Over the 15 years since Bitcoin was created, there has been no shortage of crazy conspiracy theories about how it was made and where it came from.
Some believe Bitcoin was the work of “a bunch of engineers” in the Chinese Communist Party — presumably for world domination; others claim Bitcoin is the work of benevolent aliens to help humans evolve.
But one theory with circumstantial evidence supporting it has persisted over the years — and it involves one of America’s most secretive intelligence-gathering agencies.
There’s a small sect of Bitcoiners that believes Satoshi Nakamoto — the creator of Bitcoin — is, in fact, the United States National Security Agency in disguise.
Many more, of course, think the idea is ridiculous and point out there’s no absolutely no solid evidence to support it.
But where does the theory stem from? Well, one only needs to look into Bitcoin’s source code.
It’s in the code
What makes Bitcoin so secure lies in its use of Secure Hash Algorithm 256, or SHA-256 (read as sha), which is used for everything from deriving transaction IDs and block hashes to addresses and Merkle trees.
Put simply, it’s a mathematical formula that garbles data into a string of seemingly random text, and it’s why Bitcoin is basically impossible to crack.
Well, it just so happens that this algorithm is the direct work of Glenn M. Lilly, a mathematician who, under the direction of the NSA, designed and eventually published the algorithm in 2001. Lilly later became the NSA’s chief of mathematics research.
The NSA was also one of the first organizations to describe a Bitcoin-like system in a 1996 paper titled How To Make A Mint: The Cryptography Of Anonymous Electronic Cash.
In the paper, the authors proposed a system that uses public-key cryptography to allow users to make anonymous payments without revealing their identity.
The NSA’s 1996 plan to create anonymous electronic cash. (archive.org)
Satoshi Nakamoto is code for the CIA?
Of course, some Bitcoiners don’t think the NSA invented Bitcoin…. they reckon it was the Central Intelligence Agency.
The name of Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, can be interpreted as a reference to the U.S. spy agency. Nakamoto, loosely translated from Japanese, means “central,” while the name Satoshi means “intelligent.”
“Satoshi Nakamoto” means “central intelligence” in Japanese. Really. Look it up. (Ancestry.com)
Speaking of Satoshi, their identity has never been uncovered, prompting some to believe they are likely to have had some form of intelligence training.
In an interview with Impact Theory’s Tom Bilyeu in June, former Goldman Sachs executive and Real Vision CEO Raoul Pal revealed he’s believed for years that Bitcoin could be the result of the NSA and the United Kingdom’s government experimenting with potential ways to get out of future potential financial disasters.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence it came out in the financial crisis. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the halving cycle and all of this is all related.”
Finally they’re saying it…but it’s not Bitcoin and never was.(Remember guys like him are the same ones that have been shouting Bitcoin and Ethereum for years. Why is he just now admitting he’s known this all along?) pic.twitter.com/4nFlUN45N6
— Digital Asset Investor.XRP (@digitalassetbuy) June 9, 2023
So, did the NSA create Bitcoin?
Jeff Man, a former NSA cryptanalyst, tells Magazine that it’s “feasible” that the NSA could have created Bitcoin as a means to gather intelligence about its enemies, but is doubtful.
Man joined the NSA in 1986 at the tail end of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. At the time, the NSA was hiring around 100 people a week to fill roles in critical skills, including engineering, mathematics and computer science, he says.
One of the NSA’s main missions is to gather signals (or communications) intelligence necessary for the country’s defense. This became an even higher priority following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on the World Trade Center.
Plumes of smoke billow from the World Trade Center towers. (Michael Foran, CC BY 2.0, Wikicommons)
Asked about whether Bitcoin could have been created to gather intelligence about foreign agents and powers, Man said the agency certainly had the resources to do so.
“It’s certainly a possibility. It’s certainly feasible,” says Man.
“It’s not outside of the realm of possibility that there would be a concerted effort to set up something like this.”
