Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein invested in Bitcoin infrastructure firm Blockstream during its 2014 seed round and invited co-founder Adam Back to his private Caribbean island, according to newly released U.S. Department of Justice files.
Adam Back confirmed the investment was made through a fund run by then-MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito and said Blockstream severed all financial ties within months due to conflict-of-interest concerns.
“In 2014, during Blockstream’s seed-round investor roadshow, the company was introduced to then-MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito,”
Back wrote, adding that:
“The fund later divested and that Blockstream has no direct nor indirect financial connection with Jeffrey Epstein, or his estate.”
Emails released by the Justice Department show Epstein invited Back and co-founder Austin Hill to visit his island, Little Saint James, and separately told early Bitcoin developer Amir Taaki that he had recently hosted “Andy Back” there.
Little Saint James, located in the U.S. Virgin Islands, later became a central site in court filings and victim testimony describing how Epstein trafficked and abused underage girls in a highly controlled environment.