If something crypto-related is ripe for invention then they may as well invent it even just to keep an eye on it. Plus at the last count, they’re $60billion up if they did invent it, and don’t need the money right now.
> What does the NSA get out of it?
A transparent ledger which is easy to audit, for the purpose of catching cybercriminals.
well that hasn't worked out very well, then? the elite tier of notional criminals don't get caught by that.
In no particular order:
Pushes entities of interest towards using this new currency as part of sanctions evasion.
Creates downstream effects in tech for expanding the technology. Promising parts can be used to obtain budget for things that are even more off the books.
To this day one of the more prominent use cases of bitcoin/cryptocurrencies has been to turn USD into sanctioned currencies.
Re:The NSA Invented Bitcoin?
by karaterobot on Thursday September 21, 2023 @01:21PM
(#37600849)
But hasn't it made it easier to get around sanctions, not harder?
initially yes, but with a more auditable trail. Intelligence agencies and other groups are no stranger to using stuff like this to get washed money to do things they aren't directly funded for.
I don't understand this. What does the NSA get out of it? Developing it to study cryptography? Why not, but then why release it publicly? The fact that Bitcoin didn't replace fiat currency is something we know now, but recall that it was considered a possibility at the time. In the end, it just cost a lot of people a lot of money. Say what you want about the NSA, I don't think they would create something with a huge downside and no upside for them into the public for shits and giggles.