Shouldn’t more Epstein files have sent risk assets higher?

The DOJ just dropped a massive batch of Epstein files on January 30, over three million pages plus thousands of videos and images, wrapping up releases under the Transparency Act. Names like Trump, Musk, Lutnick, Gates, and Clinton pop up in emails and records, stirring fresh controversy and claims of incomplete disclosures or coverups. Layer on the recent FBI raid in Fulton County, Atlanta, seizing 2020 election materials amid ongoing fraud narratives, and you have serious institutional distrust and political turbulence right now.

In theory, waves of elite scandal revelations and federal overreach should drive capital toward decentralized or anti-establishment assets. Gold has long acted as the reliable safe haven in such chaos, and it rallied hard earlier this month toward record territory before a sharp pullback. Crypto, especially Bitcoin and Ethereum, often gets framed as digital alternatives immune to centralized control, so heightened skepticism toward institutions could logically spark inflows and push prices up.

Yet the reaction has been the opposite in the short term. Bitcoin dipped below $81,000 right after the files hit, erasing much of its recent momentum and now sitting around $82,000 to $83,000 with fear sentiment spiking. Ethereum has followed suit, trading in the $2,500 to $2,700 range and showing no real decoupling or surge on any decentralization premium. Risk assets broadly feel correlated to macro worries, Fed uncertainty, and potential policy delays rather than benefiting from the turmoil as a hedge.

So for ethtrader, does this make sense? Shouldn’t repeated Epstein drops, especially with any crypto tangential mentions or elite network vibes, logically funnel more money into non-sovereign plays like ETH as a protest or alternative? Or does this prove crypto remains too tied to risk-on sentiment, Nasdaq moves, and broader selloff fears to capitalize on this kind of chaos right now, while gold quietly absorbs the safe-haven flows? Long term the ETH thesis around utility, staking, and scaling holds firm no matter the headlines, but short term this feels like a potential buy the dip setup or just more evidence of ongoing pain until things stabilize.

What do you think, contrarian opportunity here or continued downside pressure? Let’s discuss.

DYOR, NFA, etc.