Many would like to turn the page on Epstein, even on Trump, as these names disturb so much. Yet, the storm does not subside. The “Epstein Files,” recently published judicial documents, reveal new exchanges where the fallen financier mentions… bitcoin. This discovery shakes the crypto-sphere, already plagued by volatility and doubts. Because through the emails, the whole boundary between power, money, and technological idealism becomes blurred. The Epstein case resurfaces, right at the heart of the crypto revolution.
The emails from the Department of Justice reveal a surprising aspect of the history of bitcoin. In October 2016, Jeffrey Epstein wrote to two Saudi contacts that he had “spoken to some of the founders of Bitcoin” to discuss a digital currency compliant with Sharia. He proposed creating a “digital Sharia” inspired by blockchain.
This now-public message shows that Epstein rubbed shoulders with the earliest circles of the crypto world, notably Adam Back, Peter Thiel, and Larry Summers. He also maintained direct links with the MIT Media Lab, which financed Bitcoin protocol developers through its Digital Currency Initiative (DCI).
This elite network contradicts the image of bitcoin as purely community-based. Epstein, an active MIT donor, funded part of this research, often through discreet donations. The paradox is obvious: the leading global crypto, supposedly born outside the system, sometimes survived thanks to resources from those it claimed to defy.
Between 2013 and 2017, the MIT Media Lab became a refuge for Bitcoin Core developers while the Bitcoin Foundation financially collapsed. DOJ documents reveal that Jeffrey Epstein paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to this institution, directly supporting the Digital Currency Initiative. This fund served to pay Gavin Andresen, Cory Fields, and Wladimir van der Laan, pillars of bitcoin code.
Epstein also appears in investment records of Blockstream, a key Bitcoin infrastructure company, for an amount of about $500,000. In an authenticated email, a DCI researcher thanks Jeffrey Epstein for his decisive support that enabled the continuity of Bitcoin protocol development. Epstein then responds with a brief approval phrase, emphasizing that he supported scientific research above political considerations.
This funding does not prove control but raises a moral question. How to reconcile the transparency advocated by crypto with funding from opaque networks? Epstein’s legacy still hangs over the laboratory.
The Epstein Files also reveal his presence in the 2014 exchanges between Ripple and Stellar investors. The email titled “Stellar isn’t so Stellar ,” written by Austin Hill, Blockstream co-founder, denounced the double funding of these two competing projects. Epstein, Joichi Ito (MIT), and Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn) were copied.
This minor involvement illustrates a broader unease: the crypto sphere has always been traversed by ideological rivalries and power struggles. Tensions around Ripple, Stellar, or Bitcoin reflect the fragility of an ecosystem where idealism and capital intertwine.
Ripple’s former CTO, David Schwartz, commented on these revelations on X:
I hate to play conspiracy theorist, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this is just the tip of a huge iceberg.
The emails prove no conspiracy but remind us that the line between financial power and decentralized innovation remains very thin.
The Epstein case reminds us that bitcoin never evolved outside the real world but in constant tension with it. Yet, other threats loom. Researchers now fear the quantum threat, capable of breaking current cryptography. This concern pushed Jefferies to bet on gold, considering bitcoin vulnerable to this technological revolution.
