The Epstein files — links to the crypto industry

Jeffrey Epstein, the notorious financier and sex trafficker, died in jail in 2019. He had ties to many influential people, including politicians, business figures, and celebrities such as Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton. It’s believed he provided them “services” by supplying girls, some of whom were under 18.

The “Epstein files” are surrounded by many conspiracy theories. Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice released a new batch of letters that mention a number of names from the crypto world.

Control over BTC developers.
A 2015 letter surfaced in which Epstein claims that after the collapse of the Bitcoin Foundation (which funded just five key BTC developers), “they” quickly filled the vacuum, moved the developers under the MIT Media Lab via grants, and ultimately gained control over them — calling it a major win.

Brock Pierce taught Epstein about crypto.
The Tether co-founder allegedly communicated with Epstein from 2011 to 2018. They discussed investing in Coinbase and Blockstream. In a 2018 WhatsApp chat, Epstein reportedly admitted: “Pierce taught me everything related to cryptocurrency.”

Epstein’s criticism of Bitcoin.
In July 2014, there was discussion of “anti-BTC pressure” and the drawbacks of a public ledger. In June 2011, he noted: “Bitcoin is a brilliant idea, but with serious problems.” In August 2017, when asked “should I buy?” he replied: “No.”

Links to Bitcoin’s creators.
In October 2016, Epstein claimed he had “spoken with the founders of BTC” about ideas for a Sharia-compliant digital currency.

Michael Saylor appeared in the files incidentally.
The founder of Strategy was described in messages as a “programmer with a yacht” trying to break into the elite, but who “attracts the wrong people.”

Blockstream: $50K via MIT.
In 2014, Epstein reportedly took part in an $18M funding round for Blockstream, personally investing $50K through an MIT fund. Adam Back says that was the extent of it.

CryptoQuant CEO on the Epstein files.
Epstein knew about BTC early and invested in crypto assets, but didn’t believe in mass adoption and viewed BTC more as a trading instrument than a long-term store of value.

Important: The documents show financial links and correspondence, but they do not prove direct control over BTC. The DOJ said it does not plan prosecutions based on these materials.