Bitcoin suspected to be NSA or CIA Project

[Hyena]

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/bitcoin-suspected-be-nsa-cia-project-1460439

The interesting part was that topics referring to NSA/CIA connections were deleted from bitcointalks. Will this topic be deleted?

I know this NSA-created-bitcoin conversation is very old but the cited article introduces some pretty nasty claims:

The group added that the common program used by most cryptocurrencies to create secure keys is suspected to be back-doored by the NSA.

It noted that a recent WikiLeaks document exposed the NSA's connection with the program used by most cryptocurrencies.

The fact that bitcoin did not use the most popular program to create secure keys shows that the NSA already had full information about bitcoin, according to the group.

"While bitcoin believers portray bitcoin as a new centralised currency, the command structure of bitcoin core development is 100% centralised," CIA Project says.

Smells like FUD, don't you think?

But even if some aspects of this are true then Bitcoin indeed gains a fishy smell.

[Ibian]

Yes it is. Suspected that is. Since the beginning and it always will be. Glad we had this discussion.

[Ibian]

Not at all. Just putting it up there so people who think this is a new and innovative idea can be informed. I'm anti-trolling.

[Luckylui]

They aren't smart enough

[ForgottenPassword]

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/bitcoin-suspected-be-nsa-cia-project-1460439

The interesting part was that topics referring to NSA/CIA connections were deleted from bitcointalks. Will this topic be deleted?

I know this NSA-created-bitcoin conversation is very old but the cited article introduces some pretty nasty claims:

The group added that the common program used by most cryptocurrencies to create secure keys is suspected to be back-doored by the NSA.

It noted that a recent WikiLeaks document exposed the NSA's connection with the program used by most cryptocurrencies.

The fact that bitcoin did not use the most popular program to create secure keys shows that the NSA already had full information about bitcoin, according to the group.

"While bitcoin believers portray bitcoin as a new centralised currency, the command structure of bitcoin core development is 100% centralised," CIA Project says.

Smells like FUD, don't you think?

But even if some aspects of this are true then Bitcoin indeed gains a fishy smell.

This is Sol Adoni:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=727145.0

It's an elaborate troll/FUD campaign by an annoying guy with a ton of sockpuppet accounts and websites.

He's been banned from other forums unrelated to bitcoin for doing similar things with tons of fake accounts.

Also from the whois of ciaproject.org:

Domain Name:CIAPROJECT.ORG
Domain ID: D173493214-LROR
Creation Date: 2014-08-01

[Chalkbot]

This is bullish. Haha.


Seriously though, in all the bull runs in the past, the only FUD left to spread was this. If we've run out of other things to talk about again....

[Xch4ng3]

A white paper on bitcoin was released in 2008, and it was reportedly written by Nakamoto, which roughly means "Central Intelligence" in Japanese.

Uh, according to my Google-fu... Nakamoto Name MeaningJapanese: ‘central origin’ or ‘(one who lives) in the middle’; found mostly in the Ryukyu islands.

The team added that Bitcoin Forum, a bitcoin community where Nakamoto used to communicate, usually removes posts connecting bitcoin with CIA.

It's a forum...not a democracy. The owner can remove posts as he likes, it's his forum to run the way he wants to.

Raising suspicions about his identity, Nakamoto has never left even a single personal identification clue in his numerous posts on Bitcoin Forum over the years. CIA Project alleges that this shows 'intelligence training'.

Yeah only people who have had intelligence training would want to remain anonymous. /s

In addition, Gavin Bell (aka Gavin Andresen), who is the public face of bitcoin, claims that he has been communicating with Nakamoto for many years. However, Gavin has neither met Nakamoto nor spoken with him on the phone even once.

What's their point? I do plenty of business with people I've never met or spoken to on the phone either.

The group added that the common program used by most cryptocurrencies to create secure keys is suspected to be back-doored by the NSA.

So what exactly are they going to do? Hasn't it already been proven that the algorithm used to create private keys would take billions of years to crack and if they did have a backdoor....

The fact that bitcoin did not use the most popular program to create secure keys shows that the NSA already had full information about bitcoin, according to the group.

the above contradicts what they just said. Do they mean the NSA had backdoors in the less popular programs. Unclear about this.

It noted that a recent WikiLeaks document exposed the NSA's connection with the program used by most cryptocurrencies.

Which document was this, I want to read it - anyone got a link?

"While bitcoin believers portray bitcoin as a new decentralised currency, the command structure of bitcoin core development is 100% centralised," CIA Project says.

Maybe in terms of The Bitcoin Foundation but AFAIK the project is still open source, anyone can review it.

 

[Oldminer]

Of course its origins are in government. This became obvious to me back in 2011.

Oh, and I had to quote this from that article - "In addition, Gavin Bell (aka Gavin Andresen), who is the public face of bitcoin, claims that he has been communicating with Nakamoto for many years." Made me LOL hard  

[GangkisKhan]

Project of this scale has to come from the top government department.

Who would care about fast transaction time where most of the world population don't do international trade.

[fish731]

The team added that Bitcoin Forum, a bitcoin community where Nakamoto used to communicate, usually removes posts connecting bitcoin with CIA.

