TL;DR
- Emails reveal Jeffrey Epstein met with New York’s top financial regulator during the drafting of the BitLicense in 2014.
- He acted as an informal industry advisor, offering guidance to figures like Blockstream’s CEO Austin Hill.
- Epstein invested in crypto: $500,000 in Blockstream’s seed round (2014) and $3 million in Coinbase (2014).
Emails linked to Jeffrey Epstein released in newly unsealed U.S. Department of Justice records made several new revelations. The notes show Epstein met with New York’s top financial regulator in 2014. The meeting occurred when the state was drafting the first major regulatory framework for Bitcoin and other digital assets. The draft later became the BitLicense.
The exchanged messages suggest Epstein met with Ben Lawsky, then superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS). However, the rule was finalized in 2015, finally setting licensing requirements for crypto businesses operating in New York.
EPSTEIN MET WITH NYDFS'S BEN LAWSKY DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF BITCOIN AND CRYPTO REGULATION, KNOWN AS THE BITLICENSE
According to emails in the DOJ files, Jeffrey Epstein met with New York Superintendent of Financial Services Ben Lawsky in 2014. At the time, Lawsky was… pic.twitter.com/rh99rgonYv
— Kyle Torpey (@kyletorpey) February 2, 2026
The BitLicense turned out to be the first such attempt by regulators to oversee bitcoin at the state level. The regulation was heavily criticized by the young Bitcoin industry. Many argued the compliance burden was excessive and ill-suited for the sector. The situation led several firms to choose not to operate in New York. They even posted notices that their services were unavailable to those living in Iran, North Korea, and New York.
One of the emails shows Epstein suggested New York should consider implementing a tax policy favorable to Bitcoin. However, records do not indicate whether Lawsky acted on the suggestion. Nor does it show hints that the meeting influenced the final form of the regulation.
Epstein Acted as Informal Industry Advisor
The emails also show Epstein serving as an informal advisor for industry figures affected by the BitLicense. Austin Hill, then chief executive of Blockstream, wrote to Epstein seeking advice on an industry petition related to the rule. Blockstream later became one of the biggest companies that built infrastructure around the Bitcoin network.
Lawsky left NYDFS in 2015, shortly after the BitLicense came into force. Reports indicate he got involved with companies working in the sector he regulated in later years. He was on Ripple’s Board of Directors for several years, and another firm, NYDIG, received a BitLicense nine months after Lawsky joined.
The newly released documents in the case are a much larger amount of material commonly referred to as the Epstein Files. They include emails, court filings, flight logs, contact lists, and more. Epstein was allegedly a financier who held extensive ties to academics, technologists, and policymakers.
The files contain several mentions of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, and related projects. They primarily show Epstein’s personal interest in crypto as an emerging technology and financial opportunity during its early years (roughly 2011–2017), along with some investments and networking.
Epstein invested approximately $500,000 in Blockstream’s 2014 seed round, often routed through former MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito. Emails indicate he made a $3 million investment in Coinbase in December 2014, arranged via Tether co-founder Brock Pierce and Blockchain Capital.
He exchanged emails with figures like Peter Thiel debating Bitcoin’s nature in 2014. In 2011, he called Bitcoin “brilliant” but noted “serious downsides”. By 2017, he reportedly dismissed it as not worth investing in.
