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Linux Inventor Says He Doesn’t Believe in Crypto (u.today)

submitted 6 months ago by AnActOfCreation@programming.dev to c/technology@lemmy.world

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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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[+] SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world -39 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (52 children)

It gains value because people want it and people want it because it gains value is both a perfect description of cryptocurrency and scams.

Or gold, or any other precious metal, or any other currency really for that matter….

[–] Ciderpunk@lemmy.world 59 points 6 months ago (49 children)

Tangible items can have utility in the real world, where cryptocurrencies can never be anything more than numbers on a display.

Gold can be used in electronics, and I get that people are mad that currencies are just something we all mutually agree have value, but generally speaking powerful governments back those up. Cryptocurrency is backed up by people promising it’s totally gonna be a real currency any second now. Please ignore that crypto can wildly fluctuate in value which generally a horrible thing for a currency to do.

[+] shortwavesurfer@monero.town -16 points 6 months ago (39 children)

You could very well make the argument that ultimately crypto is backed by energy, which is something we all agree has value. Without energy, you can't go to work, heat or cool your house or anything like that. If you believe that electricity is fundamental for society, then by extension, crypto is backed by the most fundamental force that there is even bigger than a government.

[–] indepndnt@lemmy.world 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Except that's not what "backed by" means. It consumes energy. You can never exchange cryptocurrency to get the energy that it consumed back.

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