Michael del Castillo
Founder, Media Luna Creations
Michael del Castillo, a financial journalist who reported for CoinDesk, Forbes and Fortune before co-founding a research and consulting firm, opened and closed Proof of Talk Paris 2026 and moderated its panel on stablecoins and credit.
Why the room needs them.
Michael del Castillo, a former Forbes senior editor, gave the opening and closing speeches at Proof of Talk Paris 2026. He also moderated its panel on stablecoins, credit and tokenisation.
The full account.
Michael del Castillo is a financial journalist who went on to co-found a research and consulting firm. His firm's website says he covered financial technology for 12 years before joining Columbia University as a Knight-Bagehot Fellow, a fellowship Fortune dates to 2023–2024. He holds a master's degree from Columbia Journalism School and a bachelor's degree from Mercer University.
He began as a founding reporter at Upstart Business Journal, where his technology stories were syndicated nationally, according to Talking Biz News. He joined CoinDesk in March 2016, and his firm's website describes him as the outlet's first hire after its acquisition by Digital Currency Group. He then spent five years at Forbes as a senior editor covering blockchain and cryptocurrency. The same website calls him the founding editor of Forbes Digital Assets and says he created the Blockchain 50 list, which tracks institutional adoption of blockchain, and co-founded the Association of Cryptocurrency Journalists and Researchers. His work has also appeared in the New Yorker.
In May 2024 Fortune hired him as a senior reporter covering banks, with a focus on how new technology is changing Wall Street; Fortune's author page now lists him as a former senior finance reporter. According to the firm's website, he went on to co-found Media Luna Creations, LLC, a research and consulting firm working with financial and sustainable companies. Consensus 2025 billed him as the firm's founder, as did the Proof of Talk Paris 2026 programme.
A press release dated 18 March 2026 named him among eight journalists leading the Proof of Talk Content Council, whose mandate was to shape the 2026 agenda. He then spoke at Proof of Talk Paris 2026, held on 2–3 June 2026 at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Louvre Palace. On the Hecto Main Stage he gave the opening speech with Eleanor Terrett on 2 June. On 3 June he moderated the panel "Where Stablecoins Meet Credit: Rewiring Finance Through Tokenisation", with Anthony Bassili, Chris Cox, Francesco Filia and Maha Al-Saadi, and later that day gave the closing speech with Terrett.
Years of shipping.
What they have built, written, and backed.
Built
- Forbes Digital AssetsHe was its founding editor, according to the Media Luna Creations website; the Consensus 2025 biography says he cofounded it.
- Blockchain 50A Forbes list tracking institutional adoption of blockchain, which he created, according to the Media Luna Creations website and the Consensus 2025 biography.
- Association of Cryptocurrency Journalists and ResearchersCo-founded, according to the Media Luna Creations website and the Consensus 2025 biography.
- Media Luna Creations, LLCA research and consulting firm working with financial and sustainable companies, which its website says he co-founded.
Michael at Proof of Talk Paris 2026
- 2 June 2026Keynote10:20Hecto Main Stage
Opening Speech
with Eleanor Terrett
- 3 June 2026Panel12:25Hecto Main Stage
Where Stablecoins Meet Credit: Rewiring Finance Through Tokenisation
with Anthony Bassili · Chris Cox · Francesco Filia · Maha Al-Saadi
- 3 June 2026Keynote17:55Hecto Main Stage
Closing Speech
with Eleanor Terrett
The next Proof of Talk is in Abu Dhabi.
Louvre Abu Dhabi, 3–4 December 2026. Admission is by application, and the room is capped at 2,000.
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