Epstein’s Alleged Bitcoin, Crypto Investments Surface In Newly Released DOJ Files

The launch of paperwork tied to Jeffrey Epstein by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has sparked renewed debate throughout the crypto neighborhood, as newly surfaced particulars seem to indicate deeper — although nonetheless oblique — hyperlinks between Epstein and a few of the earliest establishments and figures linked to Bitcoin (BTC). 

While not one of the materials gives proof that Epstein performed a task in creating Bitcoin itself, the disclosures have fueled questions on how early crypto infrastructure was funded throughout a vital interval.

Epstein’s Alleged Crypto Investments

The dialogue gained momentum after a broadly shared social media submit by market analyst Hugo Crypto, who summarized what he described as verified info drawn from DOJ paperwork. 

According to that assessment, Epstein’s involvement with crypto was primarily as an investor and networker, reasonably than a technical contributor. 

One of essentially the most notable revelations includes US-based crypto trade Coinbase. DOJ data reportedly present that Epstein invested roughly $3 million into Coinbase in 2014 by IGO Company LLC, an entity organized by Brock Pierce and Blockchain Capital. 

The paperwork additional counsel that Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam was conscious of Epstein’s involvement and had expressed curiosity in assembly him personally. In 2018, Epstein allegedly offered a part of his Coinbase stake again to the corporate for roughly $15 million. 

Another space drawing consideration is Blockstream, a serious Bitcoin infrastructure firm. According to the paperwork, Epstein participated in Blockstream’s seed round by Joi Ito, with an preliminary dedication of $50,000 that was later elevated to $500,000. 

An April 2014 e mail attributed to Epstein exhibits him telling Bitcoin developer Amir Taaki that he had just lately hosted “Andy Back,” understood to imply Adam Back, on his personal island, Little Saint James. Adam Back has since acknowledged that Epstein’s funding in Blockstream was unwound.

Early Bitcoin Funding At MIT Media Lab

The paperwork additionally make clear Epstein’s oblique connection to Bitcoin Core builders by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab. 

After the collapse of the Bitcoin Foundation in 2015 left core builders with out funding, Joi Ito reportedly helped carry three of the 5 core builders — Wladimir van der Laan, Gavin Andresen, and Cory Fields — to MIT’s “Digital Currency Initiative.” 

That initiative was allegedly funded by Epstein’s donations to MIT, which totaled about $850,000 between 2002 and 2017, with roughly $525,000 directed particularly to the Digital Currency Initiative. 

In an inner message cited within the recordsdata, Ito allegedly thanked Epstein for reward funds that allowed MIT to “transfer rapidly and win this spherical.” The builders themselves have stated they have been unaware of the supply of the funding, and inner MIT communications reportedly referred to Epstein as “Voldemort.”

Satoshi Nakamoto Speculation

Speculation round Bitcoin’s anonymous creator has additionally resurfaced. A screenshot of an e mail allegedly despatched by Epstein to Ghislaine Maxwell, claiming that “the pseudonym Satoshi works completely,” circulated broadly on-line however has since been debunked. 

Hugo Crypto asserts that the paperwork verify that in a 2016 e mail, Epstein claimed he had “spoken with a few of the founders of Bitcoin.” 

Additionally, Epstein’s private visitor lists reportedly embrace an entry labeled “satoshi (bitcoin)” for a United Nations (UN) Climate Week occasion, listed alongside figures equivalent to Larry Summers and Peter Thiel. Who that reference was meant to determine stays unknown.

While the paperwork counsel Epstein had monetary publicity to early crypto corporations and supported establishments that housed Bitcoin developers, there isn’t any proof linking him to Bitcoin’s code, cryptography, wallets, or technical design. In that sense, claims that Epstein “constructed” Bitcoin seem unfounded.

Featured picture from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com