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Is Bitcoin Here to Stay? CIA Official Lets the Cat Out of the Bag

BBG News

In a rather candid exchange with podcast host Anthony Pompliano, Michael Ellis, freshly inaugurated as the Deputy Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), offered a surprisingly frank reflection on the role of Bitcoin in the vast, complex apparatus of national security.

Why The CIA Can’t Stop Talking About Bitcoin

Ellis, with the gravity of a seasoned bureaucrat, first addressed the cherished myth that Bitcoin is some sort of dark, impenetrable force of nature—completely anonymous, like a secret agent on a mission. “People thought Bitcoin was anonymous,” he mused, “but let’s get real here—it’s pseudonymous. Not truly anonymous.” Ah, yes, the fine art of semantics. It’s not that we were all wrong, but rather, we’ve been missing the finer details.

He continued, almost gleefully, explaining that this distinction—mildly technical, yet deeply impactful—had transformed Bitcoin from a playground for criminals into an unexpected asset for investigators. “We are… excited as well,” he said with a smirk, as if finally admitting to an illicit love affair. “There’s a lot of work we do with law enforcement to track illicit crypto payments by bad actors.” Oh, the joy of hunting for digital breadcrumbs!

However, Ellis was quick to dispel the notion that Bitcoin was uniquely dangerous. “Bad actors,” he explained, whether drug cartels, terrorist groups, or rogue regimes, “use cryptocurrency—but they’ve used other things too.” Cars, cash, even “toner cartridges for their printers.” Yes, toner cartridges. Perhaps not the most glamorous tool in the illicit arsenal, but hey, it’s practical. “Doesn’t mean we should ban those,” he added, as if he were advocating for a more sensible approach to banning office supplies.

But here’s the real kicker, the line that will undoubtedly echo in the hallowed halls of policy meetings for years to come: “Bitcoin is here to stay. Cryptocurrency is here to stay.” Indeed, Ellis asserts, institutional adoption is now an unstoppable “trend,” one that even the current administration has embraced with open arms. The stakes, as always, are geopolitical. The race is on to ensure that the United States stays ahead of the curve in the digital finance game—lest it fall behind China and other adversaries. After all, nothing screams “global leadership” like a game of crypto chess.

Pompliano, not one to let the conversation slip by without a probing question, pressed Ellis on the dual-use nature of open-source payment rails. Ellis, ever the diplomat, embraced this notion with gusto. “We use technology as a tool,” he said sagely, “and Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are another tool in the toolbox.” Of course, it’s also a target. The blockchain ledger, he pointed out, is a double-edged sword that can “disrupt our adversaries’ use of funds” while also giving us a front-row seat to collect intelligence. How convenient—like spying, but with a bit of tech flair.

Yet, beneath all this talk of operational mechanics and technological warfare, there lies a deeper, more peculiar shift happening within the agency itself. “There’s a generational and cultural shift going on,” Ellis admitted, perhaps reluctantly. “Director Burns and I are leading the way on this.” Apparently, not everyone in the government shares their progressive views on the new technologies—some are, tragically, still “trapped in an older mindset.” Clearly, there are some who believe cryptocurrencies are only for those with something to hide. A quaint, outdated notion, really. Perhaps it’s time for a few old-school bureaucrats to update their software.

As Pompliano chuckled, remarking that Ellis sounded like “the in-house Bitcoiner,” the Deputy Director’s comments made it abundantly clear: the CIA is no longer treating Bitcoin like a curiosity or some fringe element of the dark web. No, it’s now regarded as a permanent fixture of global finance—a tool for surveillance, a resource for intelligence, and perhaps, just perhaps, the new battleground for national power.

As of press time, BTC was trading at a cool $95,132. Just another day in the life of a digital asset—one that’s no longer flying under the radar.

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2025-05-01 21:17

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