Adam Willems @ The Guardian - Mon 9 Feb 2026 09.00 EST
Newly released documents detail convicted sex offender’s early backing of bitcoin and CoinbaseNewly released documents detail convicted sex offender’s early backing of bitcoin and Coinbase
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Epstein’s financing of bitcoin’s development stemmed from his role as a donor to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Over the course of 20 years, MIT accepted more than $800,000 from Epstein, who also facilitated more than $7m in donations from other wealthy individuals.
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In 2014, Ito brokered Epstein’s investment in Blockstream, which builds bitcoin-focused tech solutions. Epstein made a $500,000 early-stage investment in the company through an investment fund he co-owned with Ito. Email communications reveal Blockstream’s co-founders, Adam Back and Austin Hill, were invited by Epstein to meet in St Thomas, close to Little Saint James, the private island Epstein owned.
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Luke Dashjr, an early contributor to bitcoin’s development as well as to Blockstream, has called for Adam Back to resign from his role as Blockstream’s CEO over ties to Epstein. In an interview with the Guardian, Dashjr said Epstein’s interest in bitcoin – namely, his “attempts to undermine” bitcoin’s network, early-stage companies, and developers – was a sign that “evil men often seek to destroy what is good”.
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“Bitcoin is a decentralized technology that required no funding, and Epstein was evidently a skeptical investor, who got in later than I did, and exited earlier than he should have,” Charlotte Fang, the founder of Remilia.