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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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[-] tsonfeir@lemm.ee 13 points 1 year ago

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

[-] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago

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

[-] xthexder@l.sw0.com 11 points 1 year ago

You can't use cash online tho

[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 15 points 1 year ago

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

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

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

[-] EngineerGaming@feddit.nl 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I used Monero to pay for my domain and VPS while under sanctions and thus failed by the mainstream payment system. And in daily life I use pretty much only cash.

Also the phrasing of this implies some "nothing-to-hide" mentality. Would I be in danger if I paid for my stuff with a KYC method? Not really, I connect to my VPS and request my domain daily from home, their existence is not secret. Do I benefit from the transaction being anonymous? Still yes, the less data you trust the third parties with, the better. Same as to why I encrypt my chats even though they are mundane. Just because they are nobody's business.

[-] Mo5560@feddit.de 10 points 1 year ago

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 1 year ago

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

[-] witx@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 1 year ago

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 6 points 1 year ago

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 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

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

[-] kn98@feddit.nl 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

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.

[-] EngineerGaming@feddit.nl 2 points 1 year ago

Another use I can think of is paying for a domain and registering it with fake info. Registrars require pretty sensitive information, and apparently can check if it is real by comparing it to the info tied to a card used to pay, which crypto eliminates.

Wish there were more XMR-accepting registrars though.

this post was submitted on 20 May 2024
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