• 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.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    5
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    7 months ago

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

    • shortwavesurfer@monero.town
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      7 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.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        7 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.

            • shortwavesurfer@monero.town
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              7 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.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                7 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?

                • shortwavesurfer@monero.town
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  arrow-down
                  1
                  ·
                  7 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.world
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    arrow-up
                    2
                    ·
                    7 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.