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ArticleBody:Like a hurricane that tears down even the sturdiest storm shelters, the Epstein files have cut a path through a vast swath of America's intellectual, political, and financial elite. The latest tranche of emails related to the notorious sex predator have been particularly devastating.
Fans of the left-libertarian academic Noam Chomsky are in shambles after learning the two were in close contact until around 2017, while tech luminaries from Bill Gates to the Google cofounders were similarly caught schmoozing with the disgraced financier. Cypto bros are no exception. After the Department of Justice released three million files over the weekend, blockchain enthusiasts were quick to discover a certain Jeffery Epstein was an active and prominent figure in crypto during its formative years. One file highlighted by crypto investor Patrick Riley shows an email chain between Epstein and Joichi Ito, the former head of MIT's Media Lab whose Digital Currency Initiative played an integral role in helping crypto grow into the giant it is today. As the email exchange makes clear, Epstein's backing was a key pillar in establishing the DGI. 'FYI,' Ito told Epstein, 'used gift funds to underwrite this which allowed us to move quickly and win this round. Thanks.' 'At the time this letter was written, there were around 12,000 commits to Bitcoin's code,' Riley remarked in a post on social media. 'Today there are 47,583 commits to Bitcoin's code. That means that 74.79 percent of the Bitcoin core development and code was committed after Jeffery Epstein took over the defacto senior management role as benefactor.' That news didn't go over well with crypto enthusiasts, to put it lightly. '75 percent of bitcoins code comes directly from investments,' a crypto account called Crypto Bitlord agonized in response. 'We've basically funded an elite global pedophile ring since 2015. I feel sick.' Another crypto account lamented that 'BTC has been funding a global elite pedo group since 2015... great.' The email chain from Ito also suggests that Bitcoin's mysterious developer — the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto — may have in fact been five 'core developers,' each of whom was in talks with Epstein. One of those core devs may have been early Bitcoin contributor Adam Back, who invented the proof-of-work algorithm cited by 'Nakamoto's' original whitepaper on crypto. A separate email chain shows Ito suggesting the convicted sex criminal meet with Back and other tech luminaires to discuss this revolutionary new currency. 'I think we should have a meeting with Jeremy Rubin, Adam Back , Seth , Martin Nowak, you and a few others soon about money and the future of finance,' a 2015 email from Ito reads. As these files seem to suggest, Back had sought a meeting with Epstein to secure funding for his crypto company, Blockstream. Unsealed records show Back along with Blockstream CEO Austin Hill trying to schedule a trip to meet Epstein in St. Thomas — one of the main US Virgin Islands located a little over six miles away from the infamous islet, Little Saint James. 'Sunday in NY I think is a no-go because of our commitments on the west coast, but Fri/Saturday on the Island are still possible,' Hill told Epstein. 'great. ,' the financier replied in typo-filled prose, 'you will need to fly to st thomas. just let me know times. looking foward to it.' More on Epstein: Elon Musk Emailed Extensively With Jeffrey Epstein, Asking to Visit His Notorious Island
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