Greg Ahlstrand

Greg Ahlstrand

I'm CoinDesk's Asia News Editor, based in Hong Kong. Originally from California, I've been Asia-based since 1999, headquartered in Hong Kong and Jakarta and traveling throughout the Asean countries, Japan, Korea, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan for stories. Made Australia a couple of times, too. I started my journalism career as a news assistant at the Fresno Bee in Central California while studying the subject in school after the Navy. I went from launching and recovering helicopters on flight decks at sea to recovering papers fresh off the printer in the Bee's basement and launching them onto the editors' desks, whose editors had long since gone home for the night. Eventually, they let me stop delivering the paper and start writing stuff in it. My first beat was night cops: liquor store robberies, gang shootings, fatal car crashes (almost always alcohol related). It was an education. I am, as implied above, a U.S. Navy veteran. I served in seagoing helicopter squadrons as an aviation anti-submarine warfare technician throughout the Asia Pacific region and the Indian Ocean. I have a significant number of sailor stories to tell. I have no significant crypto holdings. Among my hobbies are welding, building stuff, home remodelling, (or knocking a house down and starting from scratch if it's too far gone to fix), riding horses and rebuilding old tractors. So far I've done a Ford 8N and a Ford 9N. It's slow going, because I live in Hong Kong and the tractors are in California, so I only get to work on them once or twice a year, for a week or two at a time - and that was before covid. I love my Lab, Cooper, whom my neighbors asked me to adopt two years ago when they moved back to Shanghai from Hong Kong. Cooper and I actually planned the whole thing -- we've known each other almost his whole life -- but his first parents are unaware of the conspiracy; and they send him Christmas presents every year.

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CDCROP: Cathie Wood, chief executive officer and chief investment officer, Ark Invest (Marco Bello/Getty Images)
Cathie Wood's Ark Invest Offloads Over 1.4M Coinbase Shares as COIN Price Falls
Coinbase shares have taken a big hit following disappointing results and a report the exchange is being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
CDCROP: Cathie Wood, chief executive officer and chief investment officer, Ark Invest (Marco Bello/Getty Images)
Alex Mashinsky, Founder and CEO Celsius Network (CoinDesk)
Celsius Network Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
The crypto lender said it has $167 million in cash on hand and will continue to freeze customer withdrawals.
Alex Mashinsky, Founder and CEO Celsius Network (CoinDesk)
The Celsius both at Bitcoin Miami 2022 (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)
Celsius Starting Bankruptcy Proceedings: Report
Crypto lender's lawyers are notifying state regulators, source tells CNBC.
The Celsius both at Bitcoin Miami 2022 (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)
Inflation will be in focus this week. (Jeffrey Coolidge/Getty)
First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Slides; Mixed Crypto Legacy in Hong Kong for the FCA's Incoming CEO
Bitcoin slides for third day, heads back down toward $20K.
Inflation will be in focus this week. (Jeffrey Coolidge/Getty)
cash register
Nexo Signs Term Sheet With Vauld for Potential Acquisition
Nexo said it has a 60-day exclusive due diligence period in which to decide whether it will buy up to 100% of Singapore-based Vauld.
cash register
Bitcoin plunges below $20K. (OGNYAN CHOBANOV/Getty Images)
Bitcoin Plunges Below $20K for First Time Since December 2020; Ether Drops Below $1K
The continuing plunge in traditional financial markets and panic about crypto lending platforms sent Bitcoin into the teens for the first time in more than 18 months.
Bitcoin plunges below $20K. (OGNYAN CHOBANOV/Getty Images)
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (left) and Mayor Eric Adams (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
NYC Mayor Eric Adams Wants State's Governor to Veto 2-Year Moratorium on PoW Mining: Report
The city's pro-crypto mayor plans to ask Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto the bill to stop proof-of-work mining temporarily.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (left) and Mayor Eric Adams (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Bitcoin 2022 Conference Draws CryptoCathie Wood, chief executive officer and chief investment officer, Ark Invest, speaks during the Bitcoin 2022 Conference at Miami Beach Convention Center on April 7, 2022 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Marco Bello/Getty Images)currency Industry Professionals And Investors To Miami
Cathie Wood's Ark Invest Grabs More Than Half a Million Coinbase Shares as Exchange's Stock Plummets
COIN plunged after reporting disappointing first-quarter earnings on Tuesday.
Bitcoin 2022 Conference Draws CryptoCathie Wood, chief executive officer and chief investment officer, Ark Invest, speaks during the Bitcoin 2022 Conference at Miami Beach Convention Center on April 7, 2022 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Marco Bello/Getty Images)currency Industry Professionals And Investors To Miami
The United States Capitol Building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)
Crypto-Friendly Tim Ryan, J.D. Vance to Vie for Ohio's Open Senate Seat
Both Ryan, a Democrat, and Vance, a Republican, support cryptocurrencies.
The United States Capitol Building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)
Greenidge mining center (Caleb Parker)
Greenidge's Seneca Lake Crypto Project Wins NY Supreme Court Ruling to Continue Operations
A local judge ruled that Greenidge's project "would not impact the air or water of Seneca Lake."
Greenidge mining center (Caleb Parker)