Bitcoin is a matter of national security — Deputy CIA director

The US Central Intelligence Agency is progressively incorporating Bitcoin (BTC) arsenic a instrumentality successful its operations, and moving with the cryptocurrency is simply a substance of nationalist security, Michael Ellis, the agency’s lawman director, told podcast big Anthony Pompliano.

In an quality connected the marketplace expert and investor’s show, Ellis told Pompliano that the quality bureau works with law enforcement to way BTC, and it is simply a constituent of information postulation successful counter-intelligence operations. Ellis added:

"Bitcoin is present to enactment — cryptocurrency is present to stay. As you know, much and much institutions are adopting it, and I deliberation that is simply a large trend. One that this medication has evidently been leaning guardant into."

"It's different country of contention wherever we request to guarantee the United States is well-positioned against China and different adversaries," Ellis said.

Podcast big and capitalist Anthony Pompliano (left) and Deputy CIA manager Michael Ellis (right). Source: Anthony Pompliano

Although Ellis's comments constituent to Bitcoin maturing arsenic an asset, they besides bespeak the increased engagement of governments and institutions successful Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. This accrued engagement runs contrary to the libertarian and cypherpunk ethos primitively inherent successful crypto.

Related: Geopolitical tensions substance cardinal slope displacement toward gold, crypto — BlackRock exec

Bitcoin: from cypherpunk experimentation to authorities reserve asset

US President Donald Trump signed an enforcement bid establishing a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve connected March 7, to mixed reactions from the Bitcoin community.

Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey celebrated the move, portion Venice AI laminitis and BTC advocator Erik Vorhees warned against the authorities owning immoderate Bitcoin but added that if the US authorities is to follow immoderate crypto reserve, it should beryllium Bitcoin-only.

Concerns that cryptocurrencies person mislaid their cypherpunk roots predate the existent marketplace rhythm and immoderate strategical reserve authorities oregon broad regulatory frameworks for integer assets.

In March 2020, Therese Chambers, the erstwhile manager of retail and regulatory investigations astatine the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), argued that cryptocurrencies had go progressively financialized and institutionalized.

Chambers added that integer assets were behaving acold much similar accepted fiscal instruments than the privacy-preserving tools they were initially billed as.

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