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International Business Times
International Business Times
Business
Marvie Basilan

CIA Deputy Director Hints Agency Uses Bitcoin, Crypto As 'Tools' Against China, Other Adversaries

CIA Bitcoin Michael Ellis Crypto United States Anthony Pompliano China Donald Trump
Bitcoin has evolved into an asset abused by bad actors and criminals into a "tool" the CIA utilizes to disrupt adversaries. (Credit: Ewan Kennedy/Unsplash)

KEY POINTS

  • Ellis said the CIA has collaborated with law enforcement to try to track illicit crypto payments
  • He also said Bitcoin and crypto have become 'another area of technological competition between the US and China
  • He added that Bitcoin and other crypto are 'another tool in the toolbox' of the CIA

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency have grown over the last decade from a niche segment into a global medium for various financial transactions and in what could be the most telling use case yet regarding the United States' embrace of crypto, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) top official hinted that the foreign intelligence agency also uses BTC and other crypto.

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