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Leo Schwartz

Leo Schwartz

The Nation

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Trump’s $9 billion crypto coin is a windfall—and a new forum for influence buying, ethics expert warns

Trump could face new lawsuits about ethics violations during his second term in office.

21.01.2025 3

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

With Trump 2.0, the balance of power shifts from banks to Silicon Valley

What the new administration could mean for financial technology—and beyond.

20.01.2025 20

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Inside the first Crypto Ball: Snoop, the Treasury Secretary—and a $70 billion memecoin surprise from Trump

The crypto industry gathered ahead of the presidential inauguration to celebrate its staggering victory in the 2024 elections.

19.01.2025 5

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Trump launches official memecoin that explodes to nearly $7 billion just days before inauguration

A late-night social media announcement from the incoming president became one of the largest cryptocurrencies in hours.

18.01.2025 5

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Block agrees to pay $120 million in refunds to resolve Cash App fraud

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced the order on Thursday in the waning days of the Biden administration.

16.01.2025 4

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

How top New York venture investors view the future of the VC industry

As venture capital grows more competitive, investors are learning to adapt.

13.01.2025 10

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Coinbase scores win against SEC as judge agrees to escalate dispute over crypto security definition

Coinbase and the SEC have been locked in legal proceedings about whether the crypto exchange is violating securities laws.

08.01.2025 6

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Exclusive: Movement Labs set to close $100 million funding round as crypto markets heat up

Movement is building a layer-2 blockchain on Ethereum using technology from Facebook's failed crypto project.

08.01.2025 7

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

An ugly debate over immigration reveals cracks in the fragile Trump coalition

How long will the alliance between tech VCs and Trump last?

06.01.2025 6

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

A look inside D.C.’s new financial power scene

The rise of AI could create a consumer tech renaissance in New York.

23.12.2024 10

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

CoinDesk ownership Bullish fires top editorial staff amid newsroom controversy

CoinDesk CEO Sara Stratoberdha told editorial staff on Friday that the company that editor-in-chief Kevin Reynolds and two deputies were let go.

20.12.2024 5

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Billionaire Justin Sun pushed CoinDesk’s new owners to remove banana article, editorial chair Matt Murray resigns

The crypto exchange Bullish purchased CoinDesk in late 2023 for close to $75 million.

19.12.2024 3

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Slow Ventures is raising $275 million across two new funds: filings

The New York, San Francisco, and Boston-based early stage fund is run by Kevin Colleran, Sam Lessin, and Will Quist.

18.12.2024 3

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Exclusive: Crypto startup BVNK raises $50 million at around $750 million valuation amid red-hot stablecoin interest

Stripe's acquisition of the stablecoin company Bridge has created investor fervor around infrastructure providers.

17.12.2024 20

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

SEC plans to sue Unicoin—a sign outgoing Chair Gensler’s anti-crypto campaign is not over

The agency notified Unicoin its intent to sue the company over violations related to fraud and unregistered securities.

17.12.2024 4

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Consumer brands like Warby Parker and Casper built the New York tech scene. Where did they go?

The rise of AI could create a consumer tech renaissance in New York.

16.12.2024 6

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

As accusations of ‘debanking’ grip Silicon Valley, the crypto industry is still waiting for a smoking gun

Did regulators prevent banks from working with crypto companies and founders for political reasons?

11.12.2024 4

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Hawk Tuah girl wanted to reward fans with a memecoin—crypto insiders turned it into a ‘one-day pump and dump’

Was Haliey Welch used as a marketing stunt to promote a rug pull?

10.12.2024 2

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

As crypto comes roaring back, Khosla Ventures’ Keith Rabois is making a bet on Bitcoin lending

Lava has raised $10 million in funding led by Khosla and Founders.

09.12.2024 5

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Exclusive: Fintech unicorn Stash laid off 40% of its workforce after CEO left

The company has had two major layoffs in 2024 and says it’s now cash flow positive.

05.12.2024 6

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

‘Hawk tuah’ girl Haliey Welch launches crypto memecoin—but insists it’s not a cash grab

An interview with the viral sensation as she wades into murky legal waters.

04.12.2024 4

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Mastercard-backed startup On Me wants to disrupt the $200 billion gift card duopoly

Founded by Google veterans, On Me is launching its digital-focused gift card product with $1.7 million in funding from Lerer Hippeau and Mastercard.

04.12.2024 20

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Exclusive: Netflix star Ryan Serhant raises $45 million to disrupt the real estate brokerage business

The reality TV personality is starting his next act as a tech entrepreneur with backing from Camber Creek and Left Lane Capital.

02.12.2024 10

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

One of the largest blockchain fund of funds has raised over $135 million across two new vehicles

Accolade has invested in top crypto venture firms from a16z to Haun.

26.11.2024 3

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Tether was an outlaw for years. Now the $132 billion stablecoin has a key ally in Trump’s Cabinet

The controversial Tether is reportedly facing a probe from both the Justice and Treasury departments.

