Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 14/11/2025🧵On May 28, hours after Nevada’s workplace safety agency served notice of more than $400,000 in fines to Elon Musk’s $5.6 billion tunneling startup the Boring Company, the phone rang at Nevada governor Joe Lombardo’s office. Boring Co. president Steve Davis was on the line 193
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 09/05/2025Scoop: Meta is looking to get back into the stablecoin game 3 years after the failure of Libra/Diem. Sources told @bdanweiss.bsky.social and me that Meta is holding early discussions with crypto companies about stablecoin integration with a focus on creator payouts. fortune.com/crypto/2025/...fortune.comExclusive: Meta in talks to deploy stablecoins three years after giving up on landmark crypto projectThe social media giant is exploring how to use stablecoins to pay content creators, among other uses, according to sources familiar with the matter. 032
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 23/04/2025A judge denied the prominent short-seller Andrew Left's motion to dismiss an SEC lawsuit against him, which alleged a scheme to defraud his followers by publishing false and misleading statements about his stock recommendations storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us... 010
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 21/04/2025Gavin Kliger, the DOGE staffer who led layoffs at the CFPB, will have to testify at an April 28 hearing 150
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 21/04/2025Trump keeps threatening to fire Fed chair Jerome Powell — but can he? I spoke with legal experts to understand the Trump administration's attempt to overturn nearly a century of precedent, and whether the Fed really is special: fortune.com/article/trum...fortune.comTrump's knives are out for Jerome Powell, setting up a Supreme Court showdown over the Fed’s independenceThe Fed is special. Why the Supreme Court may let Trump fire other agency heads—but not Jerome Powell. 010
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 21/04/2025Court filings from Friday detail the DOGE-led, 36-hour scramble to conduct mass layoffs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—an action that a federal judge has temporarily blocked fortune.com/article/cons...fortune.comCourt filings describe DOGE-driven, scream-filled, 36-hour mass layoff scramble at consumer protection agencyAs the Trump administration seeks to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, employees are fighting back. 031
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 16/04/2025I spoke with House Financial Services chair French Hill about squaring Trump's tariff strategy with his own free trade background, passing crypto legislation, and Congressional resolutions to defang the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: fortune.com/2025/04/16/f...fortune.comTrump’s tariffs can be beneficial in the long term but Congress needs a more active role, says top GOP lawmakerAs chair of the House Financial Services Committee, Hill is helping shepherd key crypto legislation. 010
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 14/04/2025@jessicakmathews.bsky.social and I have a new profile of Bo Hines, the 29-year-old heading Trump's sweeping crypto agenda. We had a chance to interview Hines and review his calendar through FOIA. We also have new details about his deep financial ties to Trump world. fortune.com/article/dona...fortune.comDonald Trump’s 29-year-old crypto guru lays out the president’s plans for regulating crypto and rolling back a Biden-era crackdownSince his appointment, Bo Hines has become a mini-celebrity in the crypto world—with CEOs, billionaire investors, and lobbyists vying for face time. 010
Reposted by Leo SchwartzLeo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 09/04/2025Scoop: The lead attorney on the SEC's lawsuit against Elon Musk resigned last week, partly over concerns about how the case would be resolved. This comes just days after Musk's DOGE entered the SEC: fortune.com/2025/04/09/s...fortune.comSEC lawyer heading case on Elon Musk's Twitter acquistion resigns, cites “heartbreaking” decisionRobin Andrews led contentious litigation against Musk that was filed shortly before President Trump took office. 39160
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 09/04/2025Scoop: The lead attorney on the SEC's lawsuit against Elon Musk resigned last week, partly over concerns about how the case would be resolved. This comes just days after Musk's DOGE entered the SEC: fortune.com/2025/04/09/s...fortune.comSEC lawyer heading case on Elon Musk's Twitter acquistion resigns, cites “heartbreaking” decisionRobin Andrews led contentious litigation against Musk that was filed shortly before President Trump took office. 39160