So why has this thread and every post on it not been deleted?

[bigasic]

And you probably dont think we landed on the moon... Trust me, this is not a NSA or CIA project...

[Wilhelm]

They can't even solve the Kryptos so why would they be able to crack bitcoin? 

[byronbb]

They have realized the Fed is a blight on the heart of 'Merica but can't undermine the Fed/Goldman/MS troika without spilling the apple-cart. Gotta go stealth-mode. Three cheers for the 3-letter agencies!!

[shields]

Project of this scale has to come from the top government department.

Who would care about fast transaction time where most of the world population don't do international trade.

It can seem like that, but Satoshi really stood on the shoulders of giants, the idea of proof of work, the cryptography - it already existed, his genius was how he put it all together. It was possible for one man, especially when you consider the crazy stuff geniuses  in the past did - Isaac Newton had no maths schooling and arguably discovered calculus on his own as the basis for his future work.  George Bool invented Boolean logic, the foundation maths for computers long before electronics.

[Melds]

Sounds really stupid. Why would they do this? What would they gain from it? How would they know a crypto currency would get this big?

[negafen]

Project of this scale has to come from the top government department.

Who would care about fast transaction time where most of the world population don't do international trade.

It can seem like that, but Satoshi really stood on the shoulders of giants, the idea of proof of work, the cryptography - it already existed, his genius was how he put it all together. It was possible for one man, especially when you consider the crazy stuff geniuses  in the past did - Isaac Newton had no maths schooling and arguably discovered calculus on his own as the basis for his future work.  George Bool invented Boolean logic, the foundation maths for computers long before electronics.

Most likely a group project with lots of personal from different background involved.

[Newbie1022]

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/bitcoin-suspected-be-nsa-cia-project-1460439

The interesting part was that topics referring to NSA/CIA connections were deleted from bitcointalks. Will this topic be deleted?

I know this NSA-created-bitcoin conversation is very old but the cited article introduces some pretty nasty claims:

The group added that the common program used by most cryptocurrencies to create secure keys is suspected to be back-doored by the NSA.

It noted that a recent WikiLeaks document exposed the NSA's connection with the program used by most cryptocurrencies.

The fact that bitcoin did not use the most popular program to create secure keys shows that the NSA already had full information about bitcoin, according to the group.

"While bitcoin believers portray bitcoin as a new centralised currency, the command structure of bitcoin core development is 100% centralised," CIA Project says.

Smells like FUD, don't you think?

But even if some aspects of this are true then Bitcoin indeed gains a fishy smell.

I believe there is some -- not absolute -- truth to this. What is the primary global economic issue that the Washington consensus was worried about the past two decades? Currency controls! How are these currency controls implemented? By restricting capital flight by forcing businesses to transact in the domestic currency. What does Bitcoin undermine? This very phenomenon. In a nutshell, the neoliberal consensus' view on monetary is very much free market/libertarian oriented. So, does this at least make some sense facially? Sure.

That said, like many projects created by the CIA, this one has taken on a life of its own and now has characteristics wholly independent from its original purpose. The infrastructure that has sprouted up around Bitcoin including the exchanges, blockchain, and the tech savvy user base makes this potential original source largely irrelevant. A good comparison is another CIA project... the internet. The CIA played a hand in it... it was a disruptive technology... it took on a life of its own.

So, I guess if you need a creation myth sort of like a religious zealot then this is a big deal. If you don't need a creation myth then this is a non-story. Bitcoin is exactly the same as it was two minutes ago. The NSA might be tracking transactions (say for terrorist purposes), but I doubt they give a hell otherwise (even for certain illicit purposes... see how long the Silkroad game carried on). Moreover, the NSA is not going to steal or destroy all of your coins because they'd be incurring the wrath of a million hackers. It's just a non-story to me.

[rogerwilco]

And you probably dont think we landed on the moon... Trust me, this is not a NSA or CIA project...

Was that me and you, Tommy? We landed on the moon?

[An amorous cow-herder]

Sounds really stupid. Why would they do this? What would they gain from it? How would they know a crypto currency would get this big?

Why stupid? Tor was also founded by DARPA and the Navy. Geez even the internet was created under the original name ARPANET by the department of defense.

What would they gain from it?

All the trouble the US goes though to get the SWIFT-treaty with the EU, and the block chain?
You get handed all transactions ever done on a silver platter. Sure, its pseudonymous. Unless you have access to the records of all exchanges, and well, those kinds anti-laundering regulations are already in effect. Would be amusing to know who actually runs those mixing pools. But basicly the block chain is pretty much a wet dream for any surveilance state.

How would they know a crypto currency would get this big?

Market cap has grown by  ~$60 per dollar invested in exchanges, in other words probably not more than like $200M has ever flown into bitcoin. Even if all of that had come from the fed it would have been peanuts. And well, the NSA has been working on the concept for a long time after all.

[freedomno1]

You've been trolled.

Yep trolled.

Although it would be fun to say that the NSA and CIA are saying Bitcoin was their project to scare new users away from using it  
Kid if they saw it coming then that would be a surprising thing.