Jeff Roberts
@jeffjohnroberts
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Fortune magazine Finance & Crypto Editor. Lawyer, author, policy geek, IP aficionado. DMs open. SoCal.
Joined December 2008
Coinbase is making headlines again. If you want to get the inside scoop on the company's culture, the hard cover of Kings of Crypto drops in December! You can order now:.
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I connected some dots between SBF, Gensler and the Democrats. Hard to believe GG blew it again—and now wants more $$$ and power! .
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Coinbase's decentralized wallet now lets you send USDC for free using iMessage, WhatsApp, etc. This is a potentially big development as it removes complexity for cross-border payments.
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🚨 SEC faces sanctions in crypto case — lawyers may have lied to a judge to get a temporary restraining order.
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🚨 We've uncovered the US government's strategy to tame crypto. The banking agencies—OCC, FDIC and the Fed—are colluding to give the stablecoin industry to the banks. Full exposé here:.
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This is a dumb hill for Biden to die on . Veto will earn exactly 0 votes— but will likely cost him 500 votes in WI, MI, PA, AZ and NV.
BREAKING: 🇺🇸 President Biden vetoes bill that would allow highly regulated financial firms to custody #Bitcoin and crypto.
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SEC is having trouble hiring crypto experts — because of a rule they must sell all their crypto. Would make more sense to allow staff to hold a modest amount. This would also make them better at their job.
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Crypto breakthrough: Whole Foods, Starbucks et al now take Bitcoin via in-store scanners with @Gemini doing the back-end. The retailers are being low key but I tried it out this weekend, and it works. Details + context from @tylerwinklevoss here:.
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This would be the same Coinbase the SEC says is an illegal brokerage.
🚨 US GOVT JUST SENT 4,000 BITCOIN TO COINBASE.
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Agency turnover is normal but not to this degree. Ex-staffers have told me Gensler (Hillary Clinton's former bagman) treats the SEC entirely as a vehicle for his personal ambitions and drives out anyone who disagrees.
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It felt odd to write about SBF going to prison only months after I wrote a Fortune cover story on him. But here we are. tl;dr: he looks in serious jeopardy of violating Section 1343 (Wire Fraud), which can come w/a 20 year term.
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Let's talk about cash transfers. Our take on Yang, Bitcoin and much more in @FortuneLedger's latest newsletter by me and @davidzmorris .
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Coinbase's CPO walks early after pocketing $105M in stock sales—not bad for a guy who blew the company's NFT launch.
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🚨 Consensys sues SEC over Ethereum. Seeks:. -- Ruling Ethereum not a security. -- Injunction for SEC to leave ETH devs alone. -- Ruling MetaMask not a broker dealer.
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So let's get this straight:. The SEC lied to obtain an ex parte TRO—where defendants don't even learn about the charges. The judge finds out and is understandably pissed, starts disciplinary proceedings. The SEC drops the case to try and wriggle out of it.
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This is a crazy story—we'll see more of this as AI-based disinformation spreads. Someone used ChatGPT to create oppo research on Binance that was persuasive enough to spark multiple enquiries from Congress.
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Mark Cuban and Robinhood CEO are now in the “Gensler must go” camp. At what point does GG become a serious political liability for Biden?.
@iampaulgrewal @daveweisberger1 You should require the candidates you support to commit to replace Gensler and publish the list.
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Do you know how contango and backwardation work? If not, stay the hell away from the new Bitcoin ETF. In a misguided bid to "protect" small investors, SEC approved an exotic derivatives product rather than a basic ETF that tracks the price of Bitcoin.
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Crypto is eating New York City. Just noticed that’s Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP(?) in Richie Rich’s wagon
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Personal news: I am @FortuneMagazine's new finance editor, overseeing stories that track the intersection of money and power. My focus will include how tech—notably crypto and AI—is changing finance. Exciting times. Bring me your ideas and your scoops!
