London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

Former CIA Acting Director Praises Bitcoin Technology as ‘Boon for Surveillance’

Former CIA Acting Director Praises Bitcoin Technology as ‘Boon for Surveillance’

Bitcoin has been booming since last year, with the cryptocurrency making another record after surging over $62,500 this week.

Michael Morell, the former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, who also twice served as an acting director, claimed that Bitcoin and the technology behind it – blockchain – should be embraced by governments since it is a “boon for surveillance.”

“Blockchain technology is a powerful but underutilised forensic tool for governments to identify illicit activity and bring criminals to justice,” Morell said in a report published by the recently formed Crypto Council for Innovation.

The report defends Bitcoin amid “concerns about the illicit finance implications of the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” concluding that criminal use of Bitcoin is “significantly overstated” and claiming that it could rather be used to catch the criminals.

The report, co-authored with Josh Kirshner and Thomas Schoenberger, comes amid governments expressing worries about criminals using the cryptocurrency. In February, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that Bitcoin was used “often for illicit finance,” while ECB President Christine Lagarde said in January that Bitcoin was used for money laundering.

The report, however, shows that the percentage of illicit activity using Bitcoin has significantly dropped since 2013 when the Silk Road darknet market was shut down by the authorities. The report compares the world’s most famous cryptocurrency to privacy coins like Monero, which is, as it shows, more favoured by criminals.

To support the claims that blockchain technology helps to catch criminals, the study draws several examples, including the Twitter Bitcoin extortion hack in 2020, when it took only two weeks for investigators to identify the perpetrators and make arrests as investigators linked the wallet addresses to user accounts on various forums.

Another example was the law firm Kobre & Kim using blockchain analysis to trace and retrieve $32 million in cryptocurrency that had been passed through coin mixers in late 2020.

The report also debunks the idea that Bitcoin’s decentralised nature “seem to pose a disruptive threat to traditional financial institutions.”

“The same could have been said for electronic banking and e-signatures 20 years ago, which stirred up significant debate regarding consumer protection and integrity of the financial system,” the report says.

“Eventually, traditional financial institutions found ways to successfully incorporate it into their businesses.”

Launched in early 2009, Bitcoin is the biggest cryptocurrency in the world by market capitalisation. It's is based on blockchain technology that ensures the security of its transactions. The said technology also means that every transaction will forever be inscribed in it, which could possibly pose a privacy risk. The components of Bitcoin, however, such as addresses, private and public keys, and transactions, are all read in text strings that can’t be directly linked to anyone’s personal identity, making the cryptocurrency anonymous to some extent.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×