In recent days, heightened attention has centered on specific individuals and companies tied to the crypto industry that are named in documents connected to Jeffrey Epstein. The latest cache of records is expansive, and to date, a significant number of bitcoin, crypto and blockchain figures have appeared in the files for a range of reasons.
This report offers a straightforward examination of who is mentioned, identifies the individual or company involved, and outlines the context in which each appears in the Epstein documents.
Brock Pierce
Brock Pierce is a former child actor who starred in The Mighty Ducks and later became a longtime cryptocurrency entrepreneur, co-founding the stablecoin company Tether and the venture firm Blockchain Capital. His name appears in 1,794 entries within the files, and emails indicate Pierce offered Epstein “allocation” in a funding round while also arranging introductions to Coinbase’s leadership. Records show he remained in contact with Epstein through at least 2018.
Fred Ehrsam
Fred Ehrsam co-founded Coinbase, among the earliest major U.S. cryptocurrency exchanges. Emails contained in the Epstein files show Pierce attempting to coordinate with Ehrsam regarding Epstein’s proposed investment. The documents do not reflect direct correspondence between Ehrsam and Epstein, though the Coinbase investment was ultimately executed through a Virgin Islands entity known as IGO LLC. Ehrsam’s name appears in 14 entries within the Epstein files.
Coinbase
Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, and the files indicate that Epstein reportedly invested $3 million in the company’s 2014 Series C funding round. Coinbase appears 265 times throughout the documents, and reports state that Epstein divested at least half of his stake in 2018.
Brian Armstrong
Brian Armstrong is the co‑founder and CEO of Coinbase. An email found in the files shows Armstrong writing to investors in February 2016. Armstrong appears in 17 results in the DOJ’s file database. The email, addressed to investors and not to Epstein, appears among the files because Epstein received forwarded investor updates as part of his Coinbase stake.
Jeremy Rubin
Jeremy Rubin is a computer scientist and bitcoin developer who helped launch MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative. He corresponded with Epstein for years, serving as an intermediary for crypto projects seeking funding, including DCI. In 2018, Rubin pitched Epstein on potential investments in Layer 1, a bitcoin-mining firm and other crypto ventures. Rubin’s name appears 726 times in the Epstein files.
Joi Ito
Joi Ito is a Japanese entrepreneur and former director of the MIT Media Lab. Emails between Ito and Epstein show that Epstein donated more than $800,000 to MIT, and that a portion of those “gift funds” supported the Digital Currency Initiative, which Ito described as the “principal home and funding source” for bitcoin research; DCI in turn helped finance developers. Ito also partnered with Epstein to establish Kyara Investments III LLC to invest in Blockstream, and he later resigned from his roles after his relationship with Epstein became public. Ito comes up 8,101 times in the files.
Adam Back, Austin Hill, and Blockstream
Adam Back and Austin Hill co-founded Blockstream, a company that develops infrastructure for bitcoin. Emails released by the DOJ show that MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito arranged a $500,000 early-stage investment in Blockstream for Epstein through a joint fund. Reports indicate that Back and Hill were invited by Epstein to meet near his island, and that Hill exchanged correspondence with him regarding the company’s technology. Back later stated that Blockstream understood Epstein to be only a limited partner in Ito’s fund, and that the fund subsequently divested. Blockstream appears 44 times, Hill is mentioned 530 times, and Back is mentioned in 19 results.
Brad Stephens
Brad Stephens is a managing partner at Blockchain Capital. He appears in emails discussing wire‑transfer instructions for Epstein’s $3 million investment in Coinbase. Stephens is mentioned in six different results in the Epstein files.
Michael Saylor
Michael Saylor is the founder of MicroStrategy (now called Strategy) and a prominent bitcoin advocate. His name comes up ten times in the Epstein files but there is no direct correspondence between the two men. However, publicist Peggy Siegal mentioned Saylor in a 2010 email to Epstein after a gala event.
Vitalik Buterin
Vitalik Buterin is the co‑founder of Ethereum. He is not known to have interacted with Epstein, but his name comes up five times in the files. His name appears only indirectly in an email from Masha Drokova (Masha Bucher), a Russian‑born venture capitalist, in which she praised a young blockchain developer as “better than Vitalik.”
Jason Calacanis
Jason Calacanis is an angel investor and host of the “All-In Podcast.” In June 2011, Epstein emailed Calacanis seeking to “get in touch with the bitcoin guys.” Calacanis responded that he would “dig up their info,” while noting that early bitcoin developers were “crazy open-source folks” who were not focused on building businesses. He offered to introduce Epstein to Gavin Andresen and Amir Taaki, though Andresen declined to meet. Calacanis appears 51 times in the Epstein files.
Gavin Andresen
Gavin Andresen is a prominent software developer who became the primary maintainer of Bitcoin’s source code after being selected as Satoshi Nakamoto’s successor in 2010, serving in that role until the Block Size Wars. Emails from June 2011 show that literary agent and Epstein associate John Brockman contacted Andresen to arrange a meeting with Epstein. Andresen ultimately declined, and the former bitcoin developer appears in 31 entries within the files.
