Bitcoin
|4 min ReadEpstein Files Expose Deep Ties to Tether and Bitcoin Core
Maya Chen
Senior Analyst
Published
Feb 5, 2026
An independent audit of the "Epstein Doc Explorer" database reveals how the disgraced financier positioned himself as a gateway between early crypto anarchists and the political establishment.
The Data Mine
The discovery comes from a raw SQL analysis of House Oversight Committee files. While the public interface is unusable, a direct scrape of the
document_analysis.db file—specifically the rdf_triples table—uncovered a "Who-Did-What-To-Whom" graph hidden in the noise.After filtering out junk data (like tourism stats for the Virgin Islands), a targeted search for "Bitcoin," "Blockchain," and "Stablecoin" revealed a distinct web of influence.
The Brock Pierce "Roadshow"
Brock Pierce (Tether co-founder) appears frequently. The logs paint a picture of Epstein hosting Pierce at his Upper East Side mansion to demo Bitcoin for former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
This wasn't a casual dinner. Emails from 2015 show handlers explicitly organizing these meetups. Epstein acted as the fixer, pulling Pierce aside to discuss volatility mechanics before putting him back in front of Summers.
The VC Pitch: Blockchain Capital
The files contain a full 2015 Private Placement Memorandum (PPM) for Blockchain Capital. This isn't public info; it’s a fundraising deck.
The presence of this document implies Epstein was solicited as a Limited Partner (LP). He held detailed data on the firm's early positions in Coinbase, Kraken, and Blockstream. While Blockchain Capital claims he never invested in the fund, DOJ files suggest Epstein used this intel to invest directly in Coinbase and Blockstream on the side.
Core Devs Seeking Cash
The most uncomfortable find involves Jeremy Rubin, a Bitcoin Core contributor known for BIP-119. In 2017, Rubin was in direct contact with Epstein, discussing "regulatory political speculation" and updating him on coding workshops in Japan.
Rubin asked for funding. Epstein didn't just nod; he proposed three specific structures: a direct salary, a seed investment, or a research grant.
The MIT Money Pipeline
This connects to Joi Ito at the MIT Media Lab. The database confirms Ito used Epstein’s "gift funds" specifically to finance the Digital Currency Initiative (DCI).
The flow of capital is clear: Epstein -> Ito -> MIT DCI -> Crypto Research. Money from a sex offender effectively subsidized the academic work underpinning Bitcoin’s infrastructure.
The 10-Year Watchlist
Epstein was early. His tracking of Bitcoin began around 2008, right after the whitepaper, and continued until his arrest in 2019.
Two weeks before he was jailed, he wrote a detailed analysis of Facebook’s Libra. He wasn't a tourist; he was an information broker trading connections for relevance in a nascent asset class.
Disclaimer: This document is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views expressed in this document are not, and should not be taken as, investment advice or recommendations. Recipients should do their own due diligence, taking into account their specific financial circumstances, investment objectives and risk tolerance, which are not considered here, before investing. This document is not an offer, or the solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell any of the assets mentioned.