentralized finance can mature with decentralized money at its core.

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

Tech

Stanford Proposal for Reversible Ethereum Transactions Divides Crypto Community

Can Ethereum ward off hacks and exploits without compromising on its commitment to decentralization?

(Getty Images)

Tech

New Cosmos White Paper Revamps Cosmos Hub, ATOM Token

The paper cites interchain security and a new issuance model for ATOM as the keys to pulling the first Cosmos blockchain out of its yearslong identity crisis.

(Pixabay)