• 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.
  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    11
    edit-2
    6 months ago

    Haven’t multiple governments accepted it as real currency at this point? The arguments are valid, but fall flat when you actually look into each.

    Hell diamonds are valuable because of artificial scarcity, so that’s a wrench in every precious metal argument….

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      38
      edit-2
      6 months ago

      Yeah, El Salvador, people from there told me quite recently that it’s not at all what the government propaganda is trying to sell. Nobody uses Bitcoin and it is only accepted by a few state institutions. As for Venezuela, we had Petros for a while, now the shitcoin has been completely phased out and discontinued since nobody but a few oligarch used it to launder money.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      316 months ago

      The only two countries that accept bitcoin as a legal tender are noted powerhouses El Salvador and the Central African Republic… not exactly world leaders.

    • Rustmilian
      link
      fedilink
      English
      19
      edit-2
      6 months ago

      No, no major government has completely adopted cryptocurrency as legal tender. El Salvador became the first country in the world to do so in September 2021, but there have been significant challenges :

      • Volatility: Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are known for their price swings, making them less than ideal for everyday purchases.
      • Consumer protection: Concerns exist about the risks faced by Salvadoran consumers, especially those unfamiliar with the complexities of cryptocurrency.
      • Business adoption: Businesses have been slow to embrace Bitcoin due to technical hurdles and a lack of customer demand.

      Cryptocurrencies are still considered too volatile and risky by most governments for everyday transactions.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      8
      edit-2
      6 months ago

      And crypto is more stable than some governments’ real currency. It’s been a life saver for some people.

      It’s also a lot faster for transactions than normal banking when sending money to people in other countries.

      It’s still in the early days… like email in the late 80s / early 90s. It should get better, but there’s so much crap and scams out there right now. It’s still very much the wild west. It’s like Wall Street on acid.

      EDIT: people downvote but don’t say what was wrong. Awesome.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          2
          edit-2
          6 months ago

          The circlejerking and hive mind on Lemmy is shockingly worse than Reddit somehow. Not what I ever expected.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            16 months ago

            Well you’re talking about a technology that can obsolete VISA and MasterCard and their predatory transaction fees!. There’s a lot of money riding on cryptographic currencies taking off or not.

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              English
              26 months ago

              Taking on Visa and Mastercard is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to things like smart contracts.