Brock Pierce | |
---|---|
Born | Brock Jeffrey Pierce November 14, 1980 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur Former child actor |
Years active | Acting: 1992–1997 Business: 1999–present |
Known for | The Mighty Ducks , D2: The Mighty Ducks , First Kid |
Political party | Independent |
Spouse | Crystal Rose [1] |
Website | Campaign website |
Brock Jeffrey Pierce (born November 14, 1980) is an American entrepreneur known primarily for his work in the cryptocurrency industry. [2] [3] [4] As a child actor, he starred in the Disney films The Mighty Ducks (1992), D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994), and First Kid (1996). He ran as an independent candidate in the 2020 United States presidential election. [5]
Pierce was born in Minnesota and appeared in commercials as a toddler. [6] His first major role was playing a young Gordon Bombay in The Mighty Ducks (1992). Pierce reprised the role in D2: The Mighty Ducks . He starred as Luke Davenport in First Kid (1996). Pierce had small roles in Little Big League (1994), Ripper Man (1995), Problem Child 3: Junior in Love (1995), Three Wishes (1995), Earth Minus Zero (1996), and The Ride (1997). [7]
Pierce retired from acting at 16 and joined as a minor partner with Marc Collins-Rector and Chad Schackley in establishing Digital Entertainment Network (DEN) when he was 17 years old, which raised $88 million in venture capital. [8] DEN's goal was to deliver original episodic video content over the Internet aimed at niche audiences. [9] DEN was one of a crop of dot-com startup companies that focused on the creation and delivery of original video content online in the late 1990s [10] prior to the wide adoption of broadband internet access. Pierce produced its first show, a pilot for gay teenagers called Chad's World. [11] As an 18-year-old, Pierce was making $250,000 a year and held 1% of the company's shares. [12]
DEN was slated for a US$75 million IPO in October 1999, but the IPO was withdrawn in the wake of allegations of sexual assault against Collins-Rector. All three executives subsequently resigned. Layoffs followed in February 2000. While a new executive team led by former Capitol Records President Gary Gersh and former Microsoft executive Greg Carpenter attempted to relaunch in May 2000, DEN filed for bankruptcy and shut down in June 2000. [13]
In 2001, Pierce founded Internet Gaming Entertainment (IGE), a company that pioneered the MMORPG currency-selling services industry. [14] Between 2004 and 2005, IGE spent more than $25 million buying out seven smaller competitors, including four auction platforms and a number of fan and content sites. [15] In 2005, Pierce estimated that IGE accounted for about 50% of this online market in the U.S., which has about $500 million in annual volume. [15] [16]
Pierce brought in Steve Bannon, formerly of Goldman Sachs and Breitbart News, to seek venture capital and a deal was made in February 2006 yielding $60 million of which Pierce took away $20 million for a minority stake. The next year the company faced a class-action lawsuit. With no assets, the company failed, and Pierce was forced out. [17]
Pierce founded ZAM, a network of websites oriented around massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG), such as World of Warcraft , Star Wars: The Old Republic , Rift , EverQuest , etc., in 2003. [18] The ZAM.com network included gaming websites such as ZAM.com, Wowhead, Thottbot, Torhead, and D3DB.[ citation needed ] In March 2012, Chinese internet and tech giant, Tencent, acquired ZAM. [19]
In 2010, Titan Gaming recruited Pierce to sit on its board along with EA Executive Keith McCurdy. [20] Pierce joined other Southern California angel investors, including MP3.com's Michael Robertson, SOA Software's Eric Pulier and William Quigley, and Jim Armstrong of Clearstone Ventures. [21] Also that year, Titan Gaming purchased the rising online gaming network Xfire from Viacom. [22] In October 2011, after Xfire received over $4 million in fresh funding from Intel Capital, Titan Gaming and Xfire cut ties and went their own ways. Titan Gaming and Xfire now operate independently. [23] In late April 2012, Titan Gaming announced that it would be rebranded as Playsino to embark in a complete makeover, with Pierce as the new CEO and $1.5 million of new funding.[ citation needed ]
As of 2013, Pierce was managing director of the Clearstone Global Gaming Fund a board member of IMI Exchange (a remnant of the IGE restructuring), Xfire, Playsino (having been replaced as CEO in 2013), GoCoin, FGL, Spicy Horse Games, KnCMiner.cn and the Mastercoin Foundation. He was also a member investor of Bit Angels and an investor in BTC China. [24] IMI exchange was subsequently acquired by Moda Inc. [25]
In 2013, Pierce joined brothers Bart and Bradford Stephens in founding venture capital firm Blockchain Capital (BCC) which was reported to have raised $85 million in two venture funds by October 2017. [26] Blockchain Capital raised a third fund using digital security offering on the blockchain, one of the first traded security tokens. [27] [28]
Pierce worked with Mastercoin, a startup that raised capital via an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2013. According to Bloomberg, this "kicked off a worldwide ICO craze, with hundreds of startups raising billions of dollars". [29]
