Opinion


Analyses

PayPal’s New Stablecoin and the ‘2 Wolves’ Inside Crypto

The payments giant has been transparent in its need to freeze and seize crypto accounts that violate its terms of service. But is that really crypto?

psychedelic wolves (Robert Larsson/Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)

Analyses

Where Will Bitcoin Mining Be After the Halving?

Former petroleum engineer Rena Shah says bitcoin miners will need to embrace eco-friendly trends like flare gas recovery and nuclear power after mining revenues are cut.

nuclear power plant (Emmelie Callewaert/Wikimedia Commons, modified by CoinDesk)

Analyses

2 Months in El Salvador: The Ground Game for Bitcoin Adoption

A graduate student on leave from the Wharton School checks in on the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. Are locals buying it?

A bitcoin ATM in El Salvador, 2023.

Analyses

Crypto’s Path Forward Could Follow the Financial World's Departure From LIBOR

The financial services industry has a way of spawning innovation and growing from its crises.

Citi bank and HSBC skyscrapers at night (Miquel Parera/Unsplash)

Analyses

I Have 1M Questions About the PayPal Stablecoin. Here Are 5

The payments giant’s new stablecoin will compete with Tether's and Circle's coins, but it’s not breaking any new ground.

paypal logo on a smartphone booting up the payments app (Marques Thomas/Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)

Analyses

Congress, Not the SEC, Should Set U.S. Digital Asset Policy

The regulator "sees itself as the arbiter of which technologies should exist in the United States," says Castle Island Ventures' Matt Walsh.

Chairman for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Gary Gensler. (SEC, modified by CoinDesk)

Analyses

Some Users May Want an ‘Everything App’, but What We Need Is Digital Sovereignty

Jameson Lopp argues Twitter's recent rebrand falls in line with big tech's obsession with data. Nostr, an increasingly popular social network, is one alternative.

Projects To Watch 2023: Nostr

Analyses

DeFi Definitely Isn't Dead

The commentariat said decentralized finance is in danger amid the crypto winter and recent spate of hacks. They're dead wrong.

An angel as a tombstone (Veit Hammer/Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)

Analyses

America’s Credit Rating Helps Make Case for Bitcoin

Fitch’s downgrade of U.S. debt this week is a warning to American policymakers and underscores why Bitcoin and other open monetary systems matter, says Michael Casey.

(Rudy Sulgan/Getty Images)

Web3

Is It 2022 Again? Comedian Adam DeVine Appears in Strange Ad for Crypto Exchange Bitget

The “Workaholics” co-creator and star is the face of Bitget’s new #SetForChange campaign, which released a new “Crypto & Beach Houses” video to kick off the partnership.

Screenshot from "Crypto & Beach Houses" video (Bitget/Youtube)