Epstein Files Reveal Alleged Early Investment in Coinbase

TheNewsCryptoPublicado a 2026-02-03Actualizado a 2026-02-03

Resumen

Epstein Files reveal that Jeffrey Epstein allegedly invested $3 million in Coinbase through Brock Pierce's Blockchain Capital in 2014. Documents suggest the deal may have secured him a meeting with co-founder Fred Ehrsam. A 2018 email indicates Epstein later sold half his stake back for around $11 million. Separately, Blockstream CEO Adam Back denied any financial ties to Epstein, though a document shows a co-founder discussed the firm's seed round with him.

The latest anticipation revolves around the Epstein Files, indicating a vast collection of documents associated with the case of American financier Jeffrey Epstein, which revealed that he made a $3 million investment in the crypto exchange Coinbase around 10 years ago.

According to the documents publicised by the U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein invested in Coinbase via Brock Pierce’s Blockchain Capital in 2014. A Bitcoin researcher, Kyle Torpey, mentioned that it is not clear if the deal really went through, but there are many discussions regarding investing in Coinbase in the files.

The buying supposedly arranged Epstein a face-to-face meeting with Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam. The leaked email screenshot revealed mentioning Jeff and Ehrsam, signalling Ehrsam might be aware of his involvement in Coinbase.

The Revealed Screenshot

Ehrsam wrote that I have a gap between noon and 3pm today, but again, it’s not critical for me, but it would be nice to meet him if suitable. Is it important for him, as per the screenshot. After four years, in 2018, one more email surfaced that confirmed that Epstein got his Coinbase allocation. It seems that he then sold 50% of the stake back to Blockchain Capital for about $11 million.

At the same time, the chief executive officer of Blockstream, Adam Back, pushed back against allegations from the Epstein Files concerning his continued connection with the convict. Back posted on X, writing that Blockstream has no direct or indirect financial connection with Jeffrey Epstein.

A document publicised by the U.S. DOJ corresponding to July 2014 revealed that Blockstream co-founder Austin Hill talked about the seed round of the firm with Epstein and Joi Ito, then director of the MIT Media Lab.

Adam Back also mentioned in his post that Blockstream met with Jeffrey Epstein, who was referred to at the time as a restricted partner in Ito’s fund.

Highlighted Crypto News Today:

Trump Says He Was Not Involved in $500M Abu Dhabi WLFI Deal

Lecturas Relacionadas

Cerebras IPO: A $48.8 Billion Valuation—Is the 'Nvidia Challenger' a Bubble or a New King?

Cerebras Systems, positioning itself as an NVIDIA challenger, is going public with a $48.8 billion valuation despite several underlying paradoxes revealed in its S-1 filing. While 2025 revenue grew 76% to $510M and GAAP net income was $237.8M, this profitability relies heavily on a one-time, non-cash accounting gain. Adjusting for this, the company's non-GAAP net loss actually widened to $75.7M. Furthermore, customer concentration remains extreme: 86% of 2025 revenue came from two Abu Dhabi-based entities, MBZUAI (62%) and G42 (24%). Its landmark deal with OpenAI, valued at over $20 billion, creates a complex, nested relationship where OpenAI is simultaneously a major customer, lender, warrant holder, and strategic partner with exclusivity clauses. Cerebras's technical edge in latency-sensitive AI inference is real, with its wafer-scale chip outperforming competitors in benchmarks. However, this advantage is confined to a specific niche, not the broader AI training market dominated by NVIDIA's CUDA ecosystem. With a 95x price-to-sales ratio, the valuation demands flawless execution of the OpenAI contract and massive future revenue growth. Key long-term risks include intense competition from giants like NVIDIA and AMD, a dual-class share structure granting insiders near-total voting control, and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties regarding export controls. The IPO is a pivotal capital markets event for AI infrastructure. As an investment, it represents a high-risk, high-reward bet on the "inference-first" narrative and Cerebras's ability to dominate its specialized segment, underpinned by a valuation that highlights the current fervor in the sector.

marsbitHace 19 min(s)

Cerebras IPO: A $48.8 Billion Valuation—Is the 'Nvidia Challenger' a Bubble or a New King?

marsbitHace 19 min(s)

Distribution is King: Robinhood is Devouring the Prediction Markets

Distribution is King: Robinhood is Consuming the Prediction Markets Robinhood has rapidly expanded into prediction markets by integrating Kalshi's event contracts, trading 88 billion contracts in Q1 2026 alone. Its key advantage is its 27.4 million funded users and its ability to cross-sell across stocks, crypto, options, and now prediction markets. This positions Robinhood to evolve from a broker to an integrated information-pricing platform, where event contracts for outcomes like earnings reports are displayed alongside the related assets. While dedicated platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket currently dominate, they face existential risk from potential US bans on sports betting contracts, which form a majority of their revenue. Robinhood, through its Rothera LLC joint venture, is moving to own the entire prediction market stack, capturing more revenue and adding interest income from user collateral. Financial modeling suggests Robinhood's prediction market segment could generate $8.25B to $15.75B in revenue by 2028, valuing it between $120B and $300B. Robinhood's deep integration, multi-asset user base, and regulatory diversification create a powerful distribution moat, threatening to absorb value from standalone prediction market platforms.