In March 2014, Pierce and a group of investors filed an offer to purchase the assets of Mt Gox using a Cypriot entity called Sunlot Holdings Ltd. The month before, Mt Gox had shut down operations and filed for bankruptcy in Tokyo after announcing that it had lost 850,000 Bitcoin. [30] [31]
In a February 2018 issue of Forbes magazine Pierce was named in the "top 20 wealthiest people in crypto" with an estimated net worth between $700 million and $1.1 billion. [32]
Pierce was a co-founder of the cryptocurrency Tether with Reeve Collins and Craig Sellars in 2014. [33] Tether surpassed Bitcoin in trading volume with the highest daily and monthly trading volume of any cryptocurrency on the market in 2019. [34] Tether is a so-called stablecoin because it allegedly maintains $1 in reserves for each tether issued. [34] In 2020, a court permitted the Attorney General of New York to pursue a claim that Bitfinex, an affiliated exchange, did not disclose the loss of commingled funds. [29] In an interview in July 2020, Pierce said his involvement in Tether ended in 2015 but described Tether as "one of the most important innovations in currency." [29]
Pierce was a co-founder of Block.one, which released EOS.IO software. [29] The ICO raised more than $4 billion, the largest in history. [29] By March 2018, Pierce's role at Block.one had changed to chief strategy officer and he resigned from the company that month to pursue community building. [35]
Pierce led an international delegation to El Salvador in June 2021, in order to advise the Salvadorian government on their formal adoption of Bitcoin as their national currency. [36] [37]
In 2018, Pierce converted a former monastery in the Old City of San Juan, Puerto Rico, into his headquarters. [38]
In 2020, Pierce acquired Dwight Howard's Pierce School Loft in Washington, D.C. [39] Originally built in 1893, the Pierce School Lofts are located in a former schoolhouse named for U.S. President Franklin Pierce. [40]
In June 2021, Pierce co-founded Roundtable Media alongside James Heckman and David Bailey. [41] [42]
Pierce is the vice chair and spokesperson of the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots Foundation of New York City, Long Island, and Puerto Rico. [43] In late 2021, Pierce funded a new NYPD Gaming Trucks initiative in New York City. [44]
On July 5, 2020, Pierce announced his candidacy for President of the United States in the 2020 election as an Independent. The campaign filed registration documents with the FEC on July 7. [45] Pierce based his campaign around his background as an entrepreneur, [5] and his running mate was Karla Ballard, a fellow entrepreneur. [46] [47] Pierce gained ballot access in Oklahoma on July 15, [48] in Arkansas on August 12, [46] Colorado on August 19. [47] and was nominated by the New York Independence Party on August 24. Pierce was endorsed by venture capitalist and Bitcoin]advocate Tim Draper. [49] Pierce was also backed up by singer and entrepreneur Akon, who managed his presidential campaign as chief strategist. [50] Pierce received just 0.03% of the votes in the election. [51] On September 14, he announced that he would form a new party and run candidates in 2022. [52] [53] Jesse Ventura, former Minnesota governor and actor, also endorsed Pierce. [54]
Pierce proposed "America 2.0", with a government that embraces technology, [55] and believes technology is the biggest issue for the United States' future. [56] Pierce has said that he would institute a universal basic income, [57] which could be enabled by digital currencies. [58] He also supports a single-payer health-care system and the legalization of marijuana. [59] Stating that the war on drugs has failed, he advocates ending federal enforcement and to pardon and expunge all non-violent cannabis crimes. [60] Pierce has criticized the two-party system and has stated that he intends to start a major third party. [61]
The Free & Equal Elections Foundation hosted the Second Open Presidential Debate on October 8, 2020, in Denver, Colorado, with participation limited to candidates on the ballot in at least eight states. [62] Participants in the debate included Pierce alongside Howie Hawkins of the Green Party, Brian Carroll of the American Solidarity Party, Don Blankenship of the Constitution Party; and Gloria La Riva of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. [63]
In Casper, Wyoming, Pierce announced the Independent National Convention, to be held in Cheyenne, Wyoming on October 23–24, 2020. Pierce said the convention would include minor, third-party candidates to share their message. [64] Pierce is the only independent candidate to appear on the Wyoming ballot. [65]
On October 13, 2020, Pierce became the first presidential candidate in U.S. history to receive a vote through an app on a personal mobile phone using blockchain technology, in Utah County using the Voatz app. [66]
He received the endorsement of the Independence Party of New York and the Independent Party of Florida. [67]
In November 2021, Pierce filed a statement of organization with the FEC and later confirmed he was considering a 2022 run for the United States Senate to replace retiring Vermont senator Patrick Leahy. [68] After news reports indicated Pierce could lose his federal income tax-free status as a Puerto Rico resident by running in Vermont, [69] he did not file to qualify for the ballot.
