Beijing Professor Jiang Xueqin Claims Bitcoin May Be US Intelligence Project, Community Disputes Theory

Gate News message, April 16 — Beijing-based educator Jiang Xueqin has sparked debate in the crypto community after claiming that Bitcoin may have been created by U.S. intelligence agencies. In recent interviews and podcast appearances, Jiang raised questions about Bitcoin’s origins, highlighting its anonymous creator, free global release, and complex technical infrastructure. He argued that such a project would likely require institutional backing, naming agencies such as the CIA and DARPA as possible sources.

Jiang centered his argument on three key questions: who possessed the capability to build Bitcoin, who benefits from it, and why its creator remained anonymous. He stated that Bitcoin’s level of technical sophistication, combined with its free release, did not align with typical individual incentives. According to Jiang, a game-theoretic analysis suggests the possibility of involvement by U.S. intelligence institutions. He further questioned Bitcoin’s physical infrastructure, asking where its servers and databases are located, implying that control over hardware could mean control over the system.

Critics and analysts quickly responded to Jiang’s claims, noting that Bitcoin operates on approximately 97,000 independently run nodes distributed across 164 countries, with no centralized servers. They emphasized that Bitcoin’s open-source nature and distributed validation enable any user to independently verify transactions, eliminating any single point of control. The controversy follows a New York Times report suggesting Adam Back, co-founder of Blockstream, might be Satoshi Nakamoto; Back has publicly denied the allegation, stating he did not create Bitcoin.