With the internet, new technologies have been invented with a lot more to come. One of the greatest advancements, is cryptocurrency.
Using blockchain technology, which was first conceptualized by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008, it's a digital asset to work as a medium of exchange that uses cryptography to secure its transactions, to control the creation of additional units, and to verify the transfer of assets.
Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies,also known as alternative currencies and virtual currencies. The main advantage is its decentralized nature, as opposed to centralized electronic money and central banking systems. This makes it uncontrollable by anyone, even the governments themselves.
And here, Bill Gates isn't fond of it.
During a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" session, the billionaire Microsoft co-founder shows no interest in the digital assets.
According to Gates, cryptocurrency is bad because it aids and abets people who want to keep their financial transactions hidden from the government.
He was particularly concerned that blockchain can revolutionize financial crime, terrorism, and drug dealing, thus killing people "in a fairly direct way."
"The Governments ability to find money laundering and tax evasion and terrorist funding is a good thing. 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. I think the speculative wave around ICOs and cryptocurrencies is super risky for those who go long."
His opinion isn't subjective. The crypto world is already full of scams. Authorities have claimed that criminals would hide billions in profit using these digital coins.
Usually, hard cash is the best method to practically evade tax and the authorities' governing eyes. But cash is a lot harder to transfer, which isn't the case with cryptocurrencies. Using the internet, one can send money from one part of the globe to another, almost instantly, and without anyone knowing.
What's more, new varieties of cryptocurrencies and token are taking off in the wake of Bitcoin, and they seem to have conveniently crime-friendly features with even greater anonymity and hidden transaction histories.
While there are indeed potential benefits of the underlying blockchain technology that cryptocurrencies are based on, as Gates once stated in 2014 that Bitcoin is better than currency because its faster and cheaper to transact with, but there is definitely a darker side of it.
With transactions easier to hide, people can get away with almost anything.
In the descent shift into the dystopian world, it isn't hard to determine the impact of cryptocurrencies concerning public safety and the real economy which they can destabilize.
Gates isn't the first big name to speak out against the digital assets. His close friend and investor Warren Buffett also predicts a disappointing outcome. "In terms of cryptocurrencies, generally, I can say with almost certainty that they will come to a bad ending,"