The US government is already mining bitcoin, according to Whit Gibbs, CEO of Compass Mining and an industry expert and government adviser.
In an interview on December 1 on Anthony Pompliano’s Best Business Show, Gibbs and Pompliano discussed the country states that mine Bitcoin. While El Salvador publicly mines the cryptocurrency, the majority of countries are keeping their bitcoin mining activities under wraps. Pompliano then mentioned Venezuela as another country mining digital gold before asking Gibbs what it would take for the US to begin mining.
Gibbs boldly remarked at this point, “the United States is already exploiting…” before quickly amending himself and adding the word “maybe.”
‘Maybe’ Bitcoin Mining
“They might have 10 to 20 watts running somewhere in the Midwest to test it,” the crypto mining specialist added. “Maybe… it’s hypothetically speaking,” he continued, smiling, ” but it’s a matter of national security.”
If Gibbs’ intention was to cast doubt on his earlier claim that the US government was already mining, what he stated next did not help him.
“It is the future financial instrument on which a lot, a lot of things are going to be built. Nations should be absolutely foolish not to be exposed to the underlying infrastructure that supports it.
So I think the United States is at the forefront. We had a lot of conversations with the government in DC [and] state governments to help them educate them, but they are very forward-thinking when it comes to supporting that.”
Changing the subject, Gibbs stated that bitcoin mining will be an excellent way for developing countries to advance their economies. The C-level executive added that in the next 20 to 30 years, the initiatives El Salvador has made will prove to be prudent.
It’s a Risky Game
Pompiano sensed that Gibbs was ready for a moment of truth. He persuaded him (Gibbs) to play a game of ‘story poker’ with him. Gibbs continued to give specifics of a US federal law enforcement agency participating in Bitcoin mining.
According to Pompliano, the agency in issue discovered that getting budget clearance to acquire bitcoin was tough. However, they could mine their own BTC for use in operations by adding more computers to their budget. According to Pompliano, a former operative informed him that the secret mining operation had been going on since 2013.
Pompliano then requested Gibbs to tell his viewers another story. It was at this point that Gibbs said, “This is how you get in trouble.”