Newly released Justice Department files have exposed previously hidden links between Jeffrey Epstein and key figures and projects in the cryptocurrency world — including early funding for bitcoin research at MIT, a multimillion-dollar stake in Coinbase, and an early check to bitcoin infrastructure firm Blockstream. What the files show - The Department of Justice last week published millions of documents that detail Epstein’s involvement with several high-profile crypto players. - Epstein is tied to funding that helped create the Digital Currency Initiative (DCI) at MIT’s Media Lab — described in internal emails as the “principal home and funding source” for bitcoin research and open-source crypto work. - Records show Epstein invested $3 million into Coinbase in 2014, and wrote a separate $500,000 check tied to Blockstream the same year. Both companies accepted Epstein’s money despite his 2008 conviction in Florida for soliciting prostitution from a minor. How those investments came together - Epstein’s financing flowed partly through his philanthropy to MIT: over two decades the school accepted more than $800,000 from him and he helped secure more than $7 million in donations from other donors, according to the filings. - Joichi Ito, then-director of MIT Media Lab, told Epstein in a 2015 email that Epstein’s “gift funds” underwrote the launch of the DCI. - Epstein’s $3 million Coinbase investment was brokered by Brock Pierce, a prominent crypto figure who is described in the filings as a broker for the deal. Fred Ehrsam, a Coinbase co-founder who led the fundraiser, corresponded with Pierce and sought to meet Epstein “if convenient.” - Additional filings indicate Epstein sold half his Coinbase shares to Blockchain Capital (Pierce’s firm) for $15 million in 2018. Blockstream ties and meetings - Epstein’s $500,000 exposure to Blockstream came via an investment fund co-owned with Ito. Email threads show Blockstream co-founders Adam Back and Austin Hill were invited to meet Epstein in St. Thomas, near Little Saint James — Epstein’s private island. - Blockstream has stated it understood Epstein to be a limited partner in Ito’s fund, and that the fund later divested from Blockstream “due to a potential conflict of interest, and other concerns.” The company says it has “no direct nor indirect financial connection with Jeffrey Epstein, or his estate.” - Correspondence also shows Hill stayed in touch with Epstein into 2017, including checking on his island after a Caribbean storm. Reaction inside crypto - The revelations have generated chatter across crypto communities and calls for accountability from some developers. Longtime bitcoin contributor Luke Dashjr has urged Adam Back to resign over the links. - Others in the industry have dismissed the long-term impact. Charlotte Fang, founder of Remilia, described concerns about Epstein’s investments as largely misplaced, arguing that a single seven-figure check was a small piece of Coinbase’s early funding and that bitcoin, as a decentralized protocol, did not depend on that money. - Kadan Stadelmann of Komodo predicted retail behavior won’t shift materially and that investor practices will largely remain the same, though he suggested rivals could pick up customers who leave Coinbase if they avoid “similar unsavory sources.” - Academic Antulio Rosales said Epstein’s attraction to crypto may have reflected its perceived freedom from social norms and regulatory pressure, and its potential as an ethical-free market. What this could mean for the sector - Several of the companies tied to Epstein’s 2014 investments later became major players: Coinbase went public on Nasdaq in 2021 and has been influential in U.S. crypto policy debates, while Blockstream became a prominent bitcoin infrastructure firm. - Even with the spotlight on these connections, many industry leaders predict limited structural consequences for the crypto sector. The debate centers on reputation and governance rather than a direct financial or technical fallout: whether companies should have been more selective about investors, and how institutions like research labs manage donations. Responses and unanswered questions - A Coinbase spokeswoman declined to comment; Brock Pierce did not respond to requests for comment. The Digital Currency Initiative and Blockstream representatives did not answer requests for comment tied to the newly released documents. - The files raise lingering questions about who Epstein quietly enabled and how philanthropic and private capital pathways intersected with early crypto development — questions likely to attract continued scrutiny among journalists, developers, and regulators. Bottom line The DOJ files add a new, uncomfortable chapter to crypto’s origin story: Epstein provided funding that touched both academic research and early-stage startups central to bitcoin’s growth. While the immediate financial impact appears limited, the revelations sharpen debates about donor vetting, investor influence, and how institutions should balance funding with ethical risk — issues the crypto industry will have to reckon with as it seeks broader mainstream legitimacy. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

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