A remarkable email of great interest to the cryptocurrency world has emerged in the newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents.
The message, dated July 31, 2014, contained statements sent by Austin Hill, a leading figure in the industry, to Epstein and technology investor Joi Ito. The document’s direct references to the Ripple and Stellar projects sparked controversy within the crypto ecosystem.
In the email, Austin Hill stated, “Ripple and Jed’s new Stellar project is bad for the ecosystem we’re building, and we believe investors investing in two horses in the same race are harming our company.” The message indicates that the request to reduce or completely withdraw investment allocation was conveyed by other co-founders. Hill argued that investors supporting both Ripple and Stellar projects could lead to a conflict of interest.
The email’s recipients included Jeffrey Epstein and tech figure Joi Ito, while a copy of the message also appears to include LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.
Austin Hill is among the co-founders of Blockstream, a Bitcoin and blockchain infrastructure company. Blockstream is particularly known for its Bitcoin sidechain solutions and enterprise blockchain infrastructure. The company’s investors have included prominent Silicon Valley figures such as Reid Hoffman.
The phrase “Jed’s new Stellar project” mentioned in the email refers to the Stellar (XLM) network, which Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb launched after leaving Ripple. The rivalry between Ripple and Stellar has long been known, particularly in the areas of cross-border payments and financial infrastructure.
*This is not investment advice.