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Personal news! I'm returning to @FortuneMagazine as Crypto Editor—a new role that will entail leading a crack reporting team and developing a Web3 native business.
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What the hell? Imagine if Congress in the 1990s passed a law not to punish web developers -- but then only applied it to those who used Javascript. Pls do better @ewarren @robportman.
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Fresh off its SBF puff piece, the NYT goes easy on Gary Gensler.
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“Facebook didn’t launch a crypto currency. They wrote a white paper” - Ripple CEO @bgarlinghouse #BrainstormFinance.
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COO blows off calls for Coinbase to acquire Robinhood. Instead talks up Coinbase Ventures owning pieces of Alchemy, Uniswap, etc. This last part ^^ is a legit point. Venture arm means Coinbase owns a big chunk of the Web 3 economy. #CoinbaseEarnings.
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Strange bedfellows united by common frustration with SEC. Ripple CEO sits down with longtime antagonist @twobitidiot . @bgarlinghouse says he’s sick of “shit that’s not true” about Ripple/XRP and centralization. Calls for end to tribalism .#Mainnet
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Coinbase's venture arm has a 4% stake in ALL crypto investments (!) .
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I'm no AI expert but feels big that a top guy from Google's TensorFlow (huge in AI world) is joining crypto oracle service @chainlink .
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Gensler's pet crypto firm Prometheum sued crypto guy @matt_blumberg—who has <1000 followers—for calling them "scammers" . Per anti-SLAPP motion, Prometheum directed legal threats at the guy's mom & demanded he praise their "innovative" biz model:
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Gensler: @coinbase is not registered as an exchange "even though they have dozens of tokens that might be securities" (!).
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Heard from two totally unrelated sources about a crypto founder having sex with a dog. No idea if it's true (hope to god it's not). But doesn't reflect well on the guy that this comes up when his name is mentioned.
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Check out our chart of SEC Chair Gary Gensler counter-programming Congress—a least 6 times this year alone!. Admin law experts say this is all in the game for agency heads, but still seems remarkable.
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🚨Scoop: SEC expands push to make Ethereum a security. Subpoenas sent to 3 well-known crypto companies asking for docs/records about the Ethereum Foundation. Agency is using Merge as a pretext to reclassify. w/@leomschwartz .
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Kraken laying of 30% of staff to weather crypto winter. Sad but glad to see @jespow et al are doing right by laid-off employees w/proper severance.
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SEC settles with Coinbase bros guilty of front-running asset listings. The settlement conveniently lets the SEC avoid—yet again—the legal issue of whether the assets are securities .
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Here's video of future SEC Chair Gary Gensler telling hedge funds that Litecoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash are not securities.
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Personal news: after 5 fabulous years at Fortune, I'm heading to @decryptmedia to be Executive Editor. Finance, tech and crypto are converging and I'm excited to tell that story with a great team and its new EIC (and old friend) @readDanwrite.
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News: the SEC is set to sue Ripple, its cofounder and CEO for selling unlicensed securities as crypto regulatory wars heat up. Tip @Techmeme .
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CZ played his hand perfectly. He will only do a short stint in minimum security prison. When he gets out, he will be a billionaire with high-powered friends—and most of his reputation intact.
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🚨 Crypto users sue IRS over block rewards. Plaintiffs argue rewards should be taxed at sale, not creation — akin to a farmer's crops or a baker's cake. (Not clear if a judge will buy the analogy) .
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Is this a first? A crypto founder throws out the first pitch. And it’s a strike—nice toss @breitwoman!
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Barry Silbert is betting big on decentralized AI . He is back in a CEO role—this time of DCG's newest subsidiary Yuma, which will be built around the Bittesnsor ecosystem.
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I reviewed the new HBO Bitcoin documentary that "reveals" Satoshi to be Peter Todd. It's a good film with lots of Bitcoin OGs like @Excellion @jack @adam3us . But—like Newsweek before it—HBO gets the Satoshi riddle wrong.
