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

Ellipsis Labs Raises $21M to Launch 'Verifiable Finance Blockchain' Atlas

Ellipsis is best known as the builder of Phoenix, the popular orderbook-style exchange on Solana.

Funding (Gerd Altmann/Pixabay)

Tech

Crypto Employee's Use of Laptop Outside of Work Cited in Data Breach Affecting 93K Transak Users

Transak, a so-called "onramp" used by crypto platforms like Metamask, Binance and Trust Wallet allowing customers to buy cryptocurrencies, says the leak was limited to "names" and "basic identity information."

Hacker attacking internet

Tech

Radiant Capital Loses $50M to Second Blockchain Exploit This Year

Attackers appear to have obtained three out of 11 private keys needed to upgrade the protocol.

ddos (Shutterstock)

Tech

Crypto Usage Setting Records Amid Regulatory Uncertainty, A16z Says in Report

The report highlights a dramatic increase in blockchain activity, with 220 million addresses interacting with the technology at least once in September, triple the number in late 2023.

Chris Dixon of a16z Crypto announces another $25 million in U.S. campaign donations at Consensus 2024. (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Markets

Trump-Touted Crypto Website Crashes as Token Sale Goes Live, With Just 1.7% of Target Sold

A blockchain wallet connected to the token holds nearly $4 million worth of ether (ETH), $1.2 million of tether (USDT) and around $250,000 USD Coin (USDC) tokens.

Screen grab from Trump's teaser of the new World Liberty Financial crypto company (Rug Radio, modified by CoinDesk using PhotoMosh)

Tech

Ethereum Proposal Could Increase Throughput by 50%

The proposal, designated EIP-7781, would reduce slot times to eight seconds from 12 and has already earned some key supporters.

(Rob Wingate/Unsplash)

Tech

How North Korea Infiltrated the Crypto Industry

More than a dozen blockchain firms inadvertently hired undercover IT workers from the rogue state, incurring cybersecurity and legal risks, a CoinDesk investigation found.

To the untrained eye, forged documents submitted by North Korean job applicants look indistinguishable from authentic passports and visas. (Image courtesy of Stefan Rust, modified by CoinDesk.)

Tech

Trump's Crypto Gambit: What We Know About the Launch of World Liberty Financial

Former president Donald Trump, campaigning as the Republican nominee for the U.S. election in November, has teased plans for an official announcement on Monday of a new crypto company. Certain details of the project have already leaked out in draft proposals.

Screen grab from Trump's teaser of the new World Liberty Financial crypto company (Rug Radio, modified by CoinDesk using PhotoMosh)

Tech

Osmosis Launches Cross-Chain Token Portal 'Polaris,' Expanding Beyond Cosmos Roots

Polaris is described as a "token portal" aimed at solving one of decentralized finance's biggest challenges: fragmented user experience.

Osmosis Labs co-founder Sunny Aggarwal (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

Tech

Ether.Fi to Launch Visa 'Cash' Card on Scroll Network

The credit card from Ether.fi will reward 3% cash-back and let users borrow money against their crypto collateral.

visa, credit cards