Coinbase Founders Knew About Epstein Funding, Emails Reveal

Internal communications from the crypto exchange show leadership was aware of the controversial financier's backing.

Behind the Brand

Coinbase positioned itself as the clean, compliant face of cryptocurrency—the exchange your grandma could use. Newly surfaced correspondence suggests its founders knew one early financial supporter carried serious baggage. Jeffrey Epstein's name appears in discussions about funding sources, according to documents reviewed by multiple outlets.

The Compliance Question

For a company that built its reputation on navigating regulatory mazes, the revelation strikes at its institutional narrative. It's the kind of due diligence gap that makes traditional finance veterans smirk—turns out, knowing your customer applies to investors, too.

Legacy in the Ledger

The emails don't allege illegal activity by Coinbase leadership, but they reframe the origin story. In an industry fighting for mainstream trust, every past association gets scrutinized. This one links crypto's most prominent U.S. gateway to one of finance's most notorious figures.

The takeaway? Even decentralized ideals can have centralized, messy beginnings—sometimes funded by the same old money they promised to disrupt.

Company executives were aware of investor’s identity

A spokesperson for Blockchain Capital confirmed Pierce had discussions with Epstein about raising funds that year. During those talks, the chance to put money into Coinbase’s Series C funding came up through email exchanges.

The representative explained that while a fund investment never went through, Epstein decided to invest on his own through a company he controlled called IGO Company LLC. The $3 million went directly into Coinbase’s Series C round. Blockchain Capital said they cannot explain why Epstein chose to invest in Coinbase.

The email records show that Fred Ehrsam, who started Coinbase alongside another founder, personally knew the investment was coming from Epstein. In a message dated December 3, 2014, Ehrsam requested a meeting with Epstein in New York to talk about the arrangement.

“I have a gap between noon and 3pm today, but again, not crucial for me, but WOULD be nice to meet him if convenient,” Ehrsam wrote in the email. “Is it important for him?”

That same day, Brad Stephens, who co-founded Blockchain Capital, sent Ehrsam an email saying they could proceed with the investment. Right after, Coinbase’s banking information for wire transfers went to Stephens, who then passed it along to Darren Indyke, who worked as Epstein’s executive assistant. However, Blockchain Capital maintains the investment through their fund “was never consummated.”

The company stated clearly that Epstein never became an investor in any of their funds.

A financial document listing what Epstein owned at the close of 2014, also made public by the Justice Department on Friday, includes a $3,001,000 “purchase of Coinbase.” This entry connects to the same company, IGO Company, that appears in emails between Epstein’s assistant and Blockchain Capital about buying Coinbase shares.

The correspondence indicates the investment happened when Coinbase was valued at $400 million. The company’s current worth stands at roughly $51 billion.

Epstein’s early stake in Coinbase occurred more than six years after a Florida state court found him guilty in 2008 of procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute. Starting in 2008, Epstein had to register as a sex offender.

Before deciding to invest in Coinbase during 2014, Epstein appears to have sought guidance from Pierce and also from Reid Hoffman, who founded LinkedIn.

Pierce described the funding round that Epstein joined as “the most platinum-plated deal in the space.”

When Epstein contacted Hoffman asking “how hard” he should participate in the Coinbase funding round, Hoffman responded that he lacked detailed knowledge about the company’s internal operations.

“I probably wouldn’t play,” Hoffman wrote to Epstein. “But I may not be up-to-date on interesting internal news.”

More emails released Friday showed Epstein also placed money into Blockstream, another early cryptocurrency company. Adam Back, who co-founded Blockstream and contributed to Bitcoin’s early development, confirmed the 2014 investment in a post on X on Sunday.

Investment grew before partial sale in 2018

Four years later in 2018, Epstein sold half of his Coinbase shares back to Blockchain Capital, according to additional emails.

At that point, Coinbase’s value had grown into the billions. Epstein received nearly $15 million for half of his original $3 million investment and kept the remaining half of his shares. The financier was discovered dead in a Manhattan jail cell less than two years after that sale while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.

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