Author: Cookie, BlockBeatsBlockBeats
On January 30, the U.S. Department of Justice released a large volume of the so-called "Epstein Papers" for the first time, immediately sparking widespread global attention and discussion. As we examine whether Musk "went to the island," Bill Gates' extramarital affair, or the fact that Kevin Warsh, a nominee for the next Federal Reserve chair, also appeared on Epstein's party guest list, these newly disclosed documents have also dropped numerous bombshells regarding the cryptocurrency industry.
The history of the cryptocurrency industry may finally be revealing just the tip of the iceberg, and it will be rewritten from here on.
Is Epstein a "Crypto OG"?
As early as 2011, Epstein had already taken notice of Bitcoin. That year, Bitcoin's total trading volume for the entire year had not yet exceeded $100 million, and its price once surged above $30 before plummeting by 90%.
The date of the following email is June 12, 2011, which was right around the peak of Bitcoin's price that year. In the email, Epstein stated, "Bitcoin is a brilliant idea, but it also has some serious drawbacks."
In 2013, the frequency of mentions of cryptocurrency increased in emails related to Epstein.
First, there are emails exchanged with Boris Nikolic (who once served as Bill Gates' chief technology advisor and was listed in Epstein's will), with the subject line "Who would even use Bitcoin nowadays?" In a mocking and sarcastic tone, they discussed Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road who was arrested at the time, saying that Ross had made a foolish mistake by using a Gmail account with his real name.
Steven Sinofsky, a board partner at a16z and former president of Microsoft's Windows division, wrote to Epstein in an email that his Bitcoin investment had increased by 50%, and shared Timothy B. Lee's article "How Bitcoin Has Captivated Washington."
He also received news that the once-famous Bitcoin website Satoshi Dice had been sold for $11.4 million.
In 2014, Epstein had an in-depth discussion with PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel about the nature of Bitcoin.
"There is no consensus on what Bitcoin actually is—a store of value, a currency, or an asset... It's like a man dressed as a woman, or an asset disguised as money."
This dialogue indicates that Epstein was already well aware of the ideological debates surrounding the nature of Bitcoin in the early stages of the cryptocurrency market. He even drew an analogy between them and gender identity.
Another email showed that Epstein participated in the seed round financing of Bitcoin infrastructure company Blockstream, which raised a total of $18 million, with Epstein's investment increasing from $50,000 to $500,000.
Recently, Blockstream's CEO Adam Back issued a statement denying any direct or indirect financial connections between the company and Epstein or his estate. He explained that Epstein had been a limited partner in a fund that once held a minority stake in Blockstream, but the fund has since fully divested.
However, the names of Adam Back and Austin Hill (co-founder of Blockstream) appeared in travel arrangement emails related to the island of St. Thomas (about 2 miles from "Epstein Island"):
In addition, in 2014, Austin Hill emailed Epstein and Joi Ito (former director of the MIT Media Lab, and through whose foundation Epstein invested in Blockstream) stating that Ripple ($XRP) and Stellar (a new project by Jed McCaleb, the founder of Ripple, after he left Ripple) were negatively impacting the ecosystem that Blockstream was building and harming Blockstream, because their investors were "supporting two horses in the same race."
There is also some debate about this in the English-speaking community. Considering the context, my personal interpretation is that Epstein might have also invested in Ripple/Stellar at that time, which caused Blockstream's dissatisfaction. As a result, Austin Hill wrote in an email, "I have been asked by other co-founders to reduce or even eliminate your shares."
Although the growth of Ripple and Stellar was not affected, we do not know whether there are more excellent cryptocurrency projects, known or unknown to us, that have been stifled in their infancy through such behind-the-scenes pressures, from the past until now.
In response, David Schwartz, former CTO of Ripple, tweeted, "I don't want to be a conspiracy theorist, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is just the tip of the iceberg."
So does this suggest that Epstein's evil also exists in the cryptocurrency field? David Schwartz also stated that for most ultra-wealthy individuals, having an association with Bitcoin is likely very common.
