Reviewing the Epstein Files, Discovering He Met Satoshi Nakamoto
U.S. Department of Justice recently released a batch of Epstein files, revealing his significant early involvement in the cryptocurrency space. As early as 2011, Epstein was discussing Bitcoin, calling it a "brilliant idea" with "serious flaws." The documents show his communications with tech elites, including former Microsoft executives and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, about cryptocurrency investments and ideology.
Epstein invested in Blockstream's seed round, and emails suggest he may have also funded Ripple/Stellar, leading to internal conflicts. He was also connected to MIT's Digital Currency Initiative, which paid Bitcoin Core developers using his anonymous donations.
Most notably, in a 2016 email, Epstein claimed to have "spoken with some of the Bitcoin creators," raising questions about Satoshi Nakamoto's identity and potential U.S. government awareness. However, he later advised against buying Bitcoin in 2017 when it was under $5,000. The files also note his brief encounter with MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor.
With half the documents still unreleased, the full extent of Epstein's crypto connections remains unknown.
marsbit02/03 03:00