Epstein had been interested in Bitcoin since 2011 and had discussed the essence of Bitcoin with Peter Thiel.

Per the latest publicly available information, Jeffrey Epstein was already into Bitcoin as early as 2011, according to a February 3rd update. In a June 12, 2011 email, Epstein stated: “Bitcoin is a brilliant idea, but it also has some serious flaws.” In 2013, Epstein discussed Bitcoin with Boris Nikolic—former CTO to Bill Gates—and Steven Sinofsky, a board partner at a16z and ex-president of Microsoft’s Windows Division. Even in 2014, Epstein had in-depth talks with PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel about Bitcoin’s nature. In the email, he wrote: “There’s no consensus on what Bitcoin is—whether it’s a store of value, a currency, or property... just like a man dressed as a woman, or property disguised as currency.” Additionally, in 2016, Epstein noted in emails with Raafat AlSabbagh (advisor to the Saudi Royal Court) and Aziza Al Ahmadi (now an advisor to Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism) that: “I’ve spoken with some Bitcoin creators, and they’re very excited.” Notably, documents released last December revealed Epstein’s $850,000 donation to MIT indirectly supported a digital currency initiative. That initiative hired Bitcoin Core developers like Gavin Andresen and Wladimir van der Laan when the Bitcoin Foundation collapsed in 2015.