The cryptocurrency world faces serious controversy today. Unsealed documents indicate a 2014 email that links Jeffrey Epstein to early blockchain investments. This disclosure created instant controversy on the social media. Theories of supposed hidden links were rampant on Crypto Twitter.
The Real Statement of the 2014 Epstein Email.
Austin Hill email was sent right. He sent email to MIT Joichi Ito and Jeffrey Epstein. Hill was complaining that Ripple and Stellar have a competitive advantage. According to his message, the 2 projects were harmful to the ecosystem.
The email also noted the support of investors of rival cryptocurrencies at the same time. Hill demanded less finances to be given to such projects. He was a representative of a Bitcoin infrastructure company at the time, Blockstream. There is no proof of Epstein personally financing Ripple.
David Schwartz Disavows a Ripple-Epstein Relationship.
The Chief Technology Officer of Ripple responded to the claims. David Schwartz wrote that there is no known relationship with it at all. He ensured that no one at Ripple met Epstein in person. The company is fully disconnected with the network of Epstein.
Schwartz described the initial dynamics of the cryptocurrency industry as being different. There were no regulatory frameworks that were in place at the time. At first, the nonprofit model appeared to him to be questionable. Nonetheless, the industry standards changed dramatically since 2014.
MIT and Bitcoin Development Funding Issues.
There are also conspiracy theories that Epstein was secretly funding Bitcoin development. There are also allegations that money went through the research programs at MIT. Gary Gensler is also said to have been directed by the network of Epstein. These theories are yet to be proven and are very speculative.
Epstein was loosely connected with early crypto investors. His network encompassed rich tech finance individuals in general. Indirect connections do not however establish direct financing at all. The overlapping of the professional networks in most of the rich is natural.
Timeline of Events in July 2014
Etherem presale started on July 22, 2014. It is specifically Ethereum that Hashkey Group invested in soon after. On July 31, 2014 Jed McCaleb initiated Stellar. This was the period when Epstein email came by.
Austin Hill at the time complained about Ripple and Stellar. There were several competing blockchain initiatives that were competing to attract investors at the same time. The crypto world was very minuscule at the time. All the key participants were well acquainted.
XRP Community Response and Extended Effects.
Advocates of XRP assert that it was years of deliberate price manipulation. There is an opinion that regulatory capture was aimed at Ripple in particular unjustly. It is just coincidences according to others. The discussions on social media are only getting heavier every day.
There are also other unsealed records that state that there were Bitcoin gatherings at the house of Epstein. Brock Pierce also attended there talking about cryptocurrency with Larry Summers. These are discussions following the conviction of Epstein in 2008. Without additional evidence we cannot see the whole picture.
However, there is no factual evidence that ties Ripple to Epstein. Ripple was financed by early venture capital companies, such as Andreessen Horowitz. There was also legitimacy of Google Ventures and Founders Fund investment. These controversies are independent of the technology. Experts in the industry advise that speculation should not be made at this time but rather look at facts.
Crypto news writer since 2022, covering blockchain, digital assets, and market regulation.
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