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DOJ Files Confirm Epstein’s Early Crypto Bets, Debunk Satoshi Claims

The new cache validates funding links to key Bitcoin projects, providing no evidence he authored the protocol.

Overview

  • Documents detail a roughly $3 million 2014 investment in Coinbase routed through IGO Company LLC, with records indicating part of the stake was sold back to the exchange in 2018 for about $15 million.
  • Files show a seed-round commitment to Blockstream arranged via Joi Ito that grew from about $50,000 to $500,000, and CEO Adam Back says the investment was later unwound.
  • MIT records indicate approximately $850,000 in donations from Epstein, including about $525,000 to the Digital Currency Initiative that supported Bitcoin Core developers during a funding shortfall.
  • Gizmodo reports no emails tie Epstein to Satoshi Nakamoto, with several viral Satoshi-related messages identified as fabrications and a guest-list entry labeled “satoshi (bitcoin)” remaining unexplained.
  • The cache includes references to Coinbase’s role in the block size debate, Epstein’s stated reluctance to pump crypto assets, and a meeting with New York regulator Ben Lawsky during BitLicense development.