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In first for a U.S. company, Overstock will pay taxes using Bitcoin. (@BitPay is handling the collection) .
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My reporter's in-box is full of emails cheering the pro-crypto House vote—and none saying it's bad. This suggests anti-crypto folks lack a political lobby/ constituency beyond Gensler, Warren et al. No surprise so many Dems jumping ship.
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🚨 SEC just dropped its investigation into Paxos — a de facto admission stablecoins are not securities. @leomschwartz with the scoop:.
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Press conference on crypto broker amendment from @SenToomey and @CynthiaMLummis streaming now. Toomey says deal is bipartisan, includes former opponents @MarkWarner and @SenatorSinema .
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Is Liz Warren's power waning? Consider:. 1) FDIC chair is out despite her efforts to save his job. 2) Key Dems bucked Warren/White House on crypto bill. Breaking Warren's grip on financial policy would help the Dems. The party needs a pragmatist, not an ideologue in this role.
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El Salvator is on cusp of default b/c no one will buy its half-baked Bitcoin bonds and this is what President Bro is doing.
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You may be paranoid—but that doesn't mean they're not out to get you! . Court records show head of KC Fed sought to snuff @CaitlinLong_ 's crypto bank. Chokepoint 2.0 really is a thing.
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🚨 SEC prepares to sue @Uniswap. This is a major escalation in Gensler's campaign against crypto. Case will be critical to the future of DeFi. Hard to predict outcome but Uniswap has some good law on its side.
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SEC Chair Gensler testifying in the Senate right now. @SenToomey opens by defending PFOF, calls out SEC muddle on when crypto is a security. "So, I am frustrated by the lack of helpful SEC public guidance . What makes some of them securities and others not?"
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Grayscale v. SEC underway now. Judge asked why there is a $4B gap b/w value of GBTC shares and underlying Bitcoin — and if an ETF would close it. (yes). live audio:
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The Fed has refused to give a master account to Wyoming's stablecoin bank. A tough blow for Custodia as @CaitlinLong_ played by the rules and did everything right. Hard not to view this as the banking lobby trying to kill a disruptive competitor.
STATEMENT FROM CUSTODIA BANK about today's Federal Reserve action on its membership application. Its master account application remains pending:
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Ruh oh. Rep: @NydiaVelazquez asks if Congress can help IRS “go after crypto investors trying to use Puerto Rico as a tax shelter”.
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Here’s more new Gensler video — this shows him talking up the promise of crypto lending and how it will arrive once his hedge fund friends figure it out
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How times change. @coinbase was vilified for its "leave your politics at home" policy . Now Google has adopted "mission first" too!.
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Oh no. The blockchain and GDPR people have found each other.
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Lack of media literacy among otherwise smart crypto people is a problem. This "headline" for example is bullshit. There's no link & a quick Google search shows Matthew Foldi is a wannabe GOP politician. Crypto's skepticism of Dems is understandable—but no excuse to be gullible
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Coindesk is in shambles. New owners forced editors to take down an article about Tron guy Justin Sun . Now, after newsroom balked over this violation of editorial independence, they fired the editors.
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This debate b/w @SBF_FTX and @ErikVoorhees is a conflict over ideals vs pragmatism—but also a crypto generational clash. Very smart arguments from both men but also impressive for the high level of civility.
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PR firm tells us crypto client has raised $10m from a rapper. We take the story and are ready to publish on Thurs. PR firm comes back and says we can’t use rapper’s name in the headline or first paragraph. It doesn’t work that way my dudes. You just wasted our time. Do better.
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As long as Facebook is free, it will be a data vampire. The only fix is to let customers pay for privacy. I would pay $11/month. Would you?.
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.@PayPal CEO says crypto coming to Venmo next year. Also, crypto shopping with no extra fees for consumers or merchants.
