Overview
- Newly released emails show Epstein committed about $3 million to Coinbase’s 2014–2015 Series C via IGO Company LLC, with a trust later selling $15 million of Coinbase equity to Blockchain Capital in 2018.
- Documents indicate Epstein took part in Blockstream’s 2014 seed round through Joi Ito’s connections, and cofounder Adam Back says the position was unwound due to conflicts and other concerns.
- DOJ records and prior MIT communications show Epstein donated roughly $850,000 to MIT between 2002 and 2017, including around $525,000 to the Digital Currency Initiative that supported Bitcoin Core developers during a funding shortfall.
- Fact-checkers, including France24, report that viral emails claiming Epstein was Satoshi Nakamoto are fabricated, and there is no on-chain, code, or documentation evidence tying him to Bitcoin’s creation or any backdoor.
- Emails reference networking with Bitcoin figures and a meeting with regulator Ben Lawsky, and a guest-list note of “satoshi (bitcoin)” remains unexplained, while reporting links no companies or individuals to wrongdoing.