The Microsoft founder Bill Gates said that the key feature of cryptocurrencies i.e. anonymity is aiding in illegal means causing the death of people in a direct way. This came as a shock as back in 2014, Gates supported bitcoin that is resulting in people bombarding the internet with their reactions.
During a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session with the Microsoft founder Bill Gates on Tuesday, revealed that Gates is not a fan of cryptocurrencies. According to him, anonymity is one of the risks of cryptocurrency that is harmful. This feature aids those people who want to hide their financial transactions from the government.
Gates stated that:
“The main feature of crypto currencies is their anonymity. 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.”
The philanthropist was most particularly concerned with if the blockchain revolution to a great extent is supporting terrorism, drug dealing and financial crime which according to him kills people in a direct way as evident from his statement:
“Right now crypto currencies are used for buying fentanyl and other drugs so it is a rare technology that has caused deaths in a fairly direct way. I think the speculative wave around ICOs and crypto currencies is super risky for those who go long.”
Well, that’s quite a U-turn that Mr. Gates has taken, given back in 2014, he has been an avid supporter of the cryptocurrency.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV, he said:
“Bitcoin is exciting because it shows how cheap it can be. Bitcoin is better than the currency in that you don’t have to be physically in the same place and, of course, for large transactions, currency can get pretty inconvenient.”
Bill Gates also mentioned in an interview in 2015 that:
“There’s a lot that Bitcoin and variants can do to make moving money between countries easier and getting fees down pretty dramatically. But Bitcoin won’t be the dominant system.”
In 2014 itself, Microsoft whose Gates is the co-founder started accepting bitcoin as payment for Windows apps and Xbox games. Though the company halted bitcoin payments twice, it resumed shortly after that still is in continuation.
Bill Gates might be no longer the CEO of tech giant Microsoft but it doesn’t mean that people won’t lose their calm when the founder of the company makes such a big statement. With the change in Gates’ stance on bitcoin among other cryptocurrencies, people are reacting rambunctiously on Reddit, Twitter, and numbers of other channels.
Someone wrote:
“I find it really disheartening that someone like Bill Gates can’t even take the time to do 10 minutes of research. What he said is the equivalent of saying “The internet is evil and should be destroyed because people can buy/sell drugs and child porn on it.” back during the dot-com boom.”
What do you think of Bill Gates Cryptocurrency statement? How do you think it will affect the crypto market? Let us know below!
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