25.11.2024 3

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Exclusive: Veterans of secretive investment firm Two Sigma raising $25 million crypto venture fund

The new venture firm is raising money as crypto markets roar back.

25.11.2024 1

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

How New York transformed from tech backwater into global venture capital

Behind the rise of the New York tech scene, from DoubleClick to Etsy.

25.11.2024 3

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

SEC chair Gary Gensler resigns, leaves legacy of division and crypto feuds

Gensler oversaw a turbulent time for the Securities and Exchange Commission as it battled with crypto firms and Wall street.

21.11.2024 3

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Quiet Capital raises $377 million for new fund: Filing

The San Francisco-based venture firm has invested in companies including Rippling and MasterClass.

20.11.2024 2

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

SEC’s Mark Uyeda waves off rumors he could be Trump’s pick for Chairman

Uyeda signaled that SEC chair Gary Gensler's time is nearing its end.

20.11.2024 2

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Elon Musk’s business empire is taking over a small Texan town. Not all of its residents are pleased

How Bastrop, pop. 12,000, became a magnet for a handful of Musk companies.

18.11.2024 6

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Two small countries bet on Bitcoin—and it’s paying off big time

Bhutan and El Salvador have seen their Bitcoin holdings soar beyond $1 billion and $500 million, respectively.

15.11.2024 3

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

The FBI just raided the home of Polymarket’s founder. What does the future of electoral betting markets hold? 

VCs from Sequoia and Dragonfly on the future of prediction markets.

15.11.2024 2

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Behind the curtain of Joshua Kushner’s venture empire

How the Thrive Capital founder approached his OpenAI investment.

13.11.2024 3

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Bitcoin goes ballistic: Investors see quick march to $100K as governments move to enter market

"A regime shift is underway," said one crypto hedge fund manager.

12.11.2024 9

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

VCs are betting on online casinos after the success of sports gambling

The cofounder of FanDuel is wagering on the future of online gambling.

12.11.2024 3

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Unraveling Trump’s impact on tech regulation

From Lina Khan to crypto, the once and former president will usher in a new era for tech.

11.11.2024 10

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Will the election spur the long-awaited flood of startup exits?

Why one VC says that next year will be a ‘bonanza’ for IPOs.

08.11.2024 1

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

The crypto industry was the decisive winner of the 2024 election

The defiant sector spent hundreds of millions to brute-force its agenda in D.C.

07.11.2024 4

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Exclusive: Election betting site Polymarket is rife with fake ‘wash’ trading, researchers say

Blockchain evidence points to users carrying out market manipulation to inflate trading volumes on the popular political betting platform.

30.10.2024 1

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

British pharma giant GSK reports a Q3 loss due to Zantac cancer lawsuits—but CEO Emma Walmsley remains optimistic on delivering 2024 guidance

GSK suffered a loss after tax of £58 million ($75 million) in the July-September period compared with net profit of £1.5 billion one year earlier.

30.10.2024 8

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Inside Dubai’s risky bid to become the world’s crypto hub

With a new digital assets regulator and companies like Binance, Dubai is hoping to win over blockchain business.

30.10.2024 2

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Exclusive: Prediction market Kalshi launches crypto deposits as Trump maintains big lead on betting sites

Kalshi still lags behind Polymarket, the offshore leader among electoral betting markets.

28.10.2024 10

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Tether blasts report that stablecoin giant is under investigation for money laundering, sanctions violations

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice has expanded a years-long probe into Tether, one of the largest firms in crypto.

25.10.2024 2

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Betting market Kalshi points to a Trump win. Its 28-year-old CEO says the site is more reliable than polling

Meet the man trying to turn electoral betting into a $1 trillion market.

23.10.2024 30

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

TD Bank execs presided over rampant money laundering, but no one is going to jail—for now

The decision comes less than a year after the DOJ sentenced Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao to four months in prison.

16.10.2024 4

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Exclusive: Predicate raises $7 million to connect blockchain apps with the financial world

With funding from 1kx and Tribe Capital, Predicate is creating software that allows apps to build logic around transactions.

15.10.2024 2

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Social media loving FTX exec Ryan Salame heads to prison—and his GOP wife may soon follow

Unlike Sam Bankman-Fried's other deputies, Salame did not cooperate with prosecutors.

11.10.2024 3

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Fitness app Strava has a new AI coach—and its whacky comments are going viral

Strava's chief product officer says that reaction has been positive during the product's beta testing, despite the inevitable memes.

11.10.2024 4

Fortune

Leo Schwartz

Exclusive: Family office Lennertz raising $165 million for blockchain-focused fund of funds

Lennertz has invested in prominent crypto venture firms including Polychain, Multicoin, and Andreessen Horowitz across two previous funds.

10.10.2024 3

Fortune

Leo Schwartz