Epstein's crypto guy.
The man who co-founded Tether appears more than 1,800 times in the Epstein files. He put Epstein into Coinbase, into Blockstream — and before crypto, he built a company with a man later convicted of abusing boys.
We grade what the files and the court record establish about Brock Pierce — and we are careful to mark what he was cleared of, and what he denies.
What this page is about
Brock Pierce is a former child actor who became an early crypto mogul: co-founder of Tether, one-time chair of the Bitcoin Foundation, and a venture investor. The Epstein files released by the Justice Department name him more than 1,800 times — not as a passing mention, but in investor updates and emails arranging meetings. He introduced Jeffrey Epstein to a 2014 investment in Coinbase and to the Bitcoin firm Blockstream, and a 2018 email shows a $15 million wire tied to Epstein's Coinbase equity.
Pierce's story starts earlier, and darker. As a teenager he helped run a company, DEN, with Marc Collins-Rector — later convicted of child sexual abuse. Pierce was named as a co-defendant in civil suits over abuse at DEN, was dropped from the case, and settled with one accuser. This page grades the documented Epstein ties and the documented past — and is precise about the difference between being connected to abusers and being found to have abused.
Books that go deeper on this story. Links are Amazon affiliate searches — buying through them supports the work at no cost to you.
The same investigation, restaged one beat at a time. Step through it here, or present it fullscreen.
Epstein's crypto guy.
The man who co-founded Tether appears more than 1,800 times in the Epstein files. He put Epstein into Coinbase and Blockstream — and before crypto, he built a company with a man later convicted of abusing boys.
The files, the deals, and the past
Pierce appears more than 1,800 times in the released Epstein files.
FACTA tally of the Justice Department's released Epstein documents puts Brock Pierce at about 1,801 mentions — far more than most named figures — appearing in investor updates and correspondence arranging meetings with Epstein. The files show a working relationship, not a one-off encounter.
He steered Epstein into Coinbase — a $3M investment in 2014.
FACTUnsealed documents confirm Epstein invested $3 million in Coinbase in 2014, when the exchange was valued at roughly $400 million, and that Brock Pierce facilitated the deal through his firm (Crypto Currency Partners, later Blockchain Capital). It became one of the most lucrative early crypto bets there was.
A 2018 email shows a $15 million wire tied to Epstein's Coinbase stake — and Epstein also backed Blockstream.
FACTReporting on the files describes a 2018 email in which Pierce wired $15 million to Epstein for roughly half of Epstein's Coinbase equity. The files also show Epstein invested in the Bitcoin infrastructure firm Blockstream — confirmed by co-founder Adam Back, who nonetheless denies any personal relationship with Epstein. The money moved both ways between Pierce's crypto world and Epstein's.
Before crypto, he co-founded DEN with a man later convicted of child sexual abuse.
FACTAs a teenager Pierce was a vice president of Digital Entertainment Network (DEN), which he helped run with Marc Collins-Rector. Collins-Rector was indicted in 2000 for transporting minors across state lines for sex, fled the country, and was convicted as a child sex offender in 2004. That history is documented, not disputed.
Pierce was a co-defendant in the DEN abuse suits — then dropped, and settled with one accuser.
FACTCivil suits over abuse of minors at DEN named Pierce as a co-defendant alongside Collins-Rector. Pierce was dropped from the case and settled with one of the men for about $21,600, without admitting liability. This is the precise, documented state of the record — an association and a settlement, not a finding that Pierce committed abuse. He has expressed regret over his later Epstein ties.
What's proven, and Pierce's side
- The connections are documented. The Epstein-files mentions, the Coinbase and Blockstream deals, the $15M wire, and the DEN/Collins-Rector history are all on the record. They grade to FACT.
- Association is not guilt. Being named in the files, doing deals with Epstein, and once working with a man later convicted of abuse are serious facts — but they are not proof that Pierce himself abused anyone. He was dropped from the DEN case and denies wrongdoing. We hold that line hard.
- Pierce's side, carried. He has said he regrets his association with Epstein and has denied any wrongdoing in the DEN matter. Both are stated here alongside the record.
The money behind the private dollar has a history
The company that now issues the world's largest private dollar was co-founded by a man who spent years doing business with Jeffrey Epstein. That doesn't make the coin a crime — but it is a fact worth knowing about who built it, and it belongs in The Epstein Class, the record of the people and money that moved through that network.
It is the origin chapter of the “private dollar” cluster. The Private Dollar lays out what Tether has become — its size, its Treasury holdings, and its buying of the food supply — and The Secretary and the Stablecoin follows the Washington ties that gave it a friendly rulebook. This page is about where it came from.
Questions worth taking seriously
Are you saying Brock Pierce is a child abuser?
No, and we are explicit about that. He was named as a co-defendant in the DEN civil suits, dropped from the case, and settled with one accuser without admitting liability. That is an association and a settlement — not a finding that he abused anyone. We grade the documented facts and hold that line.
Does this mean Tether is tainted?
It means the company's co-founder had a documented, years-long business relationship with Epstein — a fact worth knowing. It does not by itself prove anything about how Tether operates today. We keep those separate: this page is about origins; the Private Dollar page grades the company's current record.
If you are named on this page
If you are named on this page, or are a party materially affected by the claims made here, and you wish to respond, correct the record, or add context, use the Contact page. Responses are published verbatim alongside the original claim, with the sender identified and the date of receipt. The channel stays open for the life of the page.
This site aggregates and grades a record that other outlets and primary sources have already put on the record. Every FACT-graded claim above is sourced to court filings, government reports, sworn whistleblower disclosures, published investigative journalism, or named-source statements. The citations are the accountability mechanism; this section is how you get on the record too.
The record
- Fortune — Epstein files: Coinbase, Blockstream, and Brock Pierce
- Decrypt — Brock Pierce's relationship with Epstein went deeper than anyone knew
- Decrypt — the most surprising crypto stories in the Epstein files (the $15M wire)
- DL News — Blockstream's Adam Back confirms the Epstein investment, denies a relationship
- Marc Collins-Rector — 2000 indictment and 2004 child-sex-abuse conviction
- Hollywood Reporter — the strange saga of Epstein's link with Brock Pierce
- Daily Beast — Pierce's ties, the DEN suits, and the settlement