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 08/04/2025Big scoop from @bdanweiss.bsky.social: The Department of Justice is disbanding its crypto enforcement unit fortune.com/crypto/2025/...fortune.comJustice Department scraps crypto unit as Trump further loosens oversight of digital assetsThe National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Unit was established in 2021 and prosecuted major crypto-related felonies. 000
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 25/03/2025Over the past few years, Trump's business empire has dramatically shifted from real estate and licensing to his publicly traded Trump Media shares and crypto holdings. Conflict of interest concerns from his first term look quaint in hindsight. From the new mag issue: fortune.com/2025/03/25/t...fortune.comWhat is Trump really worth?The president is worth at least $4.9 billion, and crypto assets like $TRUMP and World Liberty Financial could add billions more. 031
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 12/03/2025As the Senate prepares for a landmark vote on stablecoin legislation, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is circulating a memo laying out risks, from Big Tech control of the financial system to consumer safety: fortune.com/crypto/2025/...fortune.comSenate poised to advance landmark crypto bill, Warren warns of Elon Musk 'controlling' financial systemThe Senate is expected to markup a stablecoin bill on Thursday. 020
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 10/03/2025Almost a year ago, the a16z-backed fintech Synapse collapsed, trapping $200 million in customer assets and revealing the wobbly, unregulated infrastructure underlying much of our new financial system. My investigation w/ @agarfinks.bsky.social on what went wrong: fortune.com/2025/03/07/s...fortune.comThe spectacular Synapse collapse: Inside the ugliest divorce in fintech, which left $200 million in customer money frozenIs the failure of this buzzy startup a canary in the coal mine for bigger problems in fintech? 031
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 06/03/2025The Senate voted tonight to repeal key financial regulation that would have supervised digital payment platforms for fraud, privacy, and, ironically, debanking. A major win for Silicon Valley and Elon Musk's payment ambitions for X: fortune.com/2025/03/05/c...fortune.comIn a win for Silicon Valley, Senate votes to overturn key payments regulation that could benefit Elon Musk’s XThe rule was enacted under the Biden administration’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last November. 011
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 10/02/2025🧵In late November, 26-year-old Suchir Balaji was found dead in his SF apartment. Just a month before, he had gone public with concerns that his former employer, OpenAI, was breaking copyright laws. While officials deemed his death a suicide, his mother has become convinced he was murdered 110
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 23/01/2025Are activist short-sellers going extinct? After Hindenburg Research announced it was closing up shop last week, I spoke with other traders, including Andrew Left, about the increasingly perilous field: fortune.com/2025/01/23/a...fortune.comAre famous short sellers going extinct? The exit of Hindenburg Research and Andrew Left shows the risky trade is shrinkingIndicted short seller Andrew Left tells Fortune a “chilling effect” is making “everyone think twice.” 021
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 18/01/2025I feel like this went under the radar yesterday, but one of the last actions by Gary Gensler's SEC was to sue Nova Labs, the developer of Helium, for illegal securities offerings — including its newest product, Helium Mobile 100
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 20/12/2024CoinDesk owners Bullish fired the publication's three top editors, including EIC Kevin Reynolds, this morning following newsroom controversy over the removal of an article about billionaire Justin Sun: fortune.com/crypto/2024/...fortune.comCoinDesk ownership Bullish fires top editorial staff amid newsroom controversyCoinDesk CEO Sara Stratoberdha told editorial staff on Friday that the company that editor-in-chief Kevin Reynolds and two deputies were let go. 173
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 19/12/2024Scoop: Turmoil at CoinDesk after its new owners forced editors to remove an article about billionaire Justin Sun. Matt Murray, former WSJ EIC and new WaPo editor, resigned as editorial committee chair, and staff are raising concerns over independence: fortune.com/crypto/2024/...fortune.comBillionaire Justin Sun pushed CoinDesk’s new ownership to remove article about banana-eating, editorial chair Matt Murray resignsThe crypto exchange Bullish purchased CoinDesk in late 2023 for close to $75 million. 0163
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 16/12/2024Non-GBTC crypto ads are back. Also, headed to D.C. for the Blockchain Association’s Policy Summit — let me know if you’ll be there too 152
