I guess the only evidence I have is that Epstein was a representative of the Rothschild family which was a key player in hijacking the US banking system as part of their long game.
He seems to have used Rothschild money to fund MIT media lab (amongst many other initiatives) which in turn took in core devs when the bitcoin Foundation disintegrated. MIT media lab acts as a Y-Combinator style incubator that floods capital (a controlling stake) into fledging companies. The emails could just be FUD for all I know. None of us knows.
But we know that the central bankers first tried to ridicule bitcoin as worthless, then they said it was only good for black market (the way silk road is portrayed to this day), and then declared it a store of value and not cash. I agree that is seems to be more of a store of value. Giving a friend a small cash payment should not cost the equivalent of $50.
I don't know that Epstein influenced core devs at all. But I know that bitcoin isn't cash anymore than a 1oz gold coin is cash. There are layer 2 services that allow gold to function like a debit card, but its difficuly to use gold aa cash. It doesn't mean it has no value it is just a pain in the ass to "settle" payments. Bitcoin seems like the best hope for escaping fiat, but it really doesn't seem like cash to me. Lightning is a great work around but cash doesn't require a 3rd party.
I can hand a friend $.75 directly. If bitcoin were cash it would function the same. That's my only argument.
Love your podcast. Peace!