A 2014 email, unearthed by the DOJ, shows Austin Hill pleading with Jeffrey Epstein to sell off Ripple and Stellar. The chief technology officer of Ripple claims that the company has no connections with Epstein.
Ripple’s CTO, David Schwartz, addressed the allegations. In his answer on X following the release of the DOJ documents, he made this clear.
On X, Joel Katz wrote that Epstein was not linked to Ripple or Stellar. He indicated that there is no record of anyone in the businesses having ever encountered Epstein and that the Bitcoin links are prevalent among numerous affluent dealers.
By the way, I don’t feel that way nearly as strongly today as I did back them. You have to remember, this was before anyone was even asking whether cryptocurrencies were securities, before the ICO was invented, and so on.
— David ‘JoelKatz’ Schwartz (@JoelKatz) January 31, 2026
Source: JoelKatz
Hill’s Email Sparks Industry Questions
An email written on July 31, 2014 by Austin Hill to Epstein was found in the DOJ files and was titled “Stellar isn’t so Stellar.”
Hill instructed Epstein to divest or sell his shares in Ripple and Stellar, saying that being an advocate of those projects might turn one into an enemy. Co-founders of the company at Hill encouraged anti-dual investments.
I hate to be a conspiracy theorist, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this is just the tip of a giant iceberg.https://t.co/ArqNp0ZhK5 pic.twitter.com/ibRXHc6uNh
— David ‘JoelKatz’ Schwartz (@JoelKatz) January 31, 2026
Source: JoelKatz
Joel Katz tweeted that the position of Hill was a wider opinion. Another thing the email brought to light was the rivalries in the ecosystem and how supporting two competing projects at the same time might be detrimental to a company.
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CTO Calls Out Potential Iceberg
Schwartz was open: he does not like the idea of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, but thinks that the email is only the tip of the iceberg.
Ripple’s CTO said that the team initially discussed establishing nonprofits associated with the projects, but he did not agree with creating organizations aimed at supporting individuals. He likened the concept to Walmart sponsoring educational nonprofit savings programs.
As Katz later clarified, he had formed his opinions earlier than the emergence of ICOs and the consequent securities controversies, at a period when nobody could think that cryptocurrencies would become a multi-billion-dollar sector.
An email was sent to the industry leaders, including Joichi Ito and Reid Hoffman. Hill requested a phone conversation to discuss the issues and promised to find an equitable solution.
Schwartz is adamant on the point, claiming that Epstein and Ripple or Stellar staff did not hold any meetings. The CTO made these statements to refute the conspiracies and clear the company.
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