this post was submitted on 20 May 2024
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  • Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux, does not believe in cryptocurrencies, calling them a vehicle for scams and a Ponzi scheme.
  • Torvalds was once rumored to be Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, but he clarified it was a joke and denied owning a Bitcoin fortune.
  • Torvalds also dismissed the idea of technological singularity as a bedtime story for children, saying continuous exponential growth does not make sense.
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[–] [email protected] 70 points 8 months ago (18 children)

The vast majority of the crypto world failed to understand one key concept, money is not the value for which goods/services are exchanged, it is the value by which they are exchanged. People do not have a use or value for money beyond what it can be exchanged for, if no one is willing to exchange for it, it has no value.

Crypto only had value as a currency if people would accept it for goods or services, and the only thing people ever accepted it as payment for, in any meaningful capacity, were illegal goods and services. The value beyond that was purely based on a speculative ideological assumption that people would abandon the traditional banking system for a new system that they couldn’t buy anything with.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 8 months ago

It's as if this headline were written to stir discussion on lemmy.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Cryptos can be a useful technology in certain targeted fields but they are not the solution to capitalism, it is much more important to focus on social issues and mutual aid.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I don't believe in crypto either because it's current value is solely derived on how much you can exchange it for real money. Outside of a few edge cases, nobody buys anything with crypto outside of the black market.

I'm sure crypto is a great solution to some finance problems related to centralized banking that I'm too lazy or dumb to care about, but I look at the energy consumption to calculate these massive chains for little tangible benefit, and the scammers and hypemen who are profiting off of other people's hopes and desires to get rich quick on the next big boom, and I can't help but feel like it's an actively harmful element of society. At the very least, whatever regulations are currently in place that are attempting to reign in crypto are insufficient at reducing harm.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago

If Torvalds was Satoshi he would have done a lot more with those untouched bitcoin than let them sit around for more than a decade

[–] [email protected] 54 points 8 months ago (10 children)

I actually considered a non-governmental, community regulated currency as a pretty good idea.

Problem is, crypto is too ecologically expensive and wasteful to fit the bill.

While there were some interesting ones, that actually used the processing power for something useful, most are not. So for now, I'll just go with governmental currencies.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 8 months ago

Yeah, it's bad at being a currency. I don't think it's a scam or was ever intended to be. It does however suck. Currency serves convenience. Crypto sucks at that.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago (3 children)

I actually considered a non-governmental, community regulated currency as a pretty good idea.

That goes against the entire history of currencies. Every successful currency in history has been controlled by either the state or a religion (which was effectively state-like).

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago (2 children)

It does go against the history of currency. And most of that history tells us why it’s a good idea to democratize currency.

It’s also an impractical idea because most governments would not be happy about it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

most governments would not be happy about it

How come?
Energy production companies would be happy no?
Shouldn't that make at least some govt. happy?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

It’s because they can’t control it in order to adjust the economy.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Crypto is a textbook example of why we as a society can't have nice things. To many people are selfish and self serving, and not enough people are willing to ostracize those types of people from society for such actions.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Real Tragedy of the Commons situation.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago

Thank goodness. Such a useless technology.

Scratch that... it's not useless, because it's great for scams and fraud. It's actively harmful.

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