Jeffrey Epstein seems repeatedly in newly launched “Epstein Recordsdata” data tied to bitcoin-adjacent establishments, investor circles, and inside debates.
The paperwork embrace a 2016 electronic mail the place Epstein claimed he had spoken with “founders of Bitcoin,” whereas pitching a Sharia-compliant digital forex.
Epstein wrote in an October 2016 electronic mail cited by the information:
“I’ve spoken to among the founders of Bitcoin who’re very excited.”
Claimed ties to bitcoin ‘founders’
The e-mail was despatched throughout correspondence with Raafat Abdulla Saad Al Sabbagh, described as an advisor related to the Saudi royal court docket.
Epstein proposed a regional Center East forex and a Sharia-compliant digital forex “like bitcoin,” however the message didn’t identify any bitcoin figures or present the concept moved past dialogue.
The information additionally tie Epstein to donations to MIT Media Lab in the course of the interval when its Digital Foreign money Initiative started funding Bitcoin Core builders after the Bitcoin Basis’s collapse.
Emails referenced a small set of key builders and described utilizing “reward funds” to maneuver shortly.
Blockstream funding and Adam Again point out
Epstein additionally seems in early funding data for Blockstream.
A 2014 electronic mail from Blockstream co-founder Austin Hill stated Epstein’s seed allocation was elevated from $50,000 to $500,000.
In a separate 2014 change about Blockstream-linked cryptographer Adam Again, Epstein replied:
“I like him.”
Ripple, Stellar, and what the emails don’t present
A July 31, 2014 electronic mail titled “Stellar isn’t so Stellar,” despatched by Hill and copied to Epstein, criticized investor overlap with Ripple and Stellar.
Ripple’s former CTO David Schwartz commented on the broader launch of paperwork on X:
“I hate to be a conspiracy theorist, however I wouldn’t be in any respect shocked if that is simply the tip of a large iceberg.”
Schwartz additionally wrote that the circulated doc was an electronic mail from Hill to Epstein and advised related views have been seemingly shared with others.
Reviews state that the launched data present proximity and consciousness, however no proof Epstein was Satoshi Nakamoto, a bitcoin founder, a core developer, or exercised protocol management.