Newly released documents show Epstein’s early Coinbase investment and publicist’s ‘complete creep’ remark about Michael Saylor

Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, established his financial career by networking with some of the world’s most influential figures, including Apollo’s Leon Black and former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak. However, recently unsealed Department of Justice documents show that prior to his 2019 suicide in a federal prison, Epstein also forged connections within the then-nascent cryptocurrency sector, making early investments in the U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase and the Bitcoin infrastructure firm Blockstream. Epstein’s Coinbase investment constituted under 1% of the company’s equity, while his stake in Blockstream, held through a separate fund, remains undisclosed.

While the origins of Epstein’s interest in cryptocurrency are unknown, his backing of two major industry players highlights his continued ability to build relationships across different areas of technology and finance, even following his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Coinbase offered no comment. Blockstream did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment.

Coinbase

During the early 2010s, Brock Pierce, a former child actor from the 1992 film The Mighty Ducks, started advising Epstein on cryptocurrency investments in his capacity as managing partner of a new venture capital firm named Crypto Currency Partners. This firm later rebranded as Blockchain Capital, growing into a leading investor in the crypto industry.

Pierce was an early proponent of cryptocurrency and co-founded the stablecoin company Tether, which later expanded into a major entity whose dollar-pegged token is now the most widely used stable asset in crypto.

The newly released Justice Department documents detail how Pierce contacted Epstein in 2014 about an investment opportunity in Coinbase. Epstein expressed interest, asking in an email to Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn and a noted Silicon Valley investor, “Coinbase is closing a c round. this week? should i play? how hard?”

Epstein ultimately chose to support the emerging exchange. In a 2015 email to Pierce regarding Coinbase’s $75 million Series C funding round, which valued the company at approximately $400 million, Epstein instructed, “Take $3 million.” Subsequent emails confirm the investment was made; the exchange later went public and now holds a market capitalization of around $43 billion. In 2018, Blockchain Capital reached out to Epstein to inquire about purchasing his $3 million stake at a premium. A spokesperson for the venture firm stated that a trust linked to the financier sold $15 million of Coinbase equity to Blockchain Capital that year.

Pierce, who departed Blockchain Capital in 2017, did not immediately reply to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the venture investor stated, “Mr. Epstein has never been an investor in any Blockchain Capital fund.”

No wrongdoing involving Epstein has been connected to Pierce, Blockchain Capital, or Coinbase.

Early Bitcoin

Coinbase was not the sole crypto enterprise to attract Epstein’s focus and capital. According to the DOJ emails, Epstein also invested in Blockstream, a company that developed early Bitcoin infrastructure, in 2014. Epstein was in communication with Blockstream’s co-founders, Austin Hill and Adam Back. Hill shared research with Epstein, included in the DOJ release, that advocated for Bitcoin’s practical use.

In a post on February 1, Back explained that Blockstream was introduced to Epstein by former MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito, with Epstein investing as a limited partner in Ito’s fund. Back noted that Ito’s fund later sold its Blockstream shares due to “potential conflict of interest, and other concerns,” maintaining that Blockstream has no direct or indirect financial ties to Epstein.

Ito, whose MIT Media Lab facilitated early Bitcoin development, previously apologized for his association with Epstein and stepped down from several roles in 2019.

Epstein, however, seemingly missed an early opportunity to invest in what would become a major Bitcoin corporation. In 2010, Peggy Siegal, a publicist who worked with him, encountered Michael Saylor, the founder of the software company then known as MicroStrategy. Saylor would later transform his company into one of the world’s largest corporate holders of Bitcoin.

Before Saylor’s emergence as a crypto evangelist, Siegal was unimpressed. According to emails released by the DOJ, she wrote to Epstein, “Saylor is a complete creep,” adding, “He has no personality. Sort of like a zombie on a drug.”

Saylor later renamed his company Saylor. Representatives for his firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a text message, Siegal wrote, “Who is Michael Saylor? The nightmare was years ago, and I have no memory of this person.” She did not immediately clarify the meaning of “nightmare.”

No misconduct with Epstein has been associated with Siegal, Hill, Back, Blockstream, Ito, or Saylor.

Update, Feb. 6, 2026: This story was updated to clarify Epstein’s stake in Coinbase and Blockstream.