Bryan Bishop
Bryan Bishop is a bitcoin developer recognized for his work on advanced cryptographic protocols. In July 2018, he emailed Epstein seeking investment in a “designer baby” genetic-engineering project. Blockstream co-founder Austin Hill introduced Bishop, and Jeremy Rubin vouched for him. Bishop appears 66 times in the Epstein files.
Bitmain
Bitmain is one of the largest manufacturers of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) machines used for bitcoin mining. Emails show that a potential investment in Bitmain was pitched to Jeffrey Epstein in 2018, though the correspondence does not confirm that he ultimately invested in the mining company. Rubin vouched for Bitmain, and a proposed allocation of $3 million was discussed in the emails, but there is no evidence of any completed investment. Bitmain’s name appears 54 times in the Epstein files.
Ripple
Ripple is a technology company that develops the Ripple payment protocol and the XRP Ledger, with a focus on real-time gross settlement systems and remittances. Documents describe a 2013 proposal in which Epstein’s firm, Southern Trust Company, would serve as a foundational gateway for Ripple in the Caribbean. The files indicate that Epstein expressed interest in using XRP to transfer capital among his international accounts with reduced regulatory friction. The partnership did not fully materialize, and Ripple appears 172 times in the database.
Stellar
Stellar is an open-source, decentralized blockchain network. When Jed McCaleb departed Ripple to establish Stellar in 2014, both projects pursued academic credibility through the MIT Media Lab. The files include emails from Joi Ito to Epstein seeking guidance on which venture to “back” more heavily. In a May 2014 response, Epstein wrote that Stellar’s nonprofit structure was “better for optics and easier to move money through under the guise of philanthropy,” while Ripple was “better for actual banking connectivity.” Stellar appears a few hundred times in the entries, though the results also include references to Stellar Cosmeceuticals, which is unrelated to the blockchain network.
Gratitude America Ltd.
Gratitude America was one of Epstein’s primary charitable front organizations. It was reportedly used to issue “quarterly payments” to bitcoin developers, including specific checks made out to Rubin in 2016. The entity appears 2,929 times in the files.
Jed McCaleb
Jed McCaleb is a prolific programmer and entrepreneur who founded eDonkey2000 and the Mt. Gox exchange, and co-founded Ripple. After departing Ripple, he established the Stellar Development Foundation ( XLM). McCaleb is referenced as a central figure in the files in connection with early “crypto-philanthropy.” Emails from 2014 show that Joi Ito introduced McCaleb to Epstein, and the documents indicate that Epstein sought to position himself as a strategic adviser during McCaleb’s transition from Ripple to Stellar. McCaleb comes up twice.
Madars Virza
Madars Virza is a research scientist at the MIT Media Lab and a co-founder of Zcash. He is a principal co-author of the “Zerocash” paper, which established the cryptographic foundation for the Zcash protocol. The latest files include email correspondence between Virza and Epstein from 2015 and 2016. The records indicate that Virza sent Epstein tax documentation related to income earned from the Zcash project, and they also reference a “gift package” delivered to Epstein’s Manhattan residence containing several books on bitcoin and cryptography. Virza appears in 126 entries.
The Epstein files indicate that Jeffrey Epstein sought to insert himself into emerging cryptocurrency networks through investments, donations and strategic introductions. The names listed above illustrate how he used his connections to gain proximity to advanced technology sectors. “ Bitcoin” is referenced in more than 1,500 entries, while “ blockchain” appears 624 times, and “ cryptocurrency” is seen across 301 separate files.
These files have come under intense public and media scrutiny, with lawmakers, journalists and industry observers parsing the millions of pages for insight into how Epstein cultivated relationships across technology, academia and finance. The breadth of the disclosures has fueled renewed debate about transparency, due diligence and reputational risk within the cryptocurrency sector, particularly where early-stage investments and philanthropic funding intersect with influential research institutions.
At the same time, inclusion in or association with the Epstein records does not, by itself, establish wrongdoing, knowledge of misconduct or participation in any criminal activity. Many names appear because of forwarded emails, indirect references, proposed introductions, or unconsummated investment discussions. The documents reflect contact or mention in a historical record, but they do not, on their own, determine intent, awareness, or liability for the individuals or entities identified.
- Which crypto companies are mentioned in the Epstein files? Coinbase, Ripple, Stellar, Blockstream, Bitmain and other blockchain-related entities appear in the released documents.
- Did Jeffrey Epstein invest in cryptocurrency firms? Records indicate proposed and completed investments, including a reported $3 million stake in Coinbase, though not all pitches resulted in funding.
- How many times is bitcoin referenced in the Epstein documents? Bitcoin appears in more than 1,500 entries, with “ blockchain” cited 624 times across 301 files.
- Do the files confirm wrongdoing by crypto figures named? The documents list correspondence and associations but do not, on their own, establish criminal conduct by those mentioned.
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