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


Tech

Ethereum Proof-of-Work Forks: Gift or Grift?

Ethereum will soon transition to a more energy-efficient system for processing transactions, but prominent crypto personalities are hell-bent on keeping the proof-of-work version of the chain alive. Why?

Why are some miners hell-bent on keeping Ethereum's proof-of-work chain alive? (Getty Images)

Tech

As Censorship on Ethereum Begins, Could This Open-Sourced Code Help Counter It?

Flashbots' accelerated code release comes amid U.S. regulatory crackdown on crypto mixer Tornado Cash for sanctions violations.

(GDarts/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Tech

'Don't Say Terra' and Other Reflections From Korea's Crypto Extravaganza

A string of conferences in Seoul explored the future of DeFi, but the $40 billion blowup of a major Korean project was not on the agenda.

According to former employees, "Terra" was the unofficial beer of Terraform Labs.  (Sam Kessler/CoinDesk)

Tech

Tornado Cash Fallout: Can Ethereum Be Censored?

In light of OFAC’s Tornado Cash sanctions, Ethereum's community debates what to do if validators censor sanctioned addresses.

(Pobytov/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Markets

Solana Wallets Targeted in Latest Multimillion-Dollar Hack

Over 8,000 internet-connected "hot" wallets have been compromised so far, but the source of the attack remains unknown.

Solana Hacker House en Miami, abril del 2022. (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

Tech

Crypto Bridge Nomad Drained of Nearly $200M in Exploit

The exploit calls the security of cross-chain token bridges into question once again.

Nomad fue drenado por completo el lunes después de presentarse como una alternativa "segura" a otros puente cross-chain. (Source: DefiLlama).

Tech

Ethereum’s Rollup Race: What is a ‘True’ zkEVM?

The ZK rollup race between Ethereum layer 2s Scroll, Polygon and Matter Labs may come down to definitions.

(Andriy Onufriyenko/Moment/Getty Images)

Layer 2

Failed Crypto Lender Cred Blames Its Demise on Uphold Exchange in Suit

The 2022 meltdown is not the first time the risks of “centralized DeFi” products have been laid bare.

(Daniel Thomas/Unsplash)

Tech

Matter Labs Schedules zkSync 2.0 Mainnet Launch for October

As Ethereum scaling competition heats up, Matter Labs says it will bring the first EVM-compatible ZK rollup to market.

Matter Labs says it will bring the first EVM-compatible ZK rollup to market. (Shutterstock)

Tech

The Sudden Rise of EVM-Compatible ZK Rollups

Announcements about Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible zero-knowledge rollups came out from Polygon, Matter Labs and Scroll this week.

(MirageC/Moment/Getty Images)