Roger Ver: US intelligence agencies "hijacked" Bitcoin and turned it into a "financial trap"

Early Bitcoin investor Roger Ver, also known as "Bitcoin Jesus," said that the combined actions of U.S. intelligence agencies and institutional players undermined early hopes for Bitcoin as an alternative to fiat currencies. Ver said in a recent interview that U.S. intelligence agencies deliberately undermined Bitcoin's potential as a widespread peer-to-peer (P2P) payment method. They manipulated online forums such as bitcointalk.org and the Bitcoin subreddit r/bitcoin through censorship and propaganda to move it away from its decentralized origins. He pointed out that moderators associated with U.S. intelligence agencies tried to suppress discussions about expanding Bitcoin's global use, pushing it towards a speculative asset. According to Ver, this is a coordinated effort to control and limit Bitcoin's potential to disrupt the traditional financial system. Ver believes that Bitcoin does not represent economic freedom, especially when Bitcoin is held in CEX, which is less private than traditional banks. When asked if he believes Bitcoin is the creation of U.S. intelligence agencies, Ver said that while Bitcoin may not have been designed that way originally, it was "hijacked" by these agencies and turned into a "financial trap." He used El Salvador as an example, noting that despite the general enthusiasm for Bitcoin, escrow accounts are mainly used. That means the government can monitor every transaction and freeze accounts at will. "This is completely contrary to economic freedom. This is government control of the economy," Ver said.