Lorenzo Maria Pacini
Epstein was genuinely interested in the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem, from their design and development to investing in and using them.
Boston, many years ago
Cryptocurrencies are now an integral part of the daily lives of billions of people around the world. The West as a whole is even "stockpiling" them as a reserve for the global market in the event of a collapse of Western currencies. But who would ever think that Epstein had anything to do with the infamous Bitcoin?
Information that has emerged from emails, court documents, and journalistic investigations indicates that Jeffrey Epstein had indirect but real links to the Bitcoin ecosystem in its early stages, mainly through donations to MIT in Boston and contacts with developers, investors, and political figures. However, there is no evidence that he directly influenced the code or technical decisions of Bitcoin Core, but his network of relationships touched on some key financing and networking hubs in the cryptocurrency world.
Joichi Ito, director of MIT's Media Lab, resigned in September 2022 after The New Yorker published an investigation into his alleged maneuvers to conceal financial contributions from pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Although Ito led one of MIT's most influential labs, his role and legacy within the cryptocurrency community have remained largely overlooked.
Ito was the founder of MIT's Digital Currency Initiative (DCI), a project that contributed decisively to the survival of Bitcoin at one of its most critical moments in 2015. That year, when the Bitcoin Foundation-a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development of the cryptocurrency-was facing serious funding difficulties, the DCI welcomed key Bitcoin Core developers such as Gavin Andresen, Cory Fields, and Wladimir van der Laan, offering them full-time positions.
Subsequently, other DCI members left the initiative to work on Facebook's Libra, while some prominent contributors started their own cryptocurrencies. Associate Professor Christian Catalini, principal investigator of the MIT Digital Currencies Research Study, is now chief economist at Calibra, Facebook's digital wallet; similarly, Professor Silvio Micali founded Algorand, a digital currency based on a consensus mechanism founded on a kind of lottery.
Ito's departure from MIT immediately raised questions about both the DCI's past funding and its future prospects because, given the links between the Media Lab and Epstein, it is legitimate to ask what a convicted sex offender had to do with the development of cryptocurrencies.
Beyond the resignation-which Boston University has not commented on-it seems appropriate to also reconsider Ito's positions on cryptocurrencies, especially in light of the revelations about the Epstein case. His criticism of entrepreneurs in the sector reflects not only abuses in the fundraising mechanisms of the blockchain industry, but also his own contradictions.
In a video published in September 2017 , in which he talks with Neha Narula, director of the DCI, Ito addresses the issues of open source development and initial coin offerings, i.e., cryptocurrency fundraising campaigns. After Narula observes that many open source developers work more out of passion than for profit, expressing surprise at the billions of dollars raised through crypto crowdfunding, Ito intervenes, pointing out that money tends to corrupt. He also states that the underlying problem with cryptocurrencies lies in their structural link to money, which pushes people to pursue paths where work can be quickly turned into profit, a temptation that is difficult to avoid, especially when family responsibilities come into play.
It is easy to imagine how this view may also have influenced Ito's personal justifications for accepting funds from Epstein. In another passage, reflecting on abuses related to crypto crowdfunding, he notes that many initiatives are born in a problematic way.
The fact remains, however, that while accepting funding from Epstein, Ito also provided the DCI with a critical and cautious approach to cryptocurrencies. In his public speeches and editorial contributions, he repeatedly warned against excessive investment in blockchain and the risks of putting profit before all other considerations.
In an editorial published in Wired in February 2018, Ito wrote that contemporary ICOs were fueled by a gold rush mentality, were launched irresponsibly, and ended up harming individuals and the ecosystem of developers and organizations, pointing out that adequate legal, technical, and regulatory tools were still lacking and that many were taking advantage of this.
When, at the height of the 2017 bubble, a cryptocurrency called IOTA received enthusiastic coverage from MIT Technology Review, Ito critically analyzed its claims, debunking its claims. What is disappointing is that, while identifying abuses and exaggerations in the world of cryptocurrencies, Ito does not seem to have applied the same critical rigor to his own behavior.
But why crypto?
Why was Epstein interested in cryptocurrencies ? We must try to answer this question. Yes, it is clear from his dealings with ICO and MIT that he had some interest, otherwise financing projects of this type would have been nothing more than a losing investment.
Let us therefore consider a few elements.
First, let's assume that the theory of bitcoin as a project created by the NSA is at least possible. A senior US DIA official spoke to me at length about this several months ago. In the world of American alternative information and OSINT, it is a much-discussed topic.
