⚡️ Epstein and Bitcoin Core Developers: What Do the New Decrypted Documents Reveal?
The cryptocurrency community has been abuzz recently due to new documents disclosed by the U.S. Department of Justice. Communications from 2014 to 2018 reveal details of Jeffrey Epstein's attempts to infiltrate the Bitcoin ecosystem at an early stage.
Key Figures and Facts Summary:
🔹 Funding MIT DCI Laboratory: Epstein donated over $500,000 to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2015, after the collapse of the Bitcoin Foundation, this funding was used to pay the salaries of core developers such as Gavin Andresen, Wladimir van der Laan, and Cory Fields through MIT DCI. Note: The developers themselves may not have been aware of the source of the funds, as it was processed anonymously through the university.
🔹 Investment in Blockstream: The documents reveal correspondence between Blockstream co-founder Austin Hill and Epstein. They discussed increasing Epstein's investment in the company’s seed round from $50,000 to $500,000. In one of the emails, Epstein briefly commented on Adam Back, saying, "I like him."
🔹 Connection with Brock Pierce: As the chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation and co-founder of Tether, Brock Pierce acted as Epstein's "crypto mentor," teaching him blockchain mechanisms and providing market advice.
🔹 "Islamic Law Bitcoin": In 2016, Epstein claimed he was communicating with an unnamed "Bitcoin founder" to develop a digital currency compatible with Islamic law (Sharia).
What does this mean for the market?
For the technology itself, Bitcoin is decentralized code, and its value is not influenced by the reputation of investors. However, for top institutions like MIT, this poses a significant credibility challenge; it also reminds us that the intersection between the early geek world and traditional capital giants is more complex than imagined.
💬 Do you think this early funding influenced the subsequent direction of BTC? Feel free to discuss in the comments!👇
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