Classified emails from the Department of Justice’s document release revealed Jeffrey Epstein claimed direct contact with Bitcoin’s creators as early as 2016.
Summary
- DOJ emails show Epstein claimed talks with Bitcoin founders on a Sharia-compliant crypto idea.
- The claim remains unverified as Bitcoin’s creator has never been publicly identified.
- Files show Epstein’s deep ties to early crypto discussions across tech and finance.
A October 13, 2016 email from Epstein to recipients Raafat Alsabbagh and Aziza Alahmadi discussed using Bitcoin technology to build a Sharia-compliant digital currency for the Middle East.
The email, sent from Epstein’s address, stated he had spoken to “some of the founders of bitcoin” who were “very excited” about the project.
The claim remains unverified, as Bitcoin’s (BTC) pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto has never been publicly identified.
Earlier DOJ documents show Epstein received Bitcoin-related materials dating back to April 2013, when Boris Nikolic forwarded him analysis from Tren Griffin discussing Bitcoin’s properties as a payment mechanism.
Epstein’s crypto network stretched across tech and finance
The DOJ files show Epstein maintained connections to prominent figures in technology and finance who were active in early cryptocurrency discussions.
A July 31, 2014 email from Austin Hill to Epstein, carbon copied to Reid Hoffman and Joichi Ito, discussed concerns about Stellar’s launch and its relationship to Ripple.
Hill’s email carried the subject line “Stellar isn’t so Stellar” and raised concerns that investors backing both Ripple and Stellar created conflicts within the ecosystem.
The correspondence was carbon copied to Hoffman, a LinkedIn co-founder and prominent tech investor, and Ito, who served as director of MIT Media Lab at the time.
The April 2013 forwarded email from Boris Nikolic contained analysis from Tren Griffin, who wrote extensively about Bitcoin’s use as a payment mechanism and its relationship to network effects.
Griffin’s analysis noted that Bitcoin’s value depends on the number of users and that the asset had no intrinsic value beyond what participants assigned to it.
Sharia currency proposal remains unverified
Epstein’s 2016 proposal described creating two new currencies, one Sharia-compliant, designed for internal use among Muslims in the Middle East.
The email suggested the digital currency would function like a dollar but incorporate religious compliance requirements.
The documents are part of a broader DOJ release containing approximately three million files related to Epstein’s associates and business dealings.
Researchers continue examining the collection for additional references to cryptocurrency involvement.
