Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are "perfectly suited" for intelligence activities, said Micheal Jayellis, deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), in a podcast with Anthony Pompliano, head of Professional Capital Management. In addition, he said that the CIA uses bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a tool to fight US opponents.

Micheal Jayellis was appointed Deputy director of the CIA in February 2025 by decision of President Donald Trump. At the time, Trump called Jayellis a "smart and respected lawyer" who would help restore the effectiveness of the intelligence agency.

During Trump's first term, Jayellis served on the White House National Security Council and, according to Trump, helped identify abuses by the Obama administration in the case of "Russian interference," which Trump called a fabrication.

American law enforcement agencies are "thrilled" to be able to use bitcoin to track criminal activity, Jayellis noted. The CIA itself, according to him, perceives bitcoin in a similar way due to the ability to track transactions. He confirmed that the CIA regularly works with law enforcement agencies to track illegal crypto payments.

Back in 2019, Bitfury researchers announced that they would be able to reveal the identities of more than 16% of all bitcoin address owners. A few years earlier, the CryptoLux development team conducted a study on the anonymity of transactions on the bitcoin network and proved that up to 60% of addresses can be successfully deanonymized.

In their work, they showed the possibility of linking a bitcoin account to the IP addresses of users, even if they use the Tor network or other similar means of anonymization.

Bitcoin for Exploration

Cryptocurrency is "another area of technological competition" in which the United States categorically should not lag behind, Jayellis explained, stressing that the administration of President Donald Trump should not allow China and other opponents in the field of technology to lag behind.

As part of the election campaign, Trump noted the role of cryptocurrencies in the confrontation between major powers.

"If we don't do it, China will. If we don't do this, we won't be the largest," Trump stated in the context of his intention to make the United States the largest crypto hub in the world. 

Referring to the possibilities of cryptocurrencies, Jayellis noted the huge potential for use by law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies in order to track the actions of opponents and destabilize them.

He also stressed that the CIA uses these technologies as another tool in its arsenal "to fight US adversaries.

In addition to the fact that cryptocurrencies and bitcoin are excellent tools for law enforcement and intelligence, Jayellis is convinced that the crypto market is firmly rooted in the global financial system.

"Bitcoin will remain. Cryptocurrencies will remain. More and more institutions are implementing them. I think this is a great trend," he said.

The role of the CIA in the creation of Bitcoin

It is noteworthy that the CIA representative's comments and opinion about bitcoin were voiced in a podcast on the anniversary of the disappearance of the anonymous creator of bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. 14 years ago, on April 26, 2011, Satoshi stopped posting messages in personal correspondence and thematic forums where the main cryptocurrency was discussed.

In one of his last messages on April 23, 2011, Satoshi wrote that he had "switched to other things and that bitcoin was in the safe hands of Gavin and everyone else."

I think that he "felt the danger" of his life and guessed that he was already being watched and therefore "disappeared" from the public eye. I assume that he was in the "orbit" of the CIA and they tried to take him "into development."

Gavin Andreessen is an American developer who has been involved in the development of bitcoin since 2010. In 2011, Satoshi himself named him the lead developer of Bitcoin Core (bitcoin software).  In 2012, he founded the Bitcoin Foundation.

And on April 27, 2011, Andreessen publicly announced that he was going to give a talk on bitcoin at the CIA headquarters in June at a conference on new technologies for the US intelligence community. Bitcoin is "already on their radar," he wrote, explaining his decision.

At the same conference, Andressen even managed to sell some bitcoin to a CIA agent.

According to a quote from Blockworks: "Then a few people came up to me and said that bitcoin is really cool. One interesting case: I actually sold bitcoins to one of the CIA people."

Many speculate that it was the fact that Andresen was invited to speak at CIA that could have influenced Satoshi's decision to cease public activities. At the same time, the theory arose that bitcoin was a CIA project.

Journalist Tucker Carlson, during a closed panel discussion at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, in the summer of 2024, gave it a new impetus. 

"It's obvious that this is the CIA, we all understand that. It's like [messenger] Signal, they got there first. It's a trap!" he said from the stage, but clarified that cryptocurrency is "the best tool in the world to ensure financial sovereignty."

Interest in the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto is supported by the assumption that anonymous still has access to about 1.1 million bitcoins mined by Satoshi in the early stages of bitcoin development. At the current exchange rate, the value of these coins is currently over $111 billion.

Maybe the Bitcoins "Satoshi" does not belong to "Satoshi", but to the CIA?