this post was submitted on 20 May 2024
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  • 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.
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[–] kn98@feddit.nl 10 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (5 children)

I only like two cryptocurrencies.

Nano: free transactions, each wallet runs it’s own blockchain, so it’s got no negative impact on the environment.

Monero: allows for anonymous transfers

[–] tsonfeir@lemm.ee 11 points 2 years ago (7 children)

I ask this sincerely, what have you personally needed an anonymous currency for?

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 17 points 2 years ago (2 children)

I use anonymous currency daily without issue. It's called cash.

[–] xthexder@l.sw0.com 11 points 2 years ago (2 children)

You can't use cash online tho

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 15 points 2 years ago (1 children)

You just have to fold it really small to poke it down the wires.

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

True. Although you can put cash on a debit card and spend that online. Pseudo anonymous because there is some degree of traceability.

[–] Aux@lemmy.world -3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

In which fairy tale cash is anonymous?

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

All fairy tales. Stories are awash with bags of coins and no-one ever worries who owned the cash previously.

[–] Aux@lemmy.world 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yeah, tell that to the officers who investigate fake cash and money laundering.

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Sorry. Which fairy tales have officers who investigate fake cash and money laundering?

Neither of which have anything to do with the anonymity of cash.

[–] shortwavesurfer@monero.town 11 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Buying groceries. Personally, I guess I don't need an anonymous cryptocurrency, but why wouldn't you have an anonymous cryptocurrency? That would be the equivalent of letting everybody in the world see your bank account and your withdrawals and deposits. And who would do that? That and while people would like you to believe otherwise, you still have a right to privacy.

[–] tsonfeir@lemm.ee 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

In the case of groceries, use cash? I understand the overall privacy issue, and I don’t fall into the “I have nothing to hide so why should I care” category, but I struggle to find a real world example of where an anonymous digital currency would be required outside of illegal purchases. There are certainly “illegal” purchases that shouldn’t be illegal, depending on your area. Birth control will be a big one.

[–] Mo5560@feddit.de 10 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The obvious one is buying drugs. I don't feel like arguing the morality of doing that but anonymous money is definitely useful for that.

[–] tsonfeir@lemm.ee 2 points 2 years ago

I’ve bought drugs online and in person so don’t worry about judgement. Drugs are fun.

[–] witx@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I read somewhere that someone was using anonymous currencies to buy life saving medicine from "non traditional" markets because they were much much cheaper. Let me see if I find the article

[–] tsonfeir@lemm.ee 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Well, that might be the only form of payment they take, and so you’ve got to use it I suppose. But the anonymous part really isn’t a huge factor here.

I would be a little cautious of buying “non traditional” medication from someone who doesn’t want a paper trail.

Unless you mean drugs, and then yes a paper trail is bad haha.

[–] witx@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Haha no drugs in that article at least. I can't find it but I think it was either for diabetes or asthma

[–] itsmect@monero.town 1 points 2 years ago

In most countries it's illegal to purchase or sell non-OTC medicine without a doctors note (buyer) and license (seller). Even if government doesn't care, I'm sure that big pharma would like to keep their profit margins.

[–] itsmect@monero.town 3 points 2 years ago

My preferred lemmy instance is funded with xmr.

[–] kn98@feddit.nl 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

I like it as a way to donate to creators without revealing my identity. It comes close to handing over cash.

You could also use it to pay for a VPN, but since the VPN provider sees your original IP address anyways, I don’t think that’s useful.

[–] itsmect@monero.town 1 points 2 years ago

Love it for donations. Monero specifically is also super fast: open wallet, scan QR, enter amount, hit send. Easily done in 30s or less.

It's also good for VPNs, because now the VPN provider needs to figure out who owns the IP, rather then looking up the clear name in the payment info. Doesn't make you anonymous, but reduces risk of data brokers buying your personal info.

[–] Laser@feddit.de 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Omg we're cryptocurrency twins. I hold exactly these two for the same reasons

[–] lemming741@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] Laser@feddit.de 1 points 2 years ago

Mostly holding Nano, used Monero quite often - should probably spend some Nano at one point... But vendors accepting it here are rare

[–] shortwavesurfer@monero.town 1 points 2 years ago

I only use Monero, but still, it's a very good one.

[–] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Isn't Nano the one where they distributed the coins by CAPTCHA, but there was a central party that verified all these CAPTCHAs? They could just have given themselves 51% of the coins for free.

[–] kn98@feddit.nl 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Initial distribution was through a captcha-protected crypto ‘faucet’. The faucet is still up. Did the developers keep a large part of the coins themselves? I’ve never heard that.

[–] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 years ago

There's no way to audit that.

[–] Psythik@lemmy.world -1 points 2 years ago

What about ETH? It also doesn't use electricity.