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Grayscale v SEC just wrapped up. It went favorably for Grayscale. Thread below summarizes why. Doesn't mean of course Grayscale will win, but they're in better position than this morning. Keep an eye on GBTC price—if discount closes, market agrees.
Grayscale v. SEC underway now. Judge asked why there is a $4B gap b/w value of GBTC shares and underlying Bitcoin — and if an ETF would close it. (yes). live audio:
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Publication day! So happy to be holding this gorgeous cover. Thanks to everyone who made it happen! (PS get your copy here:
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This is big as a Fed master account is a big part of operating a bank. The Fed has been withholding approval from prudent, law-abiding crypto applicants for no apparent reason. Kudos to @CaitlinLong_ et al who have patiently fought the good fight on this.
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Par for the course for GG who will always put his personal ambitions above his duties.
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Crypto case to watch: Class action will test who (if anyone) is liable for DeFi protocols . Lawsuit over an app called PoolTogether was brought by an Elizabeth Warren staffer who invested $10🤔.
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Congressman (and big bank ally) @BradSherman compares crypto to "sub-prime lending" & asks if "people of color will be left holding the bag" if crypto collapses (?)
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🚨 Judge sanctions the SEC (!) for lying in crypto case. This will do wonders for the agency's relations with the industry. @leomschwartz with the news.
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@WesleyLowery And even if you can swing that, you're then expected to hang around in New York City for an unpaid internship. Upshot is entry to journalism is heavily tilted towards rich kids.
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Fighting words here from @chrislarsensf. (This feels tactical—I don't think Ripple will really leave SF—but he makes good points about the US ceding crypto innovation to China).
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Two crypto OGs— @nic__carter & @CampbellJAustin —drop the hammer on debanking. Read their forceful op-ed here:.
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“He’s been trying to disintermediate ACH his whole career" and Twitter is just the latest example says @CaitlinLong_ . I agree. For @elonmusk politics and media are a sideshow—for him, Twitter is ultimately a payments play.
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Don't count @Tezos out. I spoke to the always quotable @breitwoman and @ArthurB about the future of their creation.
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Diplo is latest big artist to sell tokens tied to a song drop. Keep your eye on @3LAU's Royal. I've written about music and copyright for 15 years and this token platform is a profound change.
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Thrilled to accounce @DelRayMan is joining @FortuneMagazine as a Senior Reporter. Michael is a smart, brave and original journalist. He is joining the Finance desk to cover banks with a focus on how new tech is changing Wall Street . Tips & scoops to
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This is the same Equifax that lost personal info of 145M people. They should be shut down—not "teaming up to sell consumer data".
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Polkadot press release: DOT token is no longer a security under SEC rules!. Sure thing, guys. But isn't that the SEC's call to make?.
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Disappointed to see this in the WSJ. Craig Wright, a liar and scoundrel, relies on the media to pump up his BS claims. Veteran crypto journalists shouldn’t abet this
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This is kind of cool. You can now run a bitcoin node anywhere in the world via a @Blockstream satellite.
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Personal update: I’m now covering my tech and blockchain beat at Fortune from the great state of Colorado. Startup founders, VCs, companies - hit me up if you’d like to grab a coffee.
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@DavidSacks @Jason Honest question: why do you actively cheer for Putin's mafia regime to crush a much smaller democracy? . I suppose there are realpolitik arguments to be made but you never put those forth. If you're going to root for the war criminal, you should explain why.
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Surprise, Bitcoin mining is GOOD for the environment!. Or at least that's what USA's biggest miner @FoundryServices tells me. Here's their "bridge to renewables" argument (and what skeptics think of it).
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Whatever you think of PETA, this is really clever h/t @xor.
Words matter, and as our understanding of social justice evolves, our language evolves along with it. Here’s how to remove speciesism from your daily conversations.
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Shots fired. Here's full recap of Gensler's latest salvo. Also, if SEC is gunning for @Coinbase this way, how is ANY crypto company supposed to survive in the US?.
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