Linus Torvalds has said that cryptocurrencies are simply "a great vehicle for scams"
  • 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.
  • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldEnglish
    51·
    6 months ago

    I don’t have a problem with government money. If the government money no longer has value, I’m fucked regardless.

    • shortwavesurferEnglish
      31·
      6 months ago

      I mean fair enough just that another money could get you out of that situation before it gets that bad. If nothing else than through bribes.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldEnglish
        51·
        6 months ago

        Good luck bribing someone with something that requires an electronics and communications infrastructure if things get that bad. I’d keep chickens if that was your worry.

            • shortwavesurferEnglish
              1·
              6 months ago

              While the ones that do exist still exist, and that’s not to say that somebody couldn’t create other things that were similar. Just as long as the private key is not peeled away, then you know it’s actually got the value it says. And you don’t need the internet to verify that.

              • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldEnglish
                1·
                6 months ago

                Okay, so let’s say the country’s economy has collapsed. People are fleeing for the border. I go up to a border guard with one of those and hand it to him… do you really think he’s going to believe that has value?

                • shortwavesurferEnglish
                  11·
                  6 months ago

                  Really depends on the country. If you are fleeing somewhere like the United States, there’s about a one in four chance that it would be recognized. If you’re fleeing some other place that has had currency issues in the past, then it’s probably quite a bit higher.

                  • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldEnglish
                    2·
                    6 months ago

                    there’s about a one in four chance that it would be recognized.

                    That is utter nonsense. You show me where you got that figure from.

                    Or do you just mean the Bitcoin symbol? Because I doubt someone would assume a metal coin had value just because it had a Bitcoin symbol on it.