A new wave of speculations has hit crypto after the U.S. Department of Justice released over 3 million additional pages of the Epstein files. Most of the public reaction focused on the expected shock surrounding Epstein himself, but one detail caught the crypto world off guard.
Some of the newly released documents mention Bitcoin.
That alone was enough to send social media into overdrive. Viral posts on X and Reddit quickly began spinning theories, ranging from Epstein knowing early Bitcoin developers to the most extreme claim of all: that Epstein was secretly Satoshi Nakamoto.
Coin Bureau’s latest video, hosted by Guy, cuts through the noise and focuses on what the files actually show, and what they don’t.
What you'll learn 👉
What the Epstein Files Really Say About Bitcoin
As Coin Bureau explains, the Epstein files contain decades of investigative material: court records, emails, interview notes, financial trails, and communications gathered by law enforcement.
The key point is that Bitcoin appears in the files not as a central theme, but as part of Epstein’s broader interest in emerging financial systems.
One of the earliest mentions comes from a 2012 email, where Epstein reportedly wrote:
“The Bitcoin guys said they didn’t mind having to go to jail. Sorry, not me.”
The comment is strange in hindsight, but it also shows that Epstein was aware of Bitcoin very early, long before it became a mainstream asset.
Coin Bureau also highlights an even more surreal connection: Epstein contacted early Bitcoin developer Gavin Andresen in June 2011, requesting a phone call just days before Andresen visited CIA headquarters to discuss Bitcoin.
The trail goes cold after that, but the timing alone has fueled years of speculation about intelligence interest in Bitcoin’s earliest days.
Epstein’s Money Indirectly Touched Bitcoin Development
The most significant revelation in the Coin Bureau breakdown involves MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative (DCI), one of the major funding sources for Bitcoin Core developers during a critical period.
In 2015, Epstein helped fund MIT Media Lab director Joichi Ito, and some of those donations were connected to the DCI, which paid salaries for several Bitcoin Core contributors.
That means Epstein’s money indirectly supported Bitcoin development.
However, Coin Bureau stresses an important distinction: funding open-source developers does not equal control over Bitcoin.
There is no evidence Epstein influenced Bitcoin’s roadmap, governance, or technical direction. Bitcoin Core is not a centralized organization, and contributions are public, debated, and distributed.
Still, the optics are uncomfortable.
The Satoshi Rumors Went Viral — But They’re Fake
Once Bitcoin’s name appeared in the files, crypto Twitter did what it always does: it escalated.
One viral rumor claimed Epstein was Satoshi Nakamoto, based on an image of a supposed 2008 email referencing “the Satoshi pseudonym.”
Coin Bureau confirms this email does not exist in the DOJ database, and the formatting errors make it an obvious fabrication.
Epstein was not Satoshi.
But Coin Bureau notes that Epstein did claim in later emails to have spoken with “founders of Bitcoin,” plural, while pitching ideas for Middle Eastern digital currencies.
That claim is impossible to verify, and it proves nothing about Satoshi’s identity. At most, it shows Epstein understood Bitcoin’s infrastructure well enough to talk about replicating it.
Read also: Bitcoin at $60K Could Be the Deal of the Decade
Epstein’s Links to Crypto Companies and Altcoins
Beyond Bitcoin, the files also reveal Epstein’s financial exposure to several early crypto firms.
Coin Bureau highlights a few major examples:
Epstein participated in Blockstream’s 2014 seed round, initially through a fund linked to Joichi Ito. Blockstream later confirmed the connection, but stated the shares were divested quickly due to concerns.
An Epstein-related entity also invested roughly $3 million into Coinbase in 2014, an investment reportedly presented by Brock Pierce. Epstein later sold part of that stake for a massive return.
The files also mention Ripple and Stellar, with internal emails showing Blockstream figures unhappy that Epstein was backing multiple projects at once.
Ethereum, interestingly, is barely mentioned at all.
Has Bitcoin Been Compromised?
Coin Bureau’s conclusion is direct: no.
Bitcoin does not have executive leadership. It does not have a control center. Epstein funding adjacent institutions does not mean Bitcoin itself was ever compromised.
Bitcoin survived Mt. Gox, FTX, internal wars over scaling, regulatory crackdowns, and endless media attacks. A handful of decades-old emails does not rewrite the protocol’s foundations.
The bigger impact is reputational.
Bitcoin already carries baggage in mainstream perception, and being mentioned anywhere near Epstein is not flattering. But Coin Bureau also points out the silver lining:
There is no evidence crypto was used to finance Epstein’s crimes.
Institutions are forward-looking. Once the headlines fade, Bitcoin’s trajectory will still be shaped by adoption, liquidity, and macro conditions and not by speculative social media conspiracies.
For now, the Epstein files add another strange chapter to Bitcoin’s history, but they do not change what Bitcoin is.
Read also: AI Predicts What Happens to Altcoins If Bitcoin Crashes to $50K
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for daily crypto updates, market insights, and expert analysis.