Pierce was born in Minnesota on November 14, 1980. [4] In the early 2000s, he, along with Marc Collins-Rector and Chad Shackley, faced multiple lawsuits alleging sexual abuse at an Encino mansion owned by Collins-Rector. [70] [71] Pierce eventually paid one of the plaintiffs $21,600, which he says was to "help cover the plaintiff’s legal fees", and the other two dropped their lawsuits. [71] [1] [70] Collins-Rector fled to Spain after a similar August 2000 indictment, together with Shackley and Pierce. Interpol arrested the three men on May 17, 2002, in a house in the Spanish city of Marbella. Shackley and Pierce were released without being criminally charged. [72] Guns, machetes and child pornography were found in the house. [73]
In 2014, Pierce was elected to the Bitcoin Foundation board of directors amidst controversy due to past allegations of sexual abuse and fraud, [74] which he has described as baseless and financially motivated. [75] At least 10 members of the nonprofit Bitcoin Foundation resigned in 2014 following the election of Pierce as a new director, according to officials from the organization. [76]
He is married to Crystal Rose, CEO of Sensay and co-chairman of the United Council of Rising Nations. [1]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | The Mighty Ducks | Gordon, age 9 | |
1994 | D2: The Mighty Ducks | Young Gordon Bombay | |
1994 | Little Big League | Sidney | |
1995 | Ripper Man | Kevin | |
1995 | Problem Child 3: Junior in Love | Duke Phlim | TV movie |
1995 | Three Wishes | Scott | |
1996 | First Kid | U.S. First Son Luke Davenport | |
1996 | Earth Minus Zero | Joey Heller | |
1997 | Two Small Voices | Brad | TV movie |
1997 | The Ride | Danny O'Neil | |
1997 | Legend of the Lost Tomb | John Robie | TV movie |
2014 | An Open Secret | Himself | Documentary; archive footage |
2015 | Play Money | Himself | Documentary |
2020 | Landfall | Himself | Documentary |
A cryptocurrency exchange, or a digital currency exchange (DCE), is a business that allows customers to trade cryptocurrencies or digital currencies for other assets, such as conventional fiat money or other digital currencies. Exchanges may accept credit card payments, wire transfers or other forms of payment in exchange for digital currencies or cryptocurrencies. A cryptocurrency exchange can be a market maker that typically takes the bid–ask spreads as a transaction commission for its service or, as a matching platform, simply charges fees.
A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It has, in a financial point of view, grown to be its own asset class. However, on the contrary to other asset classes like equities or commodities, sectors have not been officially defined as of yet though abstract version of them exist.
Blockchain.com is a cryptocurrency financial services company. The company began as the first Bitcoin blockchain explorer in 2011 and later created a cryptocurrency wallet that accounted for 28% of bitcoin transactions between 2012 and 2020. It also operates a cryptocurrency exchange and provides institutional markets lending business and data, charts, and analytics.
Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain with smart contract functionality. Ether is the native cryptocurrency of the platform. Among cryptocurrencies, ether is second only to bitcoin in market capitalization. It is open-source software.
