--- title: "The Head of the CIA Says It’s Been Doing Mysterious Cryptocurrency Work" description: "The feds are looking intro cryptocurrencies and apparently have been since the Trump administration." date: "2021-12-08" modified: "2021-12-08" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/cia-crypto" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" tags: - "cia" - "crypto" - "ransomware" - "surveillance" --- # The Head of the CIA Says It’s Been Doing Mysterious Cryptocurrency Work ![The feds are looking intro cryptocurrencies and apparently have been since the Trump administration.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* The feds are looking intro cryptocurrencies, and apparently have been since the Trump administration. This revelation came during the *Wall Street Journal*'s uberhyped CEO Summit on Monday, where [as *Vice* reported](), CIA Director William Burns admitted that his agency has "a number of different projects focused on cryptocurrency." He went on to say that he "inherited" the agency's crypto maneuvers from his "predecessor," a likely reference to [the ghoulish Gina Haspel](), who was the last to lead the CIA during Donald Trump's presidency. "My predecessor had started this, but had set in motion a number of different projects focused on cryptocurrency and trying to look at second- and third-order consequences as well and helping with our colleagues in other parts of the U.S. government to provide solid intelligence on what we're seeing as well," Burns said. Translation: the CIA is surveilling crypto networks and platforms, and trying to figure out how important a priority it is for so-called national security. Burns' fedspeak admission came in response to an audience question about the growing problem of [ransomware attacks](), which are an admittedly very real and serious threat that partially led to a [real-life gas shortage](), the [alleged death of a newborn infant](), and possibly even [issues with the US beef supply chain](). Crypto, Burns said, could have "enormous impact" on the heists "because one of the ways of getting at ransomware attacks and deterring them is to be able to get at the financial networks that so many of those criminal networks use and that gets right at the issue of digital currencies as well." As *Vice* noted, Burns', ahem, cryptic remarks have reinvigorated blockchain bro rumors that [Bitcoin's mysterious creator]() [Satoshi Nakamoto was an intelligence asset](), though as *Vice* noted, that line is mostly just a meme. https://twitter.com/CryptoCobain/status/1468043939525668871?s=20 While it will likely remain unclear what exactly the CIA and other alphabet soup intelligence agencies are looking at with regards to crypto, this admission is stunning if for no other reason than that it's yet another example of a normally-cagey government agency [confirming longstanding rumors about its work]() after years of a steady declassification drip from the Defense Department confirming the existence of UFOs. Indeed, former CIA acting director Michael Morrell said back in April that the blockchain is a "boon for surveillance" in a [white paper]() meant to encourage governments to embrace crypto. We probably won't know for decades what the CIA and its fellow intelligence agencies are up to with crypto, but at least we now know that they're up to *something*. **READ MORE:** [The CIA Is Deep Into Cryptocurrency, Director Reveals]() \[*Vice*\] **More on government and crypto:** [*The U.S. Government Has Held Over $1 Billion in Seized Cryptocurrency*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()