DOJ files reveal Epstein's deep Silicon Valley relationships and how key insiders offered access to buzzy startups like Coinbase, long after his 2008 conviction
The disgraced financier regularly courted tech industry figures not just for their prestige but also for access to promising companies.
Related coverage also traces Epstein’s outreach to senior Microsoft executives after his release from prison and his support for a publicist’s VC career. Together, those accounts portray access to prominent people and young companies as a recurring asset within his network.
First-order effects
Individuals identified as facilitating introductions, and companies named as potential targets of those introductions, face renewed scrutiny of their historical ties and internal records.
The disclosures put greater reputational pressure on Silicon Valley gatekeepers whose access to founders, investors, and private companies could be used by outside associates.
Second-order effects
Boards, investors, and startup leaders may revisit diligence around introducers, advisers, and high-status intermediaries, particularly where access is granted through informal networks rather than documented business processes.
The coverage broadens scrutiny beyond any one company: intermediaries who trade on proximity to founders and investors may face more questions about the provenance and purpose of their connections.
Third-order effects
If further disclosures reinforce this pattern, technology firms may treat relationship-risk controls as a governance issue alongside conventional investor and counterparty diligence.
The episode highlights how concentrated access to private-company networks can create accountability gaps when reputation substitutes for formal vetting.
The trend: This is part of a broader reassessment of how elite networks broker access to private technology companies—and how firms govern the reputational risks embedded in those networks.
So when Brock Pierce is chatting with Epstein about Coinbase, he mentions, “Fred is in NY”. That's Fred Ehrsam Co-Founder of Coinbase who started Paradigm with Matt Huang. Matt was the head crypto partner at Sequoia Capital which is HEAVILY tied to the Chinese Communist Party. [i…
EXCLUSIVE: 1/ Epstein didn't just prey on children. He helped bankroll and embed a worldview of race science, climate “culling” and eugenics inside Silicon Valley's elite AI networks. Tonight we publish the final part of my @BylineTimes investigation🧵https:// bylinetimes.com/...
Jeffrey Epstein invested $3 million in Coinbase in 2014, it appears. BTW, Epstein doesn't invest in his own name. He invested in Blockstream through Digital Garage and funded Bitcoin core devs through MIT. I am now guessing that he might have invested through Brock Pierce's [imag…
there's a pitch deck in Epstein's documents from “NYC Bitcoin Exchange” which boasted Epstein's buddy Andrew Farkas as well as Coinbase CTO / a16z partner Balaji Srinivisan on the executive team. EFTA02725909 #slugsofA16z [image]
While reporting this, I had something happen that's never happened. A comms rep for one of the co's disputed my reporting and said what I was telling them was untrue because it was not in Grok, xAI's chatbot. — I was looking directly at the files. And this person was using AI…
New: we dug into Epstein's dealmaking in Silicon Valley. He used his connections with tech's elite to get into hot startup deals, some of which paid off handsomely (coinbase) and others that did not (jawbone). — W/ @rmac.bsky.social + matt Goldstein — www.nytimes.com/2026/02…
Masha Bucher is one of the more high profile female VCs in Silicon Valley. New emails released from the Department of Justice reveal a deep, years long relationship with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. https://www.forbes.com/...
3/ US media have also described her as a former teen leader / prominent figure within Nashi before relocating to the US and entering the Silicon Valley PR and VC ecosystem. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
1/ Founders: do due diligence on your investors! If you don't, you might just end up with an affiliate of Epstein and Putin in your cap table. This thread is about publicly reported facts around @mashadrokova + the money behind her fund @DayOneVC. [image]
2/ Masha Bucher (Drokova) is publicly documented as a former activist connected to Nashi, a pro-Kremlin youth movement. Her experience is the subject of the 2012 documentary Putin's Kiss. https://en.wikipedia.org/... [image]
She changed her name from Masha Drokova to Masha Bucher. She runs the VC firm “Day One ventures”. This woman is openly saying in emails to Epstein that she gives DNA testing kits to determine what percentage Jewish they are before investing. [image]
The tweet of Masha Bucher (Masha Drokova) reads as bizarre once you've seen the Epstein files. The sheer narcissism and supremacy are staggering and people like this shouldn't be anywhere near innovative technology. #EpsteinFiles [image]
At the end of his life, Epstein had assets of around $600m. A large part of that was due to his ability to get in early to hot tech deals. The returns he made off those deals helped fund his lifestyle. — Here's a gift link for those who want to read the full piece: www.nytime…
New reporting from Forbes confirms Bucher's role as a matchmaker between Jeffrey Epstein and tech founders. Their report says at least nine startup founders were connected to Epstein through Bucher. www.forbes.com/sites/iainma... [embedded post]
When a PR fixer turned VC introduced a startup founder to Jeffrey Epstein... what a lede from @iainmartin.bsky.social 🫠 — www.forbes.com/sites/iainma... [image]
“How Jeffrey Epstein Helped His Publicist [Masha Bucher aka Drakova] Become A Big-Time Venture Capitalist” * Drakova's Day One Ventures is now invested in Valar Atomics, a *nuclear reactor startup* with a DOE contract. Valar did not respond to comment requests. By Iain Martin, …
Epstein had many known connections to Silicon Valley CEOs, but less known was how he made money from those relationships. — We did a deep dive into how he got dealflow in Silicon Valley, giving him shots to invest in Coinbase, Palantir, SpaceX and other companies. — www.nytim…
If anyone wants to make me a venture capitalist, I promise it will be really interesting. Won't be profitable, but I still think you'll get your money's worth.