• 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.
  • Tachikoma741@lemmy.today
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    6 months ago

    When the Wild West was around Medicine was used as a scam too. Snake Oil salesmen aren’t very nice people. But that doesn’t mean medicine is a bad idea ya know?

    I agree that there are a lot of snake oil sellers in the cryptographic currencies realm. But that world is basically the digital wild west at the moment to me. I too am waiting to see what happens.

      • locuester@lemmy.zip
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        6 months ago

        Is not currency, as a concept, useful? How about transfer of value over vast distances instantly? Is that not useful?

        • uienia@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          Well know you are just using circular logic. The thing is that cryptocurrencies aren’t currencies.

          • locuester@lemmy.zip
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            6 months ago

            I hear what you’re saying. But USDC is absolutely a token on many different ledgers that represents a currency.

            I’ve been deep in decentralized finance for years as an investor and fulltime software dev. I get the whole “hur hur Bitcoin is dum” but you’re really missing the forest focusing on a tree.

            • merc@sh.itjust.works
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              5 months ago

              USDC is absolutely a token on many different ledgers that represents a currency.

              No, it is a speculative investment. If it were a currency it would be something people were using to buy things, accepting for selling things, using to pay taxes and fines, using to invest in something else, etc.

              It’s not a currency, it’s at best some kind of intermediate thing used to buy even more speculative “investments”.

              • locuester@lemmy.zip
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                5 months ago

                Didn’t you repeat what I said? It’s a token on decentralized ledgers that represents a currency. Like a number in the database at your bank. No different than that.

                You deposit your currency at a bank, it’s a number in a database. You earn interest on your investment.

                Are you saying that is a different concept than usdc deposited into a lending market on a decentralized ledger and earning interest?

                Also, usdc is accepted places. In fact Stripe is adding it as a payment method very soon. Would that make it a currency, or does it have to reach some level of acceptance? What about PayPal balance? Currency?

                • merc@sh.itjust.works
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                  5 months ago

                  Like a number in the database at your bank. No different than that.

                  Except that my bank stores dollars, not memecoins.

                  Are you saying that is a different concept than usdc

                  Yes, because “USDC” isn’t a currency.

                  • locuester@lemmy.zip
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                    5 months ago

                    Except that my bank stores dollars, not memecoins.

                    USDC is not a memecoin. Are you aware of what USDC is? A token issued by a US company, Circle, with strict transparency and regulatory compliance. It’s no different than a number in your banks database, except it’s in your custody, like cash.

                    Yes, because “USDC” isn’t a currency.

                    Is your bank’s database a currency?

                    Look, I get the popularity of shitting on crypto but I’m happy to teach you about the industry if you’re interested. Memecoins, ponzis, shills, shitcoins, etc is the loud obnoxious side of our industry and has no bearing on the real economics and financial system being developed.