Overview

Gender

male

Investor Type

Investment Partner,Angel

Investor Stage

Seed

A futurist and investor best known for his work in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sectors, Brock Pierce has founded, advised, and backed a number of companies known for disrupting their respective industries. Pierce currently serves as chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation and played a pivotal role in launching the first initial coin offering with Mastercoin, as well as co-founding the Lighthouse NFT Smart Gallery, the first physical NFT smart gallery in the world. Brock Pierce also cofounded Blockchain Capital. At the time it was founded in 2013, it was the first sector-focused venture fund for blockchain technology. Since then, Blockchain Capital has made more than 100 investments in the sector through several different funds. Altogether, Brock Pierce has raised more $5 billion for the companies he has founded.

In addition, Pierce has been actively involved in the gaming industry. In 2001, he founded Internet Gaming Entertainment, which pioneered currency selling in MMORPGs. By 2005, the company accounted for half of this market in the U.S. and was later restructured as IMI Exchange, which continues to be the leading digital currency marketplace for online games, with annual revenue greater than $1 billion. Alongside these achievements, he founded ZAM, a massive media network for gamers that Tencent acquired in 2012.

Outside of his entrepreneurship and investments, Brock Pierce remains a dedicated philanthropist. He has provided extensive support for the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Individual Rights, and the Brennan Center for Human Rights. Pierce additionally chairs a nonprofit based in Puerto Rico that supports humanitarian efforts in the Caribbean called the Integro Foundation. Recently, he sponsored an event called the NYPD Gaming Trucks Initiative meant to improve the relationship between police officers and the communities in which they are based. He has additionally served as vice chair of the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots Foundation serving New York, Long Island, and Puerto Rico.

In 2020, Brock Pierce received the first U.S. presidential vote cast on blockchain when he ran as an independent candidate. He has lectured extensively at Singularity University and has addressed audiences at USC, UCLA, Stanford University, and the Milken Global Conference, among other prominent venues.