Nic Carter Reiterates Theory That Bitcoin Was Created by NSA
Bitcoin supporter Nic Carter reiterated his support for the theory that the US National Security Agency (NSA) contributed to the creation of Bitcoin (Bitcoin).
On September 15, Iris Energy co-founder Daniel Roberts seemingly revived the decades-old X theory after posting screenshots of a video. document 1996’s “How to Make Mints: Cryptography of Anonymous Electronic Cash.”
The document is among the first known discussions of a Bitcoin-like system. suggests using public key encryption to allow users to make anonymous payments without revealing their identity.
Footnotes state that the research paper was “prepared by NSA employees.” Sources include cryptography expert Tatsuaki Okamoto, who invented the Okamoto-Uchiyama public key encryption system in 1998.
Carter, partner at Castle Island Ventures, reiterated his support for the idea on September 21, saying: “I really believe this”before adding:
“I call this the ‘Bitcoin Lab leak’ hypothesis. I think it’s an archived internal R&D project that a researcher deemed too good to put on the backburner and chose to publish in secret.”
Carter supported this theory for several years. offer this already in 2020: “If Bitcoin was written by NSA cryptographers as a monetary bioweapon and the code fell outside those sensitive boundaries… does that make it a virus… that escaped from the lab?”
In 2021 declaration: “The only right thing the NSA did in the world was to let Bitcoin escape from the lab.”
I actually believe this. I call this the bitcoin lab leak hypothesis. I think this was a closed-down internal R&D project that a researcher thought was too good to shelve and chose to publish in secret. https://t.co/qXJkQTciSK
— nic carter (@nic__carter) September 21, 2023
But he went on to clarify: This doesn’t mean the US government secretly controls all BitcoinAnother theory, often drawing on the Bitcoin/NSA conspiracy theory, suggests that the NSA has built a backdoor into the Bitcoin code.
“In my version of this elaborate idea, the investigator did this without NSA permission and chose to forgo the coins to preserve anonymity.”
“There is tons of other circumstantial evidence to support this.”added.
Meanwhile, some users caught the attention of one of the cryptography academics: Tatsuaki OkamotoMentioned in the 1996 document, it suggests that the name sounds very similar to Satoshi NakamotoThe pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin.
“The name may have been used as inspiration for Satoshi. But it is not a fundamental part of the theory.”Carter argues.
Meanwhile, Matthew Pines, director of intelligence at the cybersecurity firm Krebs StamosHe probably believes so. “Cross contamination of NSA crypto enthusiasts and cypherpunk enthusiasts”adding:
“I suspect Satoshi (or at least his close intellectual associates) has direct working ties to the NSA, but I do not believe Bitcoin itself or the white paper has been officially authorized.”
Former Goldman Sachs executive Raoul Pal has also already shared his hypothesis. In an interview with Impact Theory earlier this year, he said: said:
“I think the American and British governments invented it… so the NSA and GCHQ in the UK, the two world centers of cryptography.”
In August, Cointelegraph expanded on the theory by interviewing former NSA cryptanalyst Jeff Man. Man said it was “possible” that the NSA may have created Bitcoin as a tool to gather intelligence on its enemies. not likely.
But Man concluded that even if they did, we would never know the real story behind the world’s most popular digital asset until it no longer matters.
Translation by Walter Rizzo