Newly launched Epstein information present that Jeffrey Epstein acquired an e-mail in March 2019 highlighting what was described as a “huge controversy” surrounding Coinbase and its acquisition of blockchain analytics agency Neutrino.
The e-mail, dated March 12, 2019, was despatched by Richard Kahn, a New York–primarily based finance advisor who seems repeatedly within the information as a supply of forwarded information and evaluation.
The topic line references claims attributed to the CEO of Kraken and mentions Ripple’s $XRP alongside Neutrino.
Electronic mail Despatched to Epstein In regards to the Coinbase and Neutrino Controversy. Supply: DOJ
How a 2019 Crypto Disaster Landed in Epstein’s Inbox
The timing of the message aligns with the extensively reported backlash towards Coinbase following its acquisition of Neutrino in late February 2019.
Neutrino’s founders beforehand labored at Hacking Staff, a controversial surveillance software program firm accused of enabling human rights abuses.
The acquisition triggered a robust response throughout the crypto business. Privateness advocates and customers accused Coinbase of betraying person belief, sparking the #DeleteCoinbase marketing campaign and requires boycotts.
So, I spent a while trying into @coinbase’s newest acquisition, Neutrino. What I discovered, simply by studying present reporting, is insanely darkish, and will/deserves to develop into a large scandal for Coinbase. Thread. /1https://t.co/z8MvAaPPKQ
— David Z. Morris (@davidzmorris) February 26, 2019
Across the identical time, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell publicly criticized the deal, saying Neutrino wouldn’t have handed Kraken’s inner ethics evaluation.
Coinbase later introduced that Neutrino staff related to Hacking Staff would exit the corporate.
Much more weird is the acquisition they made and reputational hit they took to have the ability to supply this service to the federal government. https://t.co/7VMpF66pYd
— Jesse Powell (@jespow) September 19, 2021
The $XRP Connection
The $XRP Connection
The controversy unfolded throughout a delicate second for Coinbase.
Simply weeks earlier, the change had listed $XRP for buying and selling, intensifying scrutiny over its governance, itemizing requirements, and affect inside crypto markets.
Speculative protection on the time typically linked a number of threads — Coinbase’s $XRP itemizing, Neutrino’s background, and broader considerations about surveillance and regulation — even when direct connections have been unproven.
The topic line of the e-mail displays this surroundings of heightened suspicion and speedy info unfold.
The Coinbase e-mail is one in every of a number of crypto-related references within the newly launched Epstein information.
https://t.co/ZbWPcCurGd
— BeInCrypto (@beincrypto) February 2, 2026
Different paperwork present Epstein discussing Bitcoin’s identification with Peter Thiel, investing in early Bitcoin infrastructure agency Blockstream, and sustaining social proximity to figures equivalent to Michael Saylor and Kevin Warsh.
Taken collectively, the data counsel Epstein monitored the rise of cryptocurrency intently, significantly the place finance, regulation, and elite energy networks intersected — at the same time as investigators discovered no proof linking crypto to his legal exercise.