marsbitHace 20 min(s)

Distribution is King: Robinhood is Devouring the Prediction Markets

marsbitHace 20 min(s)

Ripple Gets Major Boost For Prime Brokerage Growth: $200M Debt Facility Announced

Ripple has secured a $200 million debt facility from Neuberger Specialty Finance to fuel the growth of its prime brokerage platform, Ripple Prime. The funds will enhance lending capacity and support margin financing for institutional clients operating in both traditional and digital markets. Ripple Prime, which emerged from Ripple's acquisition of Hidden Road, has reportedly tripled its revenue year-over-year. Neuberger's involvement highlights the platform's position at the intersection of traditional finance and fintech innovation. The announcement follows a recent investment-grade "BBB" issuer rating from Kroll, which noted the platform's scaling activities in exchange-traded derivatives and repo markets. Concurrently, Ripple's cryptocurrency XRP traded at $1.47, up 8% over the past month.

bitcoinistHace 38 min(s)

Ripple Gets Major Boost For Prime Brokerage Growth: $200M Debt Facility Announced

bitcoinistHace 38 min(s)

What Happens to Ethereum Developer Tools After the Grants Run Out?

On February 27th, the Ethereum Foundation (EF) announced Project Odin, a structured sustainability support program designed for a select group of strategic, previously grant-funded teams. Unlike a standard grant, Odin offers a long-term advisory mechanism focused on helping these teams establish credible, sustainable paths within a two-year framework, thereby reducing long-term dependence on single funding sources. The program addresses a critical post-grant challenge: how essential public goods, especially major developer tools, can achieve financial sustainability beyond initial funding. While grants from EF and programs like Gitcoin or RetroPGF remain vital for startups and research, they often fall short for mature, widely-used infrastructure. Tools like compilers, languages, and network stacks are deeply embedded but struggle with monetization, trapped between being too foundational to lose and too public to generate natural revenue. Project Odin provides teams with a dedicated Strategic Advisor to guide them through a three-phase process: 1) analyzing current funding and realistic options, 2) validating potential paths with stakeholders, and 3) executing plans, which may include crafting support contracts, service agreements, or other recurring revenue models. The first pilot participant is Vyper, a critical smart contract language for the EVM, highlighting the need for sustainable models for core infrastructure. The initiative reframes the public goods conversation from "who should be funded" to "how do already-proven teams avoid perpetual funding crises?" It encourages ecosystem participants—protocols and projects that depend on these tools—to view sustainable support not just as charity, but as essential risk management for their own operational supply chains.

marsbitHace 49 min(s)

What Happens to Ethereum Developer Tools After the Grants Run Out?

marsbitHace 49 min(s)

MARA Reports Q1 Revenue Below Expectations, Net Loss of $1.3 Billion, Stock Plunges After Hours

Bitcoin mining firm MARA Holdings reported disappointing Q1 2024 results, causing its stock to erase all daily gains and fall 3.44% in after-hours trading. Revenue dropped 18% year-over-year to $174.6 million, missing Wall Street estimates of $192.7 million. The company posted a net loss of $1.3 billion, a significant increase from a $533.4 million loss a year ago, primarily driven by unrealized losses on its holdings of 38,689 Bitcoin, which depreciated in value during the quarter. MARA also sold over 15,100 BTC in late March to repurchase debt at a discount. The broader mining environment remains challenging due to a 35% decline in Bitcoin's price from its all-time high and a nearly 30% increase in mining difficulty over the past year. MARA's market cap ranking among U.S. miners has slipped to seventh. Critically, the company announced a strategic pivot away from Bitcoin mining expansion. It stated it has no plans to purchase new mining equipment and is fully transitioning toward AI data centers. Its strategy involves retrofitting existing mining sites for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) and leveraging its recent $1.5 billion acquisition of Long Ridge Energy & Power, a gas-fired power plant and data center. This infrastructure could eventually support 600 MW of AI compute capacity, allowing MARA to redeploy up to 90% of its non-custodial mining power for AI and IT workloads.

marsbitHace 49 min(s)

MARA Reports Q1 Revenue Below Expectations, Net Loss of $1.3 Billion, Stock Plunges After Hours

marsbitHace 49 min(s)

Trading

Spot

Futuros