Tucker Carlson
Tucker Carlson speaks at a private event at Bitcoin 2024. Tucker and Don Jr. On the Trump Shooting, Cryptocurrency, and CIA | Full Speech and Q&A Tucker Carlson Network YouTube/Screenshot

KEY POINTS

  • Carlson confidently said it was 'obviously the CIA' that created Bitcoin
  • He previously theorized that airspace issue in January 2023 was linked to Bitcoin's price surge
  • Some users on X believe Carlson was merely 'wildly speculating' on the digital asset's origins

Tucker Carlson is known for being a firebrand commentator, and for his controversial exit from Fox News. But in recent days, his name has been ringing across the cryptocurrency space for a bold theory: the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) created Bitcoin.

Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonymous individual or group of people, is the known creator of Bitcoin, the world's largest digital asset by market value. Nakamoto's real identity has yet to be confirmed after a British court ruled in March that claimant Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist, is not Nakamoto.

Carlson is quite confident that the CIA started crypto and created Bitcoin.

A love for Bitcoin

Speaking at a private event at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville last week, the former Fox News host said he believes people around Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency sector are in the industry not just for the money but to "change the world forever."

He went on to say that he likes the energy of the Bitcoin community and the "high-minded" people in it who drive change within the financial world.

Talking about who came up with Bitcoin, Carlson said, "obviously it was the CIA – I think we all know that." He went on to note that it doesn't matter who came up with crypto – Bitcoin being the first decentralized cryptocurrency.

"It doesn't make it any less important, and it doesn't make it any less a history-transforming technology," he said, adding that the industry is now "at pivot point."

A history of wild theories

Early last year, when thousands of flights were grounded due to a massive computer outage, Carlson suggested that the outage was caused by ransomware, and the U.S. government may have purchased a significant amount of Bitcoin to pay a ransom. $BTC prices were up on the day of the outage, and the FAA said it was an internal database file issue, not a cyberattack.

"Almost all ransoms like this are paid in Bitcoin. So if the U.S. government was buying huge amounts of Bitcoin in order to pay a ransom, Bitcoin prices would surge, of course," Carlson said at the time.

Crypto users divided over Carlson's claim

Author John Hawkins said Carlson had no idea what he was talking about and was only "wildly speculating based on nothing." Another user said Bitcoin "doesn't care about rumors or theories."

Prominent disruptive technology advocate Daniel Keller said he is very sure it was not the CIA that created Bitcoin. Former cyber forensic investigator Vinny D'Agostino noted that some people claim $BTC was created by the government "because it implies that it can be controlled or manipulated against users, on a whim." He added that Carlson's "rant" about the digital coin's creator shows the former news anchor "doesn't understand how Bitcoin was actually built or how it works, which is ok but it won't age well."

On the other hand, some users agreed with Carlson's theory, including a user who suggested that others look into the etymology of Satoshi Nakamoto. According to ancestry.com, nakamoto means "central origin," while behindthename.com states that satoshi means "intelligent, clever."

Some users argued that Carlson "has connections you couldn't possibly imagine," indicating that the controversial political commentator may have made the claim based on something he heard from a source.

Others said whoever created Bitcoin and kickstarted the crypto industry doesn't matter, since $BTC is open source anyway.

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