Yet again! Fox News TV host, Tucker Carlson, put forth a fascinating conspiracy theory that attempts to connect the rising price of Bitcoin with the recent flight delays across the United States, Philippines, and Canada.
Carlson speculated that ransomware attackers were to blame for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) system outage that led to the cancellation of 1300+ flights and the delay of a further 10,000+ flights on January 11. Tucker added that the US government purchased a significant amount of Bitcoin (BTC) to pay the ransom. However, the lack of any evidence whatsoever from Tucker to back these claims is something the crypto community finds curious.
On his Fox News show the night of January 17th, Tucker Carlson claimed that the price of Bitcoin (BTC) rose by over 20% after the airport chaos.
Carlson added that the same scenario played out in Canada the day after it happened in the United States. When asked about the coincidence, he remarked, “What are the odds of that?” both nations use their own separate software to route flights.
In a statement regarding the matter, Canadian officials said that the “Canadian NOTAM entry system also experienced a service disruption,” but that it was completely unconnected to the prior malfunction of the United States’ NOTAM system.
Further explaining the extent of the problem, the Fox News host mentioned that thousands of flights had to be rerouted because of a grounding in the Philippines on New Year’s Day.
“Is it possible that somebody is hacking into aviation systems and holding various governments around the world hostage until they pay a ransom?”
Tucker Carlson
Although Tucker’s fanbase found this latest conspiracy theory plausible, the crypto community was not as enthusiastic. Nick Almond, the founder of FactoryDAO, responded to Tucker’s wild claim about the Bitcoin price surge, ransome attackers, and flight delays by tweeting, “maximum tin foil.”
In addition, Almond expressed profound skepticism that the United States government would “secretly” procure billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin on the open market for ransom payments.
In another response to Tucker, Origin Protocol classified the theory as a rather convoluted mathematical problem.
The United States Federal Aviation Administration Standpoint
The FAA grounded all flights on January 11 due to a “computer outage,” causing delays for thousands of passengers. The transportation department claims that this was caused by a glitch in the Notice to Air Missions system (NOTAM), which is used to communicate important information about the airspace to pilots, such as the location and severity of any abnormal conditions.
“Initial investigations led us to conclude that a corrupt database file was the source of the outage. There is currently no evidence to suggest that there has been a cyber attack.”
US FAA
Normalcy has since been restored to the aviation sector in the United States as the FAA swiftly sprang into action to resolve the hiccup.
Bitcoin on the Move
The most popular cryptocurrency is up 38% in value since January 1, 2023. The macroeconomic environment’s current state heightens the BTC pump’s unexpectedness.
Bitcoin’s value has increased by 31% since the FAA’s announcement, and the upward trend has prompted a shift to a bullish outlook. Some have interpreted the market as potentially bullish. Keep tuned in for this developing story on FAA system attackers being paid through Bitcoin.
You may read our Bitcoin Price Predictions and Investing Guides to keep on top of crypto events and steer clear of baseless rumors.
