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

Evmos, the EVM-Compatible Cosmos Chain, Mounts a Comeback

After a botched launch in March, the blockchain has relaunched with new tools for users looking to claim airdropped tokens.

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Finance

Ethereum Rollup Optimism Launches DAO, Announces Long-Awaited Airdrop

Crypto Twitter has lit up with users excited to learn they will be eligible to claim Optimism’s OP tokens in an upcoming “season of airdrops.”

(Getty Images)

Layer 2

So What if the Ethereum Foundation Holds Fiat?

The Ethereum Foundation disclosed in an annual report that nearly 20% of its treasury is made up of non-crypto investments.

View of an unspecified wall decorated with an oversized, rainbow-colored dollar bill in Manhattan's Lower East Side neighborhood, New York, New York, February 1988. (Photo by Susan Wood/Getty Images)

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Is Ethereum Staking Pool Lido’s Growth an Omen of Centralization?

Lido might be on track to control over 50% of all staked ether on the Beacon Chain. Better it than Coinbase, proponents say.

(Raimond Klavins/Unsplash)

Tech

Attacker Drains $182M From Beanstalk Stablecoin Protocol

The flash-loan attack becomes the second nine-figure DeFi exploit in a month.

(Sean Stratton/Unsplash)

Finance

OlympusDAO Co-Founder Doxxed? Lawsuit Claims to Unmask 'Apollo'

An early Olympus investor alleges he was cheated out of millions of OHM tokens when key smart contracts were rendered inoperable.

(Metropolitan Museum of Art, modified by CoinDesk)

Finance

Ethereum Merge No Longer Expected in June

According to Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko, the network’s much-anticipated shift to proof-of-stake might not come until the fall.

An informational traffic sign post over a clear blue sky. Photographed with a Canon 5D MarkII and "scrubbed" clean in Photoshop!

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Reminder: The Merge Won’t Solve Ethereum’s Scaling Woes by Itself

Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake might finally be around the corner, but true scale won’t come from a single upgrade.

Avail is a scaling system designed for developers. (Christopher Adrianto/Unsplash)

Finance

Cosmos Builder Ignite, 11 VCs Put Up $150M to Invest in Multichain Crypto Teams

The accelerator includes backing from Sam Bankman Fried’s Alameda Research, KuCoin Ventures and others.

The Open Intents Framework is a new initiative created by Ethereum ecosystem leaders to simplify and standardize cross-chain token transfers.  (Akinori UEMURA/Unsplash)

Tech

Ethereum Rollup Arbitrum to Release Major Update

The update will halve fees, increase transaction speed, and make it easier for Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible apps to build on Arbitrum.

(CHUTTERSNAP/Unsplash)