Circle is a peer-to-peer payments technology company that now manages stablecoin USDC, a cryptocurrency the value of which is pegged to the U.S. dollar. It was founded by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville in October 2013. Circle is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. USDC, the second largest stablecoin worldwide, is designed to hold at or near a stable price of $1. The majority of its stablecoin collateral is held in short-term U.S. government securities.
A blockchain is a distributed ledger with growing lists of records (blocks) that are securely linked together via cryptographic hashes. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. Since each block contains information about the previous block, they effectively form a chain, with each additional block linking to the ones before it. Consequently, blockchain transactions are irreversible in that, once they are recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without altering all subsequent blocks.
Bitfinex is a cryptocurrency exchange owned and operated by iFinex Inc, and is registered in the British Virgin Islands. Bitfinex was founded in 2012. It was originally a peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange, and later added support for other cryptocurrencies.
Cardano is a public blockchain platform. It is open-source and decentralized, with consensus achieved using proof of stake. It can facilitate peer-to-peer transactions with its internal cryptocurrency, ADA.
The Lightning Network (LN) is a payment protocol built on the Bitcoin blockchain and those of other cryptocurrencies. It is intended to enable fast transactions among participating nodes and has been proposed as a solution to the bitcoin scalability problem. It is a peer-to-peer system for making micropayments of cryptocurrency through a network of bidirectional payment channels, without delegating custody of funds.
A cryptocurrency wallet is a device, physical medium, program or an online service which stores the public and/or private keys for cryptocurrency transactions. In addition to this basic function of storing the keys, a cryptocurrency wallet more often offers the functionality of encrypting and/or signing information. Signing can for example result in executing a smart contract, a cryptocurrency transaction, identification, or legally signing a 'document'.
Tether is a cryptocurrency stablecoin, launched by the company Tether Limited Inc. in 2014.
A cryptocurrency bubble is a phenomenon where the market increasingly considers the going price of cryptocurrency assets to be inflated against their hypothetical value. The history of cryptocurrency has been marked by several speculative bubbles.
Cryptocurrency and crime describe notable examples of cybercrime related to theft of cryptocurrencies and some methods or security vulnerabilities commonly exploited. Cryptojacking is a form of cybercrime specific to cryptocurrencies that have been used on websites to hijack a victim's resources and use them for hashing and mining cryptocurrency.
A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency where the value of the digital asset is supposed to be pegged to a reference asset, which is either fiat money, exchange-traded commodities, or another cryptocurrency.
Charles Hoskinson is an American entrepreneur who is a co-founder of the blockchain engineering company Input Output Global, Inc., and the Cardano blockchain platform, and was a co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain platform.
USD Coin (USDC) is a digital stablecoin pegged to the United States dollar. USD Coin is managed by Circle. USDC is issued by a private entity and should not be confused with a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Paxos Trust Company is a New York–based financial institution and technology company specializing in blockchain. The company's product offerings include a cryptocurrency brokerage service, asset tokenization services, and settlement services. ItBit, a bitcoin exchange run by Paxos, was the first bitcoin exchange to be licensed by the New York State Department of Financial Services, granting the company the ability to be the custodian and exchange for customers in the United States.
The general notion of cryptocurrencies in Europe denotes the processes of legislative regulation, distribution, circulation, and storage of cryptocurrencies in Europe. In April 2023, the EU Parliament passed the Markets in Crypto Act (MiCA) unified legal framework for crypto-assets within the European Union.
With the arrival of several figures led by Brock Pierce following the passing of hurricane Maria in 2017, cryptocurrency became an issue of media and economic interest in the Caribbean archipelago of Puerto Rico. These traders relocated to the island motivated by the tax incentives provided by Act 20-2012 and Act 22-2012 and the tropical setting. They claimed that their intention was to create an utopian blockchain "crypto city" or "community", which at various times became known by the names of Puertopia, Crypto Rico, Puerto Crypto or Sol, calling themselves Puertopians. The ideas promoted by this group have prompted a mixed reception, being favored by gubernatorial administrations but also spawning protests from political and grassroots movements that raise concerns about disaster capitalism, gentrification and settler colonialism. Puerto Rico has earned a reputation as a hub for cryptocurrency enthusiasts and, according to Pierce, by 2021 the archipelago had the largest quantity of coins concentrated in a single place in the world.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)