Epstein Files Expose Bitcoin Plan to Hide Gates Foundation Payments from Scrutiny
Newly unsealed documents from the U.S. Department of Justice’s latest release of Jeffrey Epstein files show that in January 2015, Blockstream co-founder Austin Hill, who helped launch the Bitcoin infrastructure company alongside Adam Back, corresponded directly with Epstein about using Bitcoin to address concerns around payments and assets from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In the email thread, Hill wrote to Epstein during a time when he faced intense media scrutiny:
“Hi Jeffrey, I hope you are well. My apologies for interrupting in what I’m sure is a crazy media storm for you & your team. I will be in NY next week and would always appreciate your advice & council on a few things both business, Bitcoin, personal & esoteric mind games that we play. Should you have time for me & think it appropriate for a visit, I would welcome the chance for a drop in.”
Epstein replied that he could meet if in New York or otherwise connect via Skype or phone. Hill responded by rejecting Skype over privacy issues, stating he did not think “the NSA deserves to hear what we say on Skype” and recommending an encrypted, ad-hoc video service instead.
The conversation then shifted to technical concerns with other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Stellar. Hill wrote:
“But I’m concerned because they are exploring Ethereum & Stellar which have provably broken security models if you have the right cryptographers & scientists on your team.”
Epstein replied, laying out a specific goal tied to major philanthropy efforts from the Gates Foundation:
“a goal is to be able to prevent corruption to the gates foundation assets that are giving away, follow a chain.”
Hill responded:
“I’ve seen the end of this chain game. We can accomplish Maussian gift economies & cultures with cryptocurrencies; while wiping out corruption if Bill G & Nathan take a moment in time to learn about what they already bought.”
Reciprocity and Concealment
Maussian gift economies refer to the social and economic theories proposed by Marcel Mauss in his influential essay The Gift, which examines how gift exchange shapes social relationships and economic behavior. In gift economies, the identity of the giver and the recipient plays a crucial role in the transaction, whereas commodity exchanges are typically impersonal and transactional. Mauss contrasts these systems to show how gifts carry obligations, social meaning, and reciprocal expectations that extend far beyond the exchange of objects.
These ideas have since been applied to modern contexts, including crypto‑based economies, where patterns of gifting, reciprocity, and social signaling continue to shape interactions.
Taken together with Hill’s advice on Bitcoin’s strengths, privacy tools, and warnings against other platforms, the exchange indicates Epstein was exploring a cryptocurrency-based system to move Gates Foundation money in a way that would avoid corruption to their assets, and avoid external visibility, making use of Bitcoin's features.
These revelations highlight the world linking Jeffrey Epstein, Austin Hill, Blockstream, and financial activities associated with Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation. Epstein had previously invested in Blockstream, and the 2015 emails demonstrate continued engagement on applying Bitcoin technology to large-scale philanthropic asset payment flows.
Later in 2018, additional Epstein emails revealed that he, Austin Hill, and Blockstream, continued to work together in efforts to conceal payments for various controversial projects including 'designer babies' using Bitcoin.
Just yesterday, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates apologized to staff at his philanthropic foundation over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, telling attendees at a Gates Foundation town hall that mistakes he made had overshadowed the work of the group, while denying that he was complicit in or had knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
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