Recent speculation around the Epstein Files, referring to a huge collection of documents related to the case of American financier Jeffrey Epstein, revealed that he invested $3 million in crypto exchange Coinbase over a decade ago.
According to documents released by the US Department of Justice, Epstein invested in Coinbase through Brock Pierce’s Blockchain Capital in 2014.
“It’s unclear if the deal actually went through, but there’s a lot of chatter around investing in Coinbase in the files,” wrote Bitcoin researcher Kyle Torpey.
The connection between Epstein and Fred Ehrsam
The purchase would have allowed Epstein to meet face-to-face with Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam. In a leaked email screenshot, “Jeff” is mentioned with Ehrsam, indicating that Ehrsam may have been aware of his involvement with Coinbase.
“I have a gap between noon and 3 p.m. today, but again, it’s not crucial for me, but it would be nice to meet him if it suits me. Is it important for him,” Ehrsam wrote.
Four years later, in 2018, another email confirmed that Epstein had obtained his Coinbase allocation. It appears that he then sold 50% of the stake to Blockchain Capital for around $11 million.
In 2008, a Florida state court convicted Epstein of recruiting a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute.
Blockstream has no connection, says CEO
Meanwhile, Blockstream CEO Adam Back pushed back on the Epstein Files’ claims about his ongoing relationship with the convict.
“Blockstream has no direct or indirect financial ties to Jeffrey Epstein or his estate,” Back wrote on X.
One of the documents released by the US DOJ corresponding to July 2014 indicates that Blockstream co-founder Austin Hill discussed the company’s seed round with Epstein and Joi Ito, then director of the MIT Media Lab.
“Hello Joi and Jeffrey; We are about to close this round,” Hill wrote in an email. “We are 10x oversubscribed on an $18 million seed round and Reid told us at the last minute to increase your allocation from $50,000 to $500,000.”
In Monday’s post, Adam Back noted that Blockstream had met with Jeffrey Epstein, who was then described as a “sponsor of Ito’s fund.”
“That fund then invested a minority stake in Blockstream. A few months later, Ito’s fund divested its Blockstream shares due to a potential conflict of interest and other concerns.”
The post Epstein Made $3M Investment in Coinbase, DOJ Emails appeared first on Cryptonews.
