• 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.
  • locuester@lemmy.zip
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    5 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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      5 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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        5 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.

                • merc@sh.itjust.works
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                  5 months ago

                  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.

                  • locuester@lemmy.zip
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                    5 months ago

                    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.