The theory stems from the fact that in 1996, the NSA published a study entitled "How to make a mint" on the topic of "electronic cash" and standardized SHA-256, the hash algorithm used in Bitcoin, which is the basis of mining. The authors of the publication are all cryptographers from the American intelligence agency. The Bitcoin white paper was only published in 2008, twelve years later. The 1996 paper introduced new concepts of cryptography, such as public key cryptography, hidden signatures, and digital anonymity mechanisms, but did not yet mention a decentralized system. It was not until 2008 that the concept of decentralized proof-of-work consensus and the so-called blockchain were introduced.
You may rightly say that this information alone is not enough. However, Edward Snowden accused the NSA of monitoring Bitcoin-related traffic and tracking it in depth, at least since 2013. Metadata, network traffic, exchanges, everything was perfectly tracked, even though cryptocurrencies were said to be "secure" and "hidden." This forced enthusiasts to recognize that the crypto system, particularly Bitcoin as the first and most widespread currency, is not so secure after all. All transactions are verifiable, not by name but by addresses and amounts, forever; addresses can be linked to a person's on-chain financial history; there are even companies, such as Chainalysis or Elliptic, that offer mapping and distribution services for sensitive data.
It is a masterpiece of digital surveillance because it does not seem like surveillance, as it is public, almost anyone can do it, and, it is said, there is no room with a big red button that causes the entire system to shut down. Yes, it's a pity that this method of dispersion - a classic used to obscure the truth about certain information in the world of intelligence - does not say that "it is not true that the NSA created Bitcoin," but only says that the key to opening the chest containing the truth has been thrown into the ocean, and now anyone who wants to understand something has to take a long swim. On the other hand, the transparency of the blockchain is a design compromise: it guarantees security and verifiability, but makes it possible, in retrospect, to reconstruct movements if they can be linked to real identities, and authorities and companies have learned to exploit this transparency for investigative and compliance purposes, without the need for Bitcoin to be created as an "espionage project."
So, to recap: if you are a boss of political and sexual blackmail and want to help develop a payment system that perfectly tracks every single bit, do as Epstein did.
This is Manhattan, Brock
The released emails reveal that Epstein had hosted Mr. Brock Pierce, one of the earliest investors in Bitcoin, and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers at his home in Manhattan. The discussion focused on the potential of Bitcoin, although Summers expressed concern about the risks to his reputation if the price fell.
Pierce apparently introduced himself to Summers as "the most active investor in Bitcoin," and the conversation focused on the opportunities and reputational risks associated with price volatility, while Epstein acted as a facilitator, connecting the nascent crypto ecosystem with members of the traditional financial elite. These meetings, which took place after Epstein's 2008 conviction, suggest that his interest in Bitcoin was not just theoretical, but part of a strategy of networking and positioning himself in a sector perceived as emerging.
After all, if you strike a deal with a former Treasury Secretary, you can be sure you've received excellent financial investment advice, right ? When you plan to blackmail very important men and women from around the world, you have to ask the best experts or, at least, those who hold the keys to the control room in the palaces of those who really rule.
Another figure then appears who is sure to cause a stir: Steve Bannon. The former White House strategist and influential figure on the American right was contacted by Epstein for some investment advice on cryptocurrencies. The questions focused in particular on the taxation of cryptocurrencies, how to receive, spend, and distribute tokens, and compliance with rules on donations and political financing, a sign that Epstein was also interested in the regulatory and tax implications of digital assets. After all, once you've invested $850,000, it's legitimate to wonder whether it was well spent or not, right?
Sources report that Bannon did not limit himself to a generic response, but put him in touch with experts from the Federal Election Commission and professionals in the crypto sector, further expanding Epstein's network in the world of digital currencies. This episode confirms that, years after his first donations to MIT, Epstein continued to seek to position himself with regard to cryptocurrencies, assessing both their financial potential and their legal and political consequences.
And yet another unexpected step forward: Amazon. A further piece of the puzzle comes from an analysis of Epstein's book purchases on Amazon, which emerged in leaks of his emails and related reports. The documents indicate that in 2017 he purchased several books on Bitcoin, Ethereum, blockchain technology, and, more generally, finance and trading, confirming a systematic and not episodic interest in the sector.
The reconstructions cite these purchases as part of a broader personal development strategy that Epstein pursued while attempting to rebuild his network after the scandals, focusing on new digital financial instruments. Some online summaries refer generically to "cryptocurrency" payments linked to these books, but the public materials mainly mention the nature of the texts and the thematic interest; In any case, the overall picture suggests Epstein's intellectual and operational involvement with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies was much broader than was known until the recent publication of emails and government documents.
So, Epstein was genuinely interested in the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem, from their design and development to investing in and using them. An excellent system not for covering up his own activities but, if anything, for tracking the misdeeds of others, perhaps under his own guidance, perhaps in the very scheme of blackmail and extortion that he had created. Another piece in the next chapter of our Epstein Saga will help us better understand this strategic choice that comes from intelligence.