Cryptocurrencies should be burnt down in a fire - critic Nicholas Weaver

LONDON — Cryptocurrency and blockchain is a bit like marmite. People are either utter crypto believers advocating how it is free from government interference or are fiercely against it, calling it a glorified Ponzi scheme used by criminals. It was founded a decade ago by a mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto who published a white paper describing an electronic cash system, free from government interference and shared instantly online. That it has shaken up the banking system, was acknowledged by International Monetary Fund Managing Director, Christine Lagarde who cautioned that digital currencies should be monitored to maintain stability. China announced that it wants to ban cryptocurrencies adding another blow to the technology, which has been tumbling in value. One of the fiercest critics of both cryptocurrencies and blockchain is  Dr. Nicholas Weaver, a Berkeley computer scientist who has been studying the technology and believes that the entire space ought to be burnt down in a fire. He told Bloomberg’s Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway the entire ecology is rife with fraud, criminalities and he is surprised that government authorities have not acted against it. - Linda van Tilburg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices