Coincidences? Bitcoin developer visited the CIA, then Satoshi Nakamoto disappeared
12 years ago, Gavin Andresen, a former lead Bitcoin (BTC) developer, announced to the cryptocurrency community on Bitcoin Talk forum that he would visit the headquarters of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which coincided with the disappearance of Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto.
In fact, after first appearing in 2008 with the publication of the Bitcoin White Paper, Satoshi mysteriously disappeared in 2011, around the same time that Andresen intended to give a presentation on Bitcoin at CIA headquarters, which he announced in a Bitcoin Talk forum post April 27, 2011, exactly 12 years ago to the day.
Andresen announces a visit to the CIA
According to Andresen’s post at the time, he had expected his visit to spark conspiracy theories, and so he wanted to “get [it] into the open” that he would “give a presentation on Bitcoin at CIA headquarters in June at an emerging technology conference for the US intelligence community.”
As he said at the time, this was a good opportunity to discuss the benefits of flagship decentralized finance (DeFi), which he believed would be in line with the government’s aims:
“I think the goals of this project are to create a better currency, create a more competitive and efficient international payment system, and give people more direct control over their finances. And I don’t think any of these goals are incompatible with the government’s goals.”
In “full disclosure,” Andresen revealed that he would receive “a one-time fee of $3,000 to cover expenses and pay me for my time,” adding that he was “just very little concerned that talking about Bitcoin in the CIA will increase the chances that they will try to do something we don’t want them to do.”
That said, he also expressed his opinion that “accepting their invitation and being open about exactly what Bitcoin is will make it less likely that they will see it as a threat.”
Satoshi really gone?
Since 2011, Satoshi has not made any statements or comments publicly unless you believe Craig Wright, an Australian computer scientist who claims to be him and who recently accused Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) of copyright infringement over putting the Bitcoin white paper in all devices with macOS Catalina or later (now removed).
Interestingly, Andresen lost his access to Bitcoin Core on GitHub in May 2016 after he publicly supported Wright’s claims that he was Satoshi (but without substantial evidence other than certain ‘people’ who could prove it). However, he later expressed regret for his involvement in the “who was Satoshi” game, saying he made “a mistake to trust Craig Wright” in a footnote to his original claims.
Meanwhile, Satoshi’s brainchild, Bitcoin, is changing hands at $28,785, down 3.51% on the day, as well as down 0.17% over the past seven days, but still holding onto the 5.89% gains that is accumulated in the last month, as per data retrieved on April 27.
