While speaking at a private event at the Bitcoin 2024 conference on Friday, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson sparked a firestorm within the bitcoin community by alleging that the cryptocurrency was actually developed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). While advocating bitcoin’s transformative potential for financial sovereignty, Carlson suggested that its origins may be less than biological.
Was Bitcoin Created by the CIA?
Carlson mused, “The crypto guys aren’t just out to make money. They’re out to change the world forever. These are not shallow people. These are people who can answer every single question, except who Satoshi was, which they don’t answer. Someone should answer that. They didn’t. I think we know.”
The former Fox News host also hinted that there was a person in the room who knew the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto. However, he does not believe this person. “Anyway, actually, I have a friend who is probably sitting here who told me that he knew, but I don’t believe him.”
Despite this, Tucker sees Bitcoin as the key tool for facilitating financial freedom, even if it was originally developed by the CIA. He concluded, “And I don’t care if it was the CIA. It doesn’t matter. The idea is still a great idea. Obviously it was the CIA. I think we all know that. It’s like Signal. They got there first. It’s a honeytap.”
Tucker says Bitcoin was invented by the CIA
Is it more likely that it was built by a secretive individual with a Japanese name, or by a powerful government? pic.twitter.com/6jn6e3MfVv
— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) July 31, 2024
Reaction to Carlson’s comments was swift and varied. David Icke, a well-known English conspiracy theorist, are linked Extending the accusation to broader political movements, he asked, “If the CIA started bitcoin, Tucker, and now Trump and his Silicon Valley coterie are pushing it, do you think there might be more out there?”
In contrast to Icke’s intrigue, Saifedean Ammous, author of “The Bitcoin Standard,” said, dismissed The concept of hidden layers: “Bitcoin is software that you can read and audit yourself. It is nothing more than software that you read and that has been read by thousands of people for fifteen years.”
Similarly, John Hawkins, author of “101 Things All Young Adults Should Know”, criticized Carlson’s claim as unfounded: “Tucker doesn’t have the slightest idea about any of this. He’s just making wild speculations without any basis.”
Tyler Durden is a longtime activist in the community, denied CIA connection, arguing that the agency’s involvement came later than Ethereum: “It wasn’t the CIA. They came in late with Ethereum because someone had already beaten them to the punch with Bitcoin. So they’ve basically spent the last decade trying to build crypto around Bitcoin and trying to kill it which in turn would take it down as well. Unfortunately it didn’t work. Now they’re doomed.”
The theory that BTC is a government creation has been circulating in the Bitcoin community for years, fueled by the mysterious personality of Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto. Nakamoto’s identity remains a mystery, leading to numerous theories about his true identity and intentions. Nakamoto’s last known public communications date back to December 2010 and early 2011. After this period, Nakamoto handed over control of the BTC repository and network alert keys to prominent members of the community, including Gavin Andresen.
In April 2011, Gavin Andresen, one of Bitcoin’s lead developers, announced that he had been invited to speak at a CIA conference. This event has been cited by some as a possible reason for Nakamoto’s withdrawal from the project. Andresen’s invitation to speak at the CIA conference may have alarmed Nakamoto, possibly leading him to retreat from public involvement to avoid scrutiny from government agencies.
At press time, BTC was trading at $63,856.
Featured image via Poynter, chart via TradingView.com
