Prominent hedge fund manager Kyle Bass recently ruffled the feathers of the Bitcoin community by suggesting that Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of the flagship cryptocurrency, is a Chinese intelligence operation. 

The founder of Texas-based hedge fund Hayman Capital Management argues that Bitcoin helps China, one of the main geopolitical adversaries of the USA, to undermine the US dollar. 

"…think what functionality helps the communist elite with their closed capital account whilst concurrently undermining the supremacy of the USD? It’s genius…but it wasn’t designed by a Japanese individual," Bass said after being confronted by a Bitcoin proponent.   

Bass's sensational statement did not sit well with many members of the Bitcoin community. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," Tuur Demester of Adamant Research said in his social media post.  

Of course, the actual identity of the Bitcoin creator remains an enduring mystery. 

Hal Finney, the late computer scientist who received the very first Bitcoin transaction, is among the top Satoshi candidates. However, there is also some compelling evidence, which suggests that he did not create Bitcoin. 

There are also some conspiracy theories about Bitcoin being created by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 

The theory about the Chinese government creating Bitcoin to challenge the dollar hegemony has also been floated by some members of the community. 

It is worth noting that China has a history of crypto bans that date back all the way to December 2013. In 2021, the Chinese government banned cryptocurrency mining and trading.