However, Man has strong doubts about it, based on his experience at the agency. He notes that one of the outcomes of the Watergate scandal in 1972 put a congressional spotlight on America’s three-letter agencies, which were found spying on American citizens without proper warrants.
#Spystuff! The NSA’s headquarters, known as the “Crypto City,” spans an impressive 2.6 million square feet! It houses cutting-edge technology, top-notch analysts, and a vast intelligence library. Talk about a fortress of knowledge and innovation. pic.twitter.com/Sg2isODJXy
Man believes, at least based on his years at the NSA, that the agency had since been very cautious not to breach its charter and that devising Bitcoin could be seen as spying on its own citizens.
“Historically, in my experience, NSA takes very seriously its charter to only do what NSA does to foreigners, and not U.S. citizens.”
“Because it would be hard to prove or disprove perhaps who the targets were, or who were the potential targets. It would be hard to say definitively: ‘We did not do any of this capability — we did not set it up and target any U.S. citizens.’ That makes me doubt that it happened.”
Man, however, noted that he left the agency back in 1996 and conceded that the 2001 terror attacks and the subsequent Patriot Act may have changed this.
The Edward Snowden leaks in 2013 alleged the NSA had been gathering data on domestic internet communications without the proper warrants, an idea the U.S. government has denied.
No, the whole idea is silly
Of course, most Bitcoiners completely dismiss the idea the NSA invented Bitcoin.
While SHA-256 is used in Bitcoin, it also just happens to be one of the most widely used hash algorithms, making its presence in anything from digital signatures to password authentication.
The fact it was made public in 2001 means that everyone had access to it long before Bitcoin was invented. And no one has ever identified a secret backdoor into the SHA-256 algorithm or suggested a credible way it could be cracked.
They also patented SHA256 under a royalty-free license.
Silicon Angle’s Mellisa Tolentino addressed the notion that ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ could be a veiled reference to “Central Intelligence”, writing that the argument is “not very compelling.” Satoshi Nakamoto is a fairly common Japanese name, and spy agencies don’t tend to leave easter eggs calling attention to the fact they’re involved.
“Would the NSA really have given the creator of its ‘secret project’ such an obvious name? If the NSA really is behind Bitcoin, naming it “Central Intelligence” would not be a very intelligent move.”
Others have argued that Bitcoin’s first proof-of-concept software was more of a “clever patchwork” of old cryptography algorithms, which wouldn’t be something an organized intelligence behemoth would come up with.
And the idea that Nakamoto must have intelligence-training credentials, given that he has remained anonymous all these years also falls apart the closer you look at it.
“It ignores the fact that thousands (if not millions) of people manage to remain anonymous online everyday,” Ian DeMartino wrote in a Cointelegraph editorial.
“I have had internet friends that I talked to for years, on message boards and elsewhere, without ever meeting or talking on the phone. I suspect many reading this have had similar experiences. I don’t suspect all of them are CIA agents.”
Will we ever find out if the NSA invented Bitcoin?
It seems unlikely we’ll ever know for certain whether the NSA was involved in Bitcoin, at least not in our lifetime, says Man.
“You will never get the answer to that definitively until it doesn’t matter anymore.”
“If it’s this honeypot type of scenario, where it’s a resource for information […] and it’s still providing results and information, you’re never going to get the definitive answer,” he adds.
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Felix Ng
Felix Ng first began writing about the blockchain industry through the lens of a gambling industry journalist and editor in 2015. He has since moved into covering the blockchain space full-time. He is most interested in innovative blockchain technology aimed at solving real-world challenges.
In common with many parents across the country, here’s a conversation that I have with my young daughter on a semi-regular basis (bear with me, this will take on some political relevance eventually).
Me: “So it’s 15 minutes until your bedtime, you can either have a little bit of TV or do a jigsaw, not both.”
Daughter: “Ummmm, I want to watch TV.”
Me: “That’s fine, but it’s bed after that, you can’t do a jigsaw as well.”
Fast-forward 15 minutes.
