Sharia coin? Epstein’s ties to crypto get weirder

Jeffrey Epstein proposed to form a “sharia-compliant digital currency” to be used in the Middle East amongst Muslims, an email released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) shows.

Emails released by the DOJ revealed Epstein was an early investor in cryptocurrency projects, including Bitcoin and Coinbase, worked closely with key developers, and appears to have had an influential position in the technology before it gained mainstream attention.

In a 2016 email, Epstein wrote to Saudi court advisor Raafat Al-Sabbagh about creating “two new currencies,” one of which would be “a digital currency like bitcoin,” which he called “very exciting.”

“[T]he two more radical ideas would be to form two new currencies, one called the sharia,” Epstein wrote. “[It] would be like a dollar, but every dollar has printed on it in god we trust. [T]he Middle East could have its own sharia, for internal use amongst [M]uslims.”

“[In addition] a digital currency like Bitcoin could be used to form a new Sharia-compliant digital [currency]. [V]ery exciting,” he continued.

Epstein also wrote that he spoke with “some of the founders of bitcoin,” saying they are “very excited” as well.

Epstein made significant donations to several cryptocurrency projects, including a $3,000,001 investment in Coinbase, according to a 2015 email released by the DOJ. He also made several investments in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Digital Currency Initiative (DCI). In an email to Epstein, DCI founder Joichi Ito thanked him for “gift funds” which allowed the team to “move quickly.” According to an MIT report, Epstein made ten donations to the program totaling in $850,000.

Ito resigned from his position as director of the MIT Media Lab in 2019 after his relationship with Epstein was revealed.

He also had seemingly deep ties to several early cryptocurrency developers. In another email, Ito invited Epstein to a meeting with several Bitcoin developers, including Jeremy Rubin, a DCI co-founder and prominent Bitcoin developer, as well as Adam Back, founder and CEO of blockchain company Blockstream.

“I think we should have a meeting with Jeremy Rubin, Adam Back (or other core developer of bitcoin), Seth, Martin Nowak, you, and a few others soon about money and the future of finance,” Ito wrote.

Rubin emailed Epstein in 2015 and asked if he would be “interested in financing” his cryptocurrency research.

“I was wondering if you would be interested in financing my continued research in this space,” Rubin wrote, “or if there are any projects you’d want to push forward [that] I might play a roll in. I’d also love to learn more from you about how financial markets really work and build some of my own “exploits” at some point.” Epstein agreed and later proposed that Rubin become an employee of his and that he could “easily pay” his tuition at MIT, where Rubin was a student.

In response to his name appearing in the Epstein files released by the DOJ, Rubin wrote on X that he was “glad the emails are being released” and acknowledged “some professional engagement” with the deceased child sex trafficker regarding his work on Bitcoin.

I’m glad the emails are being released. I think they help shed light on who Epstein was and how he operated.

Yes, I had some professional engagement with him through my bitcoin work (though never exclusively; I’ve mostly worked independently throughout my career and have…

— my (@JeremyRubin) February 2, 2026

Epstein also invited Back and Blockstream co-founder Austin Hill to his private island, Little St. James, after investing in the DCI. He wrote in one email, “I have Andy Back on my island this weekend,” while Hill arranged a visit to the island in another email to Epstein. “Sunday in NY I think is a no-go because of our commitments on the west coast,” Hill wrote, “but Fri/Saturday on the Island are still possible.”

Back wrote in an X post that Epstein’s involvement in Blockstream was enabled by Ito, and wrote that the company “has no direct direct nor indirect financial connection with Jeffrey Epstein, or his estate.” Hill has not made a statement regarding his involvement in the files.

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