Indeed, in 2014-2015, the collapse of the Bitcoin Foundation left Bitcoin Core developers without stable salaries. As a result, the Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) at the MIT Media Lab began compensating several Bitcoin Core developers. Consequently, three Bitcoin Core developers—Gavin Andresen, Wladimir van der Laan, and Cory Fields—decided to join the MIT Media Lab.
At that time, the scandal had not yet been exposed, and the public was unaware of Epstein's anonymous donation to the MIT Media Lab. Joi Ito thanked Epstein via email, not only explaining how Bitcoin's development and operations worked, but also expressing gratitude for the funding that allowed the lab "to move quickly and achieve great success," because "many organizations wanted to take advantage and control Bitcoin's developers."
Epstein's response was a simple compliment to Gavin Andresen: "Gavin is smart."
Has Epstein met Satoshi Nakamoto?
In 2016, Epstein proposed two "radical ideas for creating two new currencies" via email to Raafat AlSabbagh, an advisor to the Saudi Royal Court, and Aziza Al Ahmadi, an advisor to the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism. One idea was a "Sharia Dollar," similar to how all U.S. dollar bills feature the phrase "In God We Trust," the Middle East could also have its own "Sharia Dollar" for internal use.
Another idea was to create a digital currency similar to Bitcoin, making the currency compliant with Sharia law. Then, as if it were just a casual remark, he casually dropped this message afterward:
"I have communicated with some Bitcoin creators, and they are very excited."
Epstein's intention at the time might have been more about showcasing his network of connections to reinforce his image as a trustworthy individual. As a result, he casually mentioned it offhandedly, but this could have completely rewritten the history of Bitcoin and the entire cryptocurrency industry. The phrase "some of Bitcoin's founders"—does this imply that Satoshi Nakamoto is not an individual but a team? If so, many of the mysteries surrounding Satoshi Nakamoto would have plausible explanations.
There are even more unsettling questions to consider. Who is this team? What were their motivations for creating Bitcoin? If Epstein really met with them, how did he initially find out who they were and how did he establish a relationship with them? If even Epstein knew who the creator of Bitcoin was, could the U.S. government possibly not know? What motivations could the U.S. government possibly have for remaining silent on this issue all along?
After the latest Epstein files were disclosed, the probability of the "Satoshi Nakamoto's Bitcoin address showing activity by 2026" on the prediction market Polymarket rose from about 6% to as high as 9.3%, and is currently maintained at 8%.
If Epstein had indeed met Satoshi Nakamoto, it seems that Satoshi did not successfully convince Epstein about Bitcoin during their contact. In an email exchange on August 31, 2017, Epstein was asked, "Is it worth buying a Bitcoin?" and he bluntly replied, "No." At that time, one Bitcoin was still under $5,000.
Whether Epstein ever met Satoshi Nakamoto remains unknown. However, we do know that he met Michael Saylor, the CEO of MicroStrategy and currently one of the most prominent Bitcoin bulls.
For years, Saylor's unwavering commitment to only buying and never selling Bitcoin was considered extreme, but in 2010, he had not yet become famous for this identity.
That year, Comrade Saylor spent $25,000 to attend a party hosted by Epstein's public relations consultant, Peggy Siegal, and initially displayed traits of "autism" at the gathering. Peggy Siegal described Saylor as follows:
"This guy is completely a weirdo, totally uncharming, like a zombie who's overdosed on drugs. We had smart directors at our party, sitting right next to him and his pretty, dumb little girlfriend. There was no conversation at all from him except for the two sentences, 'I have a yacht' and 'I'm going to Cannes.' I took him around for a while, but he was so strange that I just had to run away. He has no personality and no social skills. I don't know how to get money out of him."
Being called a pervert by his perverted subordinates shows just how perverted Saylor really is. Perhaps only a great invention like Bitcoin could accommodate Saylor's perversions and allow the building of a great enterprise.
Conclusion
Approximately half of the Epstein files remain unreleased. Within these remaining documents, how many more shockers related to the cryptocurrency industry might still be hidden?
Will time dispel the fog?