Crypto Gloss

Michael Casey

Michael Casey is an Irish-Australian journalist and author who, after a long career as a senior economics and markets reporter at The Wall Street Journal, co-wrote “The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and the Blockchain Are Challenging the Global Economic Order” (2015) with WSJ colleague Paul Vigna, joined CoinDesk as Chief Content Officer (2015-2021) to help build it into the leading cryptocurrency media brand, and has been a prolific voice on blockchain’s implications for global financial inclusion, developing economies, and the future of money.

Background

Michael Casey is Irish-Australian. He worked as a journalist and foreign correspondent across multiple countries before joining The Wall Street Journal, where he covered international economics, emerging markets, and monetary policy. His reporting took him to developing countries across Latin America, Asia, and elsewhere, giving him direct experience of the populations most affected by currency instability and limited financial access.

His immersion in traditional financial journalism — covering central banks, IMF programs, global debt crises — gave him an unusual frame for analyzing Bitcoin: as a monetary and economic story as much as a technology story.

“The Age of Cryptocurrency” (2015)

Co-authored with WSJ colleague Paul Vigna, “The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and the Blockchain Are Challenging the Global Economic Order” was published in January 2015 by St. Martin’s Press.

The book:

  • Provided the general reader audience with Bitcoin’s history and basics.
  • Embedded Bitcoin in the broader history of money — from commodity exchange to paper currency to digital payment — arguing that Bitcoin represented a potentially significant evolutionary step.
  • Focused particularly on Bitcoin’s potential to serve the unbanked — the roughly 2 billion adults globally without banking access — as a financial tool.
  • Addressed regulatory, technical, and adoption challenges honestly rather than with booterism.

The book was one of the two or three most widely read Bitcoin introductions of 2015, alongside Nathaniel Popper’s “Digital Gold” (published the same year).

CoinDesk Chief Content Officer

Casey joined CoinDesk in 2015 as a senior columnist and advisory board member, subsequently becoming Chief Content Officer. In this role he:

  • Helped shape CoinDesk’s editorial voice and standards as it grew from a cryptocurrency trade publication to a mainstream financial media brand.
  • Published extensively on blockchain’s implications for global finance and development.
  • Participated in CoinDesk’s flagship Consensus conference as moderator and keynote speaker.
  • His credibility as a mainstream Wall Street Journal journalist helped CoinDesk establish credibility with traditional finance audiences.

Casey’s tenure at CoinDesk coincided with the explosive 2017 ICO boom, the 2018-2019 bear market, and the beginning of institutional crypto adoption.

Financial Inclusion Focus

A significant theme running through Casey’s journalism and advocacy is blockchain’s potential for financial inclusion — the extension of basic financial services to the unbanked:

  • P2P payments across borders without correspondent banking.
  • Stablecoins as devaluation-resistant savings vehicles for citizens of inflation-prone economies.
  • Micropayment systems for gig economy workers in developing countries.
  • Land registry on blockchain to establish property rights in countries with inadequate public record systems.

Key Dates

  • Pre-2015 — Long career at The Wall Street Journal covering international economics.
  • January 2015 — “The Age of Cryptocurrency” published (with Paul Vigna).
  • 2015 — Joins CoinDesk; begins Chief Content Officer role.
  • 2015–2021 — Shapes CoinDesk editorial through ICO boom, bear market, DeFi summer.
  • 2021 — Steps back from CCO role; continues advisory board.
  • Ongoing — Continues writing, speaking, and advising on blockchain for global finance.

Common Misconceptions

  • “Michael Casey and Paul Vigna are cryptocurrency maximalists.” — “The Age of Cryptocurrency” was balanced and addressed Bitcoin’s real limitations and risks as well as its potential. Both authors approached the subject as journalists rather than advocates.
  • “CoinDesk is only interested in coverage that benefits cryptocurrency prices.” — During Casey’s tenure and the broader history of the publication, CoinDesk has broken major negative crypto stories (including the FTX collapse) and has employed journalists who cover fraud, failures, and regulatory concerns. Editorial independence is a stated CoinDesk value.

Last updated: 2026-04

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