A lot has been said and written about bitcoin, even though there are some things which remain a mystery to everyone. No one knows for sure who created bitcoin, or why it was designed the way it is. Several conspiracy theories regarding bitcoin have popped up on the internet over the past few years, some of which seem more credible than others.
5. Major Governments Partake In Bitcoin “Arms” Race
Back in Q4 of 2013, an intriguing conspiracy showed up on the bitcointalk forums. Someone floated the idea of how major governments – specifically the US and China – were buying up the biggest possible amount of bitcoin for themselves. Considering how both governments have opposed bitcoin since its inception, this theory is not as impossible as one might think. After all, at least government officials which have insider knowledge could tell people to look the other way while they scoop up cheap coins. Although this theory has never been proven, it is somewhat plausible.
4. Bitcoin is An NSA Project
Perhaps one of the more popular conspiracy theories is how bitcoin was created by the NSA as an “experiment”. Satoshi Nakamoto, whose real identity remains unknown to this very date, is believed to be a pseudonym for the NSA’s top-secret cryptocurrency project. It is also believed the NSA has a backdoor to the SHA-256 algorithm, making bitcoin far less secure than what most people assume it is. Another theory that has never been proven yet could be worth enterntaining.
3. China Invented Bitcoin
Considering China has always been keen to embrace bitcoin, many people believe it to be an invention by Chinese developers. While it is unclear as to why this would matter, theorists believe China may have created bitcoin to ultimately replace their reliance on the US Dollar. While it is true China has been working on a payment system – together with Russia and others – that can rival SWIFT, it is doubtful they would create bitcoin to replace US Dollars.
2. Satoshi Nakamoto Is An AI
There could be a very good reason as to why no one has “unmasked” Satoshi Nakamoto yet. Despite the numerous manhunts taking place over the years, it is not unlikely Satoshi Nakamoto is not a person after all. Some people speculate the name is a pseudonym for an artificial intelligence created by an undisclosed government. This is by far one of the theories that is “far out there”, although it sparks some interesting discussions along the way.
1. JPMorgan Caused The Mt. Gox Collapse
Although this theory was merely provided to the world as a jest, there are some intriguing factors that seem to fall into place. Mt. Gox pushed the bitcoin value to higher limits, at which point it threatened the “status” of gold as the prominent safe-haven asset. JP Morgan orchestrated a bitcoin price crash, by selling over 8,000 coins to drive the price down.
At the same time, JPMorgan exploited withdrawal vulnerabilities on the Mt. Gox exchange, while funding anti-bitcoin articles greedily lapped up by mainstream media outlets. All of these concepts sound somewhat reasonable, depending on how large the tinfoil hat you wear is. Then again, it is true institutions such as JPMorgan see little merit in bitcoin, yet favor its underlying technology. It is very doubtful the institution would deliberately crash the bitcoin price, though.
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