A public debate erupted after Jiang Xueqin, vice principal of Beijing’s Tsinghua University High School, suggested that Bitcoin may have been created by US intelligence agencies. In interviews and podcast appearances, Jiang questioned the origins of the cryptocurrency, arguing that its free public offering, anonymous creators, and underlying infrastructure point to possible involvement by organizations such as the CIA and DARPA.
Jiang framed the discussion around three central questions: who can build Bitcoin, who profits from it, and why its creators remain anonymous. He said releasing it worldwide for free after lengthy development work is inconsistent with typical incentives for individual developers. Based on this reasoning, he suggested that state-sponsored agencies may be behind the project.
He further argued that blockchain technology may have evolved from the same research environment that gave rise to systems such as the Internet and GPS. Zhang said such institutions could benefit from the architecture of blockchain, which he describes as a system that can support both large-scale surveillance and covert financial activities.
Jiang also raised concerns about infrastructure, focusing on the physical location of the servers. He said that control over hardware could mean control over software, and questioned claims about decentralization and open source transparency. It also cited early Bitcoin investors, including the Winklevoss twins, as part of a broader investigation into who had early knowledge of the system.
Bitcoin network structure cited in response
Reactions to Jiang’s claims focused on the technical design of the Bitcoin network. Analysts noted that Bitcoin operates on approximately 97,000 independently operated nodes spread across 164 countries. These nodes collectively maintain the system without relying on a centralized server, reducing the possibility of a single point of control.
The security of the network was also highlighted, with mining activity exceeding 1,000 exahashes per second. Critics say this level of distributed computing power supports system resiliency and strengthens distributed structures.
Some commentators directly addressed Jiang’s concerns about servers, explaining that Bitcoin does not rely on a central database or single hardware location. Instead, data is replicated across thousands of nodes, each validating transactions independently.
Related: The mystery of Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto continues
