Mt. Gox collapsed!
In April 2015, as the Bitcoin community was worrying about the future, the MIT Media Lab announced the launch of the 'Digital Currency Initiative'. They quickly acted, bringing in the three core figures Gavin Andresen, Cory Fields, and Vladimir van der Laan.
This interdisciplinary lab, established in 1985, is known for its forward-looking research and close collaboration with business and wealthy individuals, and became the 'white knight' for Bitcoin developers.
But the money of this white-clad knight is not clean.
The director of the MIT Media Lab at the time was Joi Ito, a renowned Japanese-American investor who had made waves in Silicon Valley and had early investments in Twitter and Flickr.
Deciding to use Epstein's money to fund this 'digital currency initiative.'
Between 2013 and 2017, Epstein directly donated $525,000 to the MIT Media Lab. But this was just the tip of the iceberg. According to Epstein himself, he helped MIT raise at least $7.5 million from other wealthy individuals, including $2 million from Bill Gates. This funding was cleverly labeled as anonymous, completely hiding Epstein's influence.
This money was originally not supposed to come in. Because of the sexual assault case in 2008, Epstein was already blacklisted by MIT. But Joi Ito exploited a 'gift fund' to open a back door, bypassing the school's layers of scrutiny to launder dirty money. He even specifically emailed colleagues ordering that this money must remain anonymous.
In 2014, Epstein also invested $500,000 in the Bitcoin infrastructure company Blockstream. This company was co-founded by Adam Back, Gregory Maxwell, and several other core Bitcoin developers.
Technology can be decentralized, but funding will always have a source. To survive, the decentralized utopia must accept centralized support, but after all, one is short-handed.
Epstein's logic is simple: first, let Bitcoin survive, then let it develop in the direction he wants.
The discovery of the Epstein case centers around an investigative journalist's in-depth tracking. Through relentless effort, she ultimately tore through the protective net of the powerful, bringing this dark case of sexual assault against minors back into the light.
1️⃣, The persistence of a journalist. In 2017, investigative reporter Julie K. Brown from the (Miami Herald) repeatedly saw Jeffrey Epstein's name while searching for the keyword 'human trafficking.' She discovered that although Epstein was arrested in 2008 for sexually assaulting underage girls, he only served 13 months in prison and could work outside for 12 hours a day, suggesting there might be a huge cover-up behind the case.
2️⃣, Persuading victims to speak up. Julie spent nearly two years compiling a list of victims from court records and police reports, finding their contact information through social media. With great patience and empathy, she ultimately persuaded 8 victims to break their silence, sharing their painful experiences of being lured, sexually assaulted, and even coerced into recruiting other girls.
3️⃣, A series of reports triggered a chain reaction. In November 2018, Julie's series of investigative reports (Perversion of Justice) was officially released. The reports not only exposed Epstein's crimes but also focused on how the judicial system used secret agreements to exempt his crimes, protecting the powerful network behind him. This report quickly triggered a public outcry across the United States.
4️⃣, Judicial and legislative intervention under public pressure forced the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in the investigation, leading to the re-arrest of Epstein in 2019. Despite Epstein's bizarre death in prison, the case did not end. In 2024, a federal judge in New York ordered the unsealing of the first batch of court documents; in 2025, Congress passed the (Epstein Files Transparency Act), mandating the DOJ to release all related documents, ultimately revealing over 3 million pages of files that implicated numerous political and business elites.
The discovery of the Epstein case is a victory for the power of media oversight. Julie Brown's persistence exposed a dark empire covered by the powerful for many years to the sunlight. Though justice is delayed, the truth will ultimately not be buried.#特朗普称坚定支持加密货币 #美国政府部分停摆结束 $BTC
