AnActOfCreationMay 20, 2024

Linux Inventor Says He Doesn’t Believe in Crypto

https://programming.dev/post/14365559

Linux Inventor Says He Doesn’t Believe in Crypto - programming.dev

- 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.

Show threadxlash123May 21, 2024

I think there was a potential future where crypto could’ve actually been useful, but it was ruined by scammers, rug pullers, and of course, speculators.

I’ll still hold a little bit of Monero, since it holds the most potential for being a real currency in my opinion. But otherwise, I fully agree with the sentiment.

Show threadTachikoma741May 21, 2024

Eh. 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.

Show threadmerc
The difference is that medicine, as a concept, is useful.
May 21, 2024 at 6:56pmWeb
Show threadlocuesterMay 21, 2024
Is not currency, as a concept, useful? How about transfer of value over vast distances instantly? Is that not useful?
Show threaduieniaMay 22, 2024
Well know you are just using circular logic. The thing is that cryptocurrencies aren’t currencies.
Show threadlocuesterMay 22, 2024

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. I get the whole “hur hur Bitcoin is dum” but you’re really missing the forest focusing on a tree.

Show threadmercJun 7, 2024

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”.

Show threadlocuesterJun 7, 2024

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?

Show threadmercJun 8, 2024

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.

Show threadlocuesterJun 8, 2024

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.

Show threadmercJun 15, 2024

It’s no different than a number in your banks database, except it’s in your custody, like cash.

And it’s not a real currency, it’s a memecoin.

Is your bank’s database a currency?

No, my bank’s database is a database, it refers to a currency that is real because it is accepted for paying taxes, fines, etc.

but I’m happy to teach you about the industry if you’re interested

There’s nothing you could teach that would be valuable to learn. You seem to be in on the grift, looking for another person to get in on the pyramid scheme. Good luck with that, but I’m not interested.

Show threadlocuesterJun 16, 2024

USDC is a memecoin? It’s $1, on a decentralized ledger. Backed by $1 in the legacy banking system. I can move 1 USDC to $1 in the legacy system nearly instantly by redemption at Circle. No different than a legacy to legacy bank wire.

I’m not grifting - I’m attempting to make you aware that there are decentralized markets denominated in US dollars. What I’m explaining is not a pyramid scheme - I’m just informing you that there is a very widely used token on decentralized ledgers which represents exactly $1.

Show threadmercJun 17, 2024

Backed by $1 in the legacy banking system

Yes, other memecoins used to also be pegged to the dollar, but they lost their peg, like TerraUSD and Tether.

which represents exactly $1.

Until it doesn’t.

Show threadlocuesterJun 18, 2024
TerraUSD was an algorithmic stable, not backed by any real USD. No one with a brain expected that mechanic to work. That was a ponzi, but an interesting experiment.