---
title: "Epstein's emails reveal his close relationship with early Bitcoin developers and investors."
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/270368501.md"
description: "Epstein's emails reveal his close ties with early Bitcoin developers and investors. He donated $850,000 to MIT, supporting the Digital Currency Initiative, which paid Bitcoin Core developers. Epstein met with Tether co-founder Brock Pierce and ex-US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers to discuss Bitcoin. He consulted Steve Bannon on cryptocurrency taxation. Epstein's visits to MIT were concealed, and while there's no evidence of his influence on Bitcoin's development, his connections were closer than previously thought."
datetime: "2025-12-20T02:20:00.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/270368501.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/270368501.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/270368501.md)
---

# Epstein's emails reveal his close relationship with early Bitcoin developers and investors.

StarPlatinum, in an article published on the X platform, stated that Epstein's emails reveal multiple connections to the early Bitcoin ecosystem. Regarding financial support, Epstein donated $850,000 to MIT between 2002 and 2017, part of which supported the MIT Digital Currency Initiative (DCI). During the Bitcoin Foundation's financial crisis, the DCI paid salaries to Bitcoin Core developers such as Gavin Andresen and Wladimir van der Laan. Epstein visited MIT nine times and met privately with staff, his identity kept secret internally. In terms of industry connections, email records show that Epstein met with Tether co-founder Brock Pierce and former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers at his Manhattan mansion to discuss Bitcoin. Furthermore, in 2018, Epstein consulted Steve Bannon via email about cryptocurrency taxation, token payment and distribution rules; Bannon subsequently introduced him to FEC experts and crypto industry veterans. Amazon transaction records show that Epstein purchased books related to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and blockchain in 2017. Currently disclosed emails indicate that MIT concealed these donations, and Epstein's visits were not recorded. While there is currently no evidence to suggest Epstein had any influence on the development of Bitcoin, the information suggests that his connections with developers, regulators, politicians, and early investors were closer than previously thought.

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