Bitcoin is a matter of national security — deputy CIA director

The US Central Intelligence Agency is increasingly incorporating BitcoinBTC$97,664BitcoinChange (24h)0.32%Market Cap$1.93TVolume (24h)$26.25BView Moreas a tool in its operations, and working with the cryptocurrency is a matter of national security, Michael Ellis, the agency’s deputy director, told podcast host Anthony Pompliano.

In an appearance on the market analyst and investor’s show, Ellis told Pompliano that the intelligence agency works withlaw enforcement to track BTC, and it is a point of data collection incounter-intelligence operations. Ellis added:

“It’s another area of competition where we need to ensure the United States is well-positioned against China and other adversaries,” Ellis said.

Although Ellis’s comments point to Bitcoin maturing as an asset, they also reflect theincreased involvement of governmentsand institutions in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. This increased involvement runs contrary to the libertarian and cypherpunk ethos originally inherent in crypto.

Related:Geopolitical tensions fuel central bank shift toward gold, crypto — BlackRock exec

Bitcoin: from cypherpunk experiment to state reserve asset

US President Donald Trump signed an executive orderestablishing a Bitcoin Strategic Reserveon March 7, to mixed reactions from the Bitcoin community.

Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Baileycelebratedthe move, while Venice AI founder and BTC advocate Erik Vorheeswarnedagainst the government owning any Bitcoin but added that if the US government is to adopt any crypto reserve, it should be Bitcoin-only.

Concerns thatcryptocurrencies have lost their cypherpunk rootspredate the current market cycle and any strategic reserve legislation or comprehensive regulatory frameworks for digital assets.

In March 2020, Therese Chambers, the former director of retail and regulatory investigations at the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), argued thatcryptocurrencies had become increasingly financializedand institutionalized.

Chambers added that digital assets were behaving far more like traditional financial instruments than the privacy-preserving tools they were initially billed as.

Magazine:Big Questions: Did the NSA create Bitcoin?

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