Author | Lightnews

Leo Schwartz

Leo Schwartz

@leoschwartz.bsky.social

1.9K followers 150 following 55 posts

Senior reporter at Fortune Magazine covering the future of money // Writing Term Sheet on Mondays // Past: @restofworld // [email protected]

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Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · May 9

Scoop: 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/...

Exclusive: Meta in talks to deploy stablecoins three years after giving up on landmark crypto project

The social media giant is exploring how to use stablecoins to pay content creators, among other uses, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Apr 23

A 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...

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Apr 21

Should be a good time

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Apr 21

Gavin Kliger, the DOGE staffer who led layoffs at the CFPB, will have to testify at an April 28 hearing

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Apr 21

Trump 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...

Trump's knives are out for Jerome Powell, setting up a Supreme Court showdown over the Fed’s independence

The Fed is special. Why the Supreme Court may let Trump fire other agency heads—but not Jerome Powell.

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Apr 21

Court 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...

Court filings describe DOGE-driven, scream-filled, 36-hour mass layoff scramble at consumer protection agency

As the Trump administration seeks to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, employees are fighting back.

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Apr 16

I 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...

Trump’s tariffs can be beneficial in the long term but Congress needs a more active role, says top GOP lawmaker

As chair of the House Financial Services Committee, Hill is helping shepherd key crypto legislation.

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Apr 14

@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...

Donald Trump’s 29-year-old crypto guru lays out the president’s plans for regulating crypto and rolling back a Biden-era crackdown

Since his appointment, Bo Hines has become a mini-celebrity in the crypto world—with CEOs, billionaire investors, and lobbyists vying for face time.

Reposted by Leo Schwartz

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Apr 9

Scoop: 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...

SEC lawyer heading case on Elon Musk's Twitter acquistion resigns, cites “heartbreaking” decision

Robin Andrews led contentious litigation against Musk that was filed shortly before President Trump took office.

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Apr 9

Scoop: 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...

SEC lawyer heading case on Elon Musk's Twitter acquistion resigns, cites “heartbreaking” decision

Robin Andrews led contentious litigation against Musk that was filed shortly before President Trump took office.

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Apr 8

Big scoop from @bdanweiss.bsky.social: The Department of Justice is disbanding its crypto enforcement unit

fortune.com/crypto/2025/...

Justice Department scraps crypto unit as Trump further loosens oversight of digital assets

The National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Unit was established in 2021 and prosecuted major crypto-related felonies.

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Mar 25

Over 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...

What 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.

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Mar 12

As 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/...

Senate poised to advance landmark crypto bill, Warren warns of Elon Musk 'controlling' financial system

The Senate is expected to markup a stablecoin bill on Thursday.

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Mar 10

Almost 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...

The spectacular Synapse collapse: Inside the ugliest divorce in fintech, which left $200 million in customer money frozen

Is the failure of this buzzy startup a canary in the coal mine for bigger problems in fintech?

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Mar 6

The 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...

In a win for Silicon Valley, Senate votes to overturn key payments regulation that could benefit Elon Musk’s X

The rule was enacted under the Biden administration’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last November.

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Feb 10

For @fortune.com, Allie Garfinkle and I have spoken to Balaji's parents, friends, and experts to understand the tragic story and separate truth from conspiracy.

You can read our full story here:

fortune.com/2025/02/08/o...

An OpenAI whistleblower was found dead in his apartment. Now his mother wants answers

Why Suchir Balaji’s death has fueled conspiracy theories and unresolved questions.

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Feb 10

In response to the lawsuit, the city's attorney's office is expected to release a letter as soon as this week, with the police and medical examiner's report expected on the same timeline.

But that might not be enough to quell the concerns

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Feb 10

Her efforts to make sense of the inexplicable tragedy have collided with a teeming online world of conspiracy theories all too eager to latch onto grief and uncertainty. As Ramarao has pushed for answers, a rash of baseless speculation has thrived alongside the proceedings

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Feb 10

Balaji's parents have sued the police department, whose investigation remains open, demanding their full report.

Meanwhile, his mother has taken her limited evidence on a public awareness campaign, including an appearance on the Tucker Carlson Show.

Elon Musk has predictably weighed in

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Feb 10

Balaji's death quickly spawned conspiracy theories—the latest whistleblower to die under suspicious circumstances.

He was found with a gunshot wound to the head by his own gun, but his mother hired two experts who pointed out anomalies, including the lack of a suicide note

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Feb 10

Balaji gained public prominence in Oct. when he went to the NYT to argue that the artificial intelligence behemoth was violating fair use laws.

He was scheduled to appear as a witness in the newspaper's landmark lawsuit against OpenAI, though he was not divulging any new information

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Feb 10

🧵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

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Jan 23

Are 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...

Are famous short sellers going extinct? The exit of Hindenburg Research and Andrew Left shows the risky trade is shrinking

Indicted short seller Andrew Left tells Fortune a “chilling effect” is making “everyone think twice.”

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Jan 18

Here's the full complaint from the SEC:

www.sec.gov/files/litiga...

Leo Schwartz @leoschwartz.bsky.social · Jan 18

Helium, once cited as the ever-elusive crypto killer app, has had a rough few years, which I wrote about back in 2022.

Helium has touted Mobile as its comeback:

fortune.com/crypto/2022/...

Embattled Helium is attempting a second act as a crypto-powered mobile network

Is it just a distraction from the company’s financial turmoil?