Me: “Right, TV off now please, bedtime.”
(Pause)
Daughter: “I want to do a jigsaw.”
Now replace me with the government, the TV and jigsaw options with axing welfare cuts and scrapping the two-child cap, and my daughter with rebellious backbenchers.
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6:36
Rachel Reeves’s fiscal dilemma
That is the tension currently present between Downing Street and Labour MPs. And my initial ultimatum is the messaging being pumped out from the government this weekend.
In essence: you’ve had your welfare U-turn, so there’s no money left for the two-child cap to go as well.
As an aside – and before my inbox fills with angry emails lambasting me for using such a crude metaphor for policies that fundamentally alter the lives of some of the most vulnerable in society – yes, I hear you, and that’s part of my point.
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9:11
Welfare U-turn ‘has come at cost’
For many in Labour, this approach feels like the lives of their constituents are being used in a childish game of horse-trading.
So what can be done?
Well, the government could change the rules.
Altering the fiscal rules is – and will likely remain – an extremely unlikely solution. But as it happens, one of Labour’s proverbial grandparents has just popped round with a different suggestion.
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5:31
Welfare: ‘Didn’t get process right’ – PM
A wealth tax, Lord Neil Kinnock says, is the necessary outcome of the economic restrictions the party has placed on itself.
Ever the Labour storyteller, Lord Kinnock believes this would allow the government to craft a more compelling narrative about whose side this administration is on.
That could be valuable, given one of the big gripes from many backbench critics is that they still don’t really understand what this prime minister stands for – and by extension, what all these “difficult decisions” are in aid of.
The downside is whether it will actually raise much money.
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16:02
Is Corbyn an existential risk to Labour?
The super-rich may have lots of assets to take a slice from, but they also have expensive lawyers ready to find novel ways to keep their client’s cash away from the prying eyes of the state.
Or, of course, they could just leave – as many are doing already.
In the short term, the future is a bit easier to predict.
If Downing Street is indeed now saying there is no money to scrap the two-child cap (after heavy briefing in the opposite direction just weeks ago), an almighty tantrum from the backbenches is inevitable.
And as every parent knows, the more you give in, the harder it becomes to hold the line.
The UK has re-established diplomatic ties with Syria, David Lammy has said, as he made the first visit to the country by a British minister for 14 years.
The foreign secretary visited Damascus and met with interim president Ahmed al Sharaa, also the leader of the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), and foreign minister Asaad al Shaibani.
In a statement, Mr Lammy said a “stable Syria is in the UK’s interests” and added: “I’ve seen first-hand the remarkable progress Syrians have made in rebuilding their lives and their country.
“After over a decade of conflict, there is renewed hope for the Syrian people.
“The UK is re-establishing diplomatic relations because it is in our interests to support the new government to deliver their commitment to build a stable, more secure and prosperous future for all Syrians.”
Image: Foreign Secretary David Lammy with Syria’s interim president Ahmed al Sharaa in Damascus. Pic: X / @DavidLammy
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has also announced a £94.5m support package for urgent humanitarian aid and to support the country’s long-term recovery, after a number of British sanctions against the country were lifted in April.
While HTS is still classified as a proscribed terror group, Sir Keir Starmer said last year that it could be removed from the list.
The Syrian president’s office also said on Saturday that the president and Mr Lammy discussed co-operation, as well as the latest developments in the Middle East.
Since Assad fled Syria in December, a transitional government headed by Mr al Sharaa was announced in March and a number of western countries have restored ties.
In May, US President Donald Trump said the United States would lift long-standing sanctions on Syria and normalise relations during a speech at the US-Saudi investment conference.
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1:12
From May: Trump says US will end sanctions for Syria
He said he wanted to give the country “a chance at peace” and added: “There is a new government that will hopefully succeed.
“I say good luck, Syria. Show us something special.”
Secret Service quietly amasses one of the world’s largest crypto cold wallets with $400 million seized, exposing scams through blockchain sleuthing and VPN missteps.