The Epstein files show he discussed meeting Gary Gensler to talk about digital currencies, offering fresh insight into the financier’s efforts to engage with early crypto leaders and policy figures.
Emails from May 2018 show Epstein telling former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers that “Gary Gensler [is] coming earlier… wants to talk digital currencies.” Summers replied that he knew Gensler from government service and described him as “pretty smart.”
SponsoredThe exchange suggests Epstein expected Gensler to participate in discussions involving cryptocurrency.
Epstein Files Reveal More Crypto Stories
Separately, internal messages show Epstein referencing crypto-related meetings connected to MIT Media Lab leadership.
One message asked whether others “would be interested in Gary Gensler,” indicating Gensler’s involvement in crypto-focused academic or policy circles at the time.
In another message, Epstein wrote that he would be “with Gary Gensler on crypto tomorrow,” although the files do not independently confirm whether a direct meeting took place.
At the time, Gensler was a professor at MIT, where he taught blockchain and digital currencies.
SponsoredHe later became the SEC from 2021 to 2025, where he oversaw the most aggressive regulatory crackdown on crypto in US history.
The Gensler references appear alongside broader evidence of Epstein’s deep involvement in early cryptocurrency development and investment.
DOJ documents show Epstein donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to MIT’s Media Lab. This included funding the Digital Currency Initiative, which supported Bitcoin Core developers after the Bitcoin Foundation collapsed.
Developers funded through the initiative included key maintainers of Bitcoin’s open-source protocol.
In addition, financial records confirm Epstein invested $3 million in crypto exchange Coinbase in 2014.
He also invested in Bitcoin infrastructure firm Blockstream and corresponded with early Bitcoin developers, researchers, and venture capitalists.
Furthermore, emails show Epstein proposing a Sharia-compliant digital currency modeled on Bitcoin in 2016.
However, the files do not show any financial relationship between Epstein and Gensler. Nor do they confirm whether the two men met directly or collaborated on any crypto-related project.
Still, the documents highlight Epstein’s sustained efforts to engage with influential figures in crypto, academia, and financial policy.
