- Nov 5, 2011
- 5,855
Bill Gates, the man who was once known as the richest person in the world, has been asked his fair share of financially related questions over the years. One of the more recent ones that the former tech industry mogul had to answer was about cryptocurrencies, specifically what he thought about them. Almost immediately, he expressed his disapproval of the interesting new technology.
From his answer, it’s evident that Bill Gates is quite apprehensive of cryptocurrencies in general. He pointed out that their inherent anonymity gives its users the freedom to perform otherwise dangerous or illegal acts, and it’s something that needs to be looked into.
According to Gates, cryptocurrencies effectively work against everyone’s best interests. “The main feature of [cryptocurrencies] is their anonymity,” he explained. “I don’t think this is a good thing. The government’s ability to find money laundering and tax evasion and terrorist funding is a good thing.”
In Gates’ view, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are helping to enable criminal activity in ways that are harder for law enforcement and governments to detect, much less put an end to. As an alternative to cash and credit cards, cryptocurrencies gained a reputation for their use in certain “under the radar” activities that either toe the legal line or completely fly past it.
“Right now, [cryptocurrencies] are used for buying fentanyl and other drugs so it is a rare technology that has caused deaths in a fairly direct way,” added Gates. Indeed, it can be considered a menace in that regard, as buying drugs has been one of the most common things to do with cryptocurrencies prior to their surge in popularity during the last 12 months.
As of this time’s writing, the mainstream public has been long familiar with Bitcoin and its ilk, to the point that it’s become fodder for everyday conversation.
...read more at the website...
Last edited:
