Jeffrey Epstein was an early investor in Coinbase, DOJ emails reveal

Jeffrey Epstein made a multi-million dollar investment in the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase in 2014, and newly surfaced emails reveal that the company’s management was aware of the convicted sex offender’s involvement in the deal.

According to internal emails released Friday by the US Department of Justice, Epstein invested $3 million in the crypto exchange in December 2014.

The investment opportunity was initially presented to Epstein by Tether co-founder Brock Pierce and Pierce’s venture firm, Blockchain Capital.

“In 2014, Brock Pierce was in contact with Mr. Epstein regarding fundraising. As part of those discussions, the opportunity to invest in Coinbase’s Series C was discussed via email,” a representative for Blockchain Capital told Decrypt in an email statement.

The representative continued:

“Ultimately, the fund investment never materialized, and Epstein invested in Coinbase’s Series C independently (with an amount of $3 million) through his own company, IGO Company LLC. We do not know Epstein’s motivations for the Coinbase investment.”

The Epstein emails from the Justice Department archives show that Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam was personally aware that the investment was being made on Epstein’s behalf.

In a correspondence dated Dec. 3, 2014, Ehrsam indicated his desire to meet with Epstein in New York to discuss the deal.

“I have some free time between noon and 3:00 PM today, but it’s not a huge deal for me; it would be nice to meet with him if it’s convenient. Is this important to him?” Ehrsam wrote.

Later that day, Brad Stephens, co-founder of Blockchain Capital, sent an email to Ehrsam indicating that the investment could proceed.

Coinbase’s wire transfer details were immediately sent to Stephens and forwarded to Epstein’s executive assistant, Darren Indyke, although Blockchain Capital maintains that this specific investment was “never completed” through their firm.

“Mr. Epstein never invested in a Blockchain Capital fund,” the company said in a statement.

A document released Friday by the Department of Justice, listing Epstein’s assets as of late 2014, shows a “Coinbase purchase” of $3,001,000.

This entry is linked to the same LLC mentioned in emails between the offender’s executive assistant and Blockchain Capital regarding Epstein’s purchase of Coinbase shares: IGO Company.

According to the emails, the investment was made at a company valuation of $400 million. Today, Coinbase has a market capitalization of approximately $51 billion.

Based on the documents and company statements regarding the funding, Epstein’s investment was part of a $75 million financing round for Coinbase that included prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firms such as DFJ and Andreessen Horowitz.

This early investment in Coinbase occurred more than six years after Epstein was convicted by a Florida state court in 2008 for child prostitution and other crimes. Epstein had been a registered sex offender since 2008.

In making his initial decision on whether to invest in Coinbase in 2014, Epstein appears to have relied on Pierce’s expertise and recommendations from LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman.

Pierce described the fundraising round Epstein eventually joined as “the most valuable deal in this space.”

When Epstein asked Hoffman “how aggressive” he should be in the Coinbase fundraising round, Hoffman replied that he did not have much information about the company’s internal operations.

Additional emails released Friday revealed that Epstein also invested in Blockstream, another early crypto giant.

Blockstream co-founder and early Bitcoin contributor Adam Back confirmed the 2014 investment in a post on X on Sunday.

Other emails show that in 2018, Epstein sold half of his Coinbase shares to Blockchain Capital.

By that time, Coinbase’s valuation had surged into the billions. Epstein cashed out half of his initial $3 million investment for approximately $15 million and appears to have retained the other half of his shares.