It’s not clear how or when Epstein first developed an interest in crypto, but his investments in two of the industry’s most prominent names underscore his ability to cultivate ties in various pockets of tech and finance—even after his first conviction in 2008 on state charges for solicitation of prostitution with a minor.
Coinbase declined to comment. Blockstream did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the early 2010s, Brock Pierce, a former child star who acted in the 1992 film The Mighty Ducks, began advising Epstein on a series of crypto investments through his role as managing partner at a nascent venture capital company called Crypto Currency Partners. The investment firm would later rebrand as Blockchain Capital and become one of the most prominent investors in the crypto industry.
Pierce was an early crypto booster who had cofounded the stablecoin company Tether, which would eventually grow to become a money-printing behemoth whose dollar-pegged token has become the most popular stable asset in crypto.
Pierce, who left Blockchain Capital in 2017, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “Mr. Epstein has never been an investor in any Blockchain Capital fund,” said a spokesperson for the venture investor.
Neither Pierce, Blockchain Capital, nor Coinbase have been linked to any wrongdoing with Epstein.
Epstein, though, appears to have missed out on getting in early on what would become one of the biggest Bitcoin companies. In 2010, Peggy Siegal, a publicist with whom he worked, crossed paths with Michael Saylor, founder of the software company then called MicroStrategy. Saylor would later go on to pivot his company to become one of the largest holders of Bitcoin in the world.
Saylor would eventually rename his company Strategy. Spokespeople for his firm didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. “Who is Michael Saylor? The nightmare was years ago, and I have no memory of this person,” Siegal wrote in a text to Fortune. She didn’t immediately clarify what she was referring to when she said “nightmare.”
Neither she, Hill, Back, Blockstream, Ito, nor Saylor have been linked to any wrongdoing with Epstein.
Update, Feb. 6, 2026: This story was updated to clarify Epstein’s stake in Coinbase and Blockstream.
