CIA has 'another tool' against China
Michael Ellis, the deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the foreign intelligence service of the U.S., said that "Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are another tool in the toolbox." But they are "also a target"
Ellis made the remarks during an interview with popular crypto voice Anthony Pompliano on May 1.
The CIA deputy director said the agency looks at Bitcoin just like "law enforcement," as it keeps striving to track illicit crypto payments by bad actors such as drug cartels, terrorist groups, etc.
Ellis said there is tremendous potential for law enforcement and the intelligence community to use crypto to track what their adversaries are doing and disrupt them. In that sense, Bitcoin is actually very similar to other sorts of advanced technologies and the agency needs to prioritize this technology, he added.
"Bitcoin is here to stay. Cryptocurrency is here to stay," Ellis said and highlighted how more and more institutions are adopting it, which he thinks is "a great trend."
Ellis said that Bitcoin is another area of technological competition where they need to make sure the U.S. is very well positioned against China and other adversaries.
When Pompliano wondered that people talk about crypto as a tool for "bad people" but it could also be a tool for "good people," Ellis responded that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are "another tool." The agency can disrupt crypto usage by their adversaries and also use crypto to gather more intelligence, he added.
"You sound like the in-house Bitcoiner," Pompliano remarked, referring to Ellis.
With 198,012 BTC, the U.S. holds the most Bitcoin among all the countries, as per the Bitcoin Treasuries.
As per Kraken's price feed, Bitcoin was trading at $96,541.46 at press time.
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