Controversy is sweeping across the XRP community after a crypto market commentator shared shocking details linking Coinbase and American financier and convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, with former regulatory actions that impacted XRP. The claims have ignited debate within the community over whether compliance concerns solely drove previous exchange decisions and enforcement activity targeting XRP.
Claimed Ties Connect Coinbase, Epstein, And XRP’s SEC Lawsuit
Shocked reactions have emerged from XRP community members after market expert Crypto Bitlord raised allegations suggesting a possible link between Coinbase’s early investment history, communications tied to Epstein’s legal counsel, and subsequent events surrounding XRP. He argued that emails shared from Coinbase’s early fundraising period showed that entities connected to Epstein invested early in the crypto exchange through intermediary Limited Liability Companies (LLCs).
The emails show Coinbase Co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong communicating with Darren Indyke, a lawyer who represented Epstein, about a $3 million investment made when Coinbase was still in its early stages. In the messages, Armstrong discussed the possibility of buying back the early investors’ stake since Coinbase had grown in value. He also mentioned changing the name of the company that had initially invested, possibly for privacy or legal reasons.
Crypto Bitlord claimed that these Epstein emails suggest that funds linked to the deceased sex offender were previously invested in Coinbase. He argued that this link might help explain why the crypto exchange delisted XRP in the US after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple Labs.
According to the expert, the timing of XRP’s delisting and the SEC investigations suggests coordinated pressure from early Coinbase investors allegedly linked to Epstein, who reportedly wanted to limit XRP’s growth during its formative years. He claimed these investors had pushed for XRP to be removed from the market long before regulatory action followed. As a result, Crypto Bitlord described the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple as a “rigged setup from day one.”
While there is no public evidence supporting Crypto Bitlord’s claims, he said he is working to piece together the timelines and gather proof. So far, neither Coinbase nor the US SEC has confirmed any Epstein-linked involvement with XRP. The SEC has also consistently maintained that its lawsuit against Ripple was based on securities law concerns.
Leaked Emails Show The Bill Gates Foundation Evaluating Ripple In 2017
In other news, leaked emails from the Bill Gates-backed Foundation reveal early assessments of Ripple and Stellar compared to the Mojaloop payment platform. The messages, dating back to October 2017, were shared by crypto analyst SMQKE and highlighted internal discussions on overlaps between blockchain systems and potential integrations.
Myrle Krantz, a developer associated with Apache Fineract, an open-source platform for core banking systems, noted that Mojaloop, a Ripple fork, shares similarities with Stellar, which was also created as a fork of the original Ripple codebase. The correspondence highlights the Gates Foundation’s focus on Ripple’s technology and its influence on Mojaloop’s design.
