Nic Carter reaffirms belief that Bitcoin was created by the NSA.

Bitcoin proponent Nic Carter has reiterated his belief in the theory that the United States National Security Agency (NSA) may have played a role in the development of Bitcoin (BTC).

On September 15, Iris Energy co-founder Daniel Roberts seemingly revived the long-standing theory on X by sharing screenshots of a 1996 paper titled “How to Make a Mint: The Cryptography of Anonymous Electronic Cash.”

This paper is among the earliest known discussions of a Bitcoin-like framework, suggesting the use of public-key cryptography to enable users to conduct anonymous transactions without disclosing their identities.

The footer indicates that the research paper was “prepared by NSA employees.” Among the sources cited is cryptography expert Tatsuaki Okamoto, who co-invented the Okamoto–Uchiyama public key cryptosystem in 1998.

On September 21, Carter, a partner at Castle Island Ventures, reaffirmed his support for this idea, stating, “I actually do believe this,” and further elaborated:

“I refer to it as the ‘Bitcoin lab leak hypothesis.’ I believe it was a closed internal R&D initiative, which one researcher deemed too valuable to remain unused and opted to release it secretly.”

Carter has held this theory for several years, suggesting back in 2020: “If Bitcoin was developed by NSA cryptographers as a monetary bioweapon, if you will, and the code escaped those sensitive confines… does that make it a virus… that escaped from a lab?”

In 2021, he remarked, “The only commendable thing the NSA ever did for the world was allow Bitcoin to leak from the lab.”

I actually do believe this. I call it the bitcoin lab leak hypothesis. I think it was a shuttered internal R&D project which one researcher thought was too good to lay fallow on the shelf and chose to secretly release https://t.co/qXJkQTciSK

— nic carter (@nic__carter) September 21, 2023

However, he clarified that this does not suggest that the United States government secretly controls all Bitcoin, a theory that often accompanies the Bitcoin/NSA conspiracy narrative, which posits that the NSA created a backdoor in the Bitcoin code.

“In my interpretation of this hypothetical scenario, the researcher acted without the NSA’s approval and chose to leave the coins behind to maintain his anonymity.”

“There’s a wealth of other circumstantial evidence that supports this [theory],” he added.

Meanwhile, some users pointed out that one of the cryptography scholars, Tatsuaki Okamoto, mentioned in the 1996 paper, has a name that closely resembles Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin.

“The name could have served as inspiration for Satoshi. However, that’s not a crucial aspect of the theory,” Carter stated.

Related: This is how Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned crypto working

Additionally, Matthew Pines, director of intelligence at cybersecurity firm Krebs Stamos, believes it was likely a “cross-fertilization of NSA crypto experts and cypherpunk enthusiasts,” adding:

“I suspect Satoshi (or at least his/their close intellectual collaborators) has connections to NSA work — but I don’t believe Bitcoin itself or the white paper were officially endorsed.”

Former Goldman Sachs executive Raoul Pal has previously shared his own perspective. In an interview with Impact Theory earlier this year, he stated:

“I believe the U.S. government and the U.K. government created it… which involves the NSA and the GCHQ in the U.K., the two leading centers of cryptography in the world.”

In August, Cointelegraph conducted an in-depth exploration of the conspiracy theory and interviewed former NSA cryptanalyst Jeff Man, who mentioned that while it was “feasible” for the NSA to have developed Bitcoin as a means to gather intelligence on its adversaries, it remains highly unlikely.

Nonetheless, Man concluded that even if they were involved, it is probable that the true story behind the world’s most popular digital asset will remain unknown until it no longer matters.

Magazine: Big Questions: Did the NSA create Bitcoin?