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 11/12/2024Proponents of the debanking narrative still lack a smoking gun: fortune.com/2024/12/11/d...fortune.comAs accusations of 'debanking' grip Silicon Valley, the crypto industry is still waiting for a smoking gunDid regulators prevent banks from working with crypto companies and founders for political reasons? 164
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 10/12/2024If you can't get enough of Hawk Tuah, I broke down the apparent rug pull with input from insiders, blockchain analysts, and a former DOJ prosecutor who says that Welch could face civil and even criminal charges. Sadly, she wouldn't talk with me again: fortune.com/crypto/2024/...fortune.comHawk 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? 050
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 06/12/2024Depressing to see Eater decimated when the new business model for restaurant reviews is TikTok influencers who are paid by the places they're "reviewing" Is food criticism doomed? 020
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 05/12/2024Scoop w/ @jessicakmathews.bsky.social: The fintech unicorn Stash laid off 40% of staff in October as its co-founders returned as co-CEOs. It's the second layoff this year for the company, once valued at $1.4 billion, which is closing a new funding round fortune.com/2024/12/04/s...fortune.comExclusive: Fintech unicorn Stash laid off 40% of its workforce after CEO leftThe company has had two major layoffs in 2024 and says it’s now cash flow positive. 030
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 04/12/2024I spoke with "Hawk tuah" girl Haliey Welch about her Solana memecoin launching today, and her manager cut in to insist they "don’t want to break securities laws." Submitting for my Pulitzer: fortune.com/crypto/2024/...fortune.com'Hawk tuah' girl Haliey Welch launches a crypto memecoin but insists it's not a cash grabAn interview with the viral sensation as she wades into murky legal waters. 040
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 03/12/2024If you want any window into the state of the Synapse catastrophe, the court-appointed trustee just started crying in today's bankruptcy hearing 030
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 21/11/2024It's the end of an era with SEC chair Gary Gensler announcing he'll step down in January. I profiled him and his turbulent tenure last year: fortune.com/longform/gar...fortune.comGary Gensler has remade the SEC into a crypto nemesis and climate warrior. Now a backlash is brewingThe combative former Goldman Sachs banker faces staff burnout, widening criticism from Congress, and a potential reckoning from hostile federal courts. 010
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 20/11/2024If you're interested in startup and venture news, I'm going to be writing Fortune's dealmaking newsletter Term Sheet every Monday with a focus on the New York scene. Throw me a follow to support my mental health so I leave the pit of doom that is X! 070
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 09/05/2023Who wants to invite me on their boat at Bitcoin Miami next week 040
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 02/05/2023Was very cool to interview @xychelsea.tv about whether technology is compatible with privacy at Web Summit Rio 3161
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 01/05/2023I want to propose a new phrase, “Tweet and skeet,” in which one posts the same thing on both platforms either out of laziness or to see which one performs better 020
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 01/05/2023As if crypto couldn’t get any more confusing, we’re about to have competing blockchains named Sui and Sei 030
Reposted by Leo SchwartzKylie Robison @kylierobison.com · 27/04/2023so far from the company we have EIC @alyson.bsky.social Tech reporter covering creators and startups @iamsternlicht.bsky.social Crypto reporter @leoschwartz.bsky.social 252
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 26/04/2023I waded into the CBDC debate for my column today, talking with an ACLU privacy expert about how a government-backed digital currency could be designed to serve as a public good: fortune.com/crypto/2023/04/26/cbdc-…fortune.comCan a CBDC be truly private?Government-backed digital currencies are drawing critics from the left and right. 030
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 26/04/2023Vertex, a new decentralized exchange, is launching today on the Ethereum "layer 2" Arbitrum, promising high-speed transactions and liquidity thanks to prominent backers like Jane Street and Hudson River Tradingfortune.comDecentralized exchange Vertex launches on Arbitrum | FortuneThe new, self-custodial DEX will offer high-speed spot and derivatives trading. 110
Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · 25/04/2023I worked on this story with Kylie! You should check it out 171