The speculation in the crypto space surrounding the release of the Epstein Files is reignited with allegations that some of these documents indicate that Jeffrey Epstein had informants on Ripple (XRP). The speculation was due to a July 2014 email from an anonymous sender to Epstein in which the sender indicates that Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb is working on a “secret Bitcoin project.”
Analyzing the Claim in the Epstein Files
Evaluating the evidence in the Epstein files, the main piece on this topic is an obscure, cryptic email. Supporters of this theory of surveillance are claiming that this email is definitive evidence that Ripple was on the watch since its inception. However, this timeline history does not confirm that claim. Other crypto analysts state that by July 2014, McCaleb had left Ripple (which was founded in 2012) to begin his next pursuit, Stellar. Therefore, the “secret Bitcoin project” referred to in the email was likely in reference to Stellar, and not Ripple, as indicated by the timeline of early Stellar development vs. the creation of Ripple.
Having said that, and while reviewing the Epstein Files, at least related to crypto, there are some inconsistencies, from the Ripple mentions to gatherings with initial core Bitcoin developers and even Satoshi Nakamoto, a name that can be found in several documents.
Larger Crypto Divisions Exposed
In addition to the controversies of surveillance, the Epstein Files also revealed the larger divisions that exist within the industry. For example, Austin Hill, one of the founders of Blockstream, wrote to Epstein and others urging them to withdraw funding from any of McCaleb’s projects and explicitly naming Ripple and Stellar as particular threats to the larger ecosystem.
To this point, in response, Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, noted that this was indicative of how certain members of Bitcoin see supporters of XRP as “enemies” of the overall ecosystem, which continues to cause ideological divisions.
These types of debates in the crypto community will keep igniting the industry with some truthful and fake Epstein Files. The great number of documents that were released is unreadable due to obfuscation.
