Controversial Fox news tv host Tucker Carlson has actually proposed a curious conspiracy theory that looks for to connect airline hold-ups in the United States and Canada with a surge in the Bitcoin price.He suggested the computer interruption behind the widespread hold-ups may have been brought on by ransomware and thought the United States federal government may have purchased a large quantity of Bitcoin to pay the ransom. However he did not offer any proof for his claims

. Speaking on his Tucker Carlson Tonight program on Fox News on Jan. 17

, Carlson argued that the Bitcoin (BTC)price increased by over 20 %not long after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) verified the flight disruption on Jan. 11:”Almost all ransoms like this are paid in Bitcoin. So if the United States federal government was purchasing substantial quantities

of Bitcoin in order to pay a ransom, Bitcoin prices would surge, naturally. So the concern is has that taken place? Well yes, it has taken place. “”Since the across the country ground stop last Thursday the cost of Bitcoin has shot up about 20%. Is that a coincidence?

“he added.While Tucker’s fanbase online appears to think the theory is possible, it was less well received by the crypto community.

Nick Almond, the founder of FactoryDAO, explained Tucker’s wild theory as “maximum tin foil”to his 13,500 Twitter followers: Maximum tin foil https://t.co/sUYHV0nQOE!.?.!— drnick ²(@DrNickA)January 17, 2023 Almond replied to advocates of the theory that he doubted very highly that the U.S. federal government would buy billions in Bitcoin on the free market to pay for the ransoms.Blockstream CEO and cypherpunk Adam Back also buffooned Carlson to his 506,000 Twitter followers, stating that the 2 occasions were exactly what Carlson explained them to be– a coincidence:” is that a coincidence?”, yes,

it is a coincidence. lols.– Adam Back(@adam3us)January 17, 2023 Other arguments made versus the theory on Crypto Twitter consisted of that the U.S. government currently has a big amount of taken Bitcoin

, that the government would buy it over-the-counter if it did buy it, and thaas Bitcoin is traceable and transparent, large ransoms are more likely to be paid

 in Monero.Stack Hodler mentioned to his 30,000 followers that the recovery of $5 billionin assets by FTX was a more likely explanation for the recovery in crypto markets: Morning of Jan 11: All flights

grounded in US due to a “crucial tech outage”Afternoon of Jan 11: FTX states it has recuperated more

than$ 5 Billion worth of money Tucker Carlson: Did the US government purchase Bitcoin for a ransom?Can you imagine … https://t.co/Bng9VfxHHU pic.twitter.com/VzwbSdt3s9!.?.!— Stack Hodler( @stackhodler )January 17, 2023 More than 1,300 flights were cancelled with an extra 10,000 flights being postponed in the very first

2 days of the disruption.Related: Ripple CTO shuts down ChatGPT’s XRP conspiracy theory The FAA specified on Jan. 11 that the interruption was caused by a”damaged database file”in its Notice to Air Mission system, which the company stated was not wasn’t haby a cyber attack. The issue has actually reportedly been fixed and most flights have actually since resumed regular operations.