Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, has expressed his concerns about cryptocurrencies, saying that they are “dangerous” and that investing in them is similar to gambling. While he believes that cryptocurrencies could be useful for conducting transactions, he recommends converting them into fiat when received.
During a recent appearance on CNBC, Berners-Lee warned investors to stay away from cryptocurrencies as they are “speculative” and replicate gambling. He described the crypto sector as being similar to the dot-com bubble from the late 1990s when numerous internet-based companies were the biggest trend, and a colossal amount of capital flowed toward them.
Berners-Lee thinks the only merit that bitcoin and the altcoins have is their ability to be employed in remittances. Nonetheless, he advised consumers to convert them back into fiat currencies once received.
Another outspoken critic of the cryptocurrency industry who views it the same way as Berners-Lee is the American billionaire investor, Charlie Munger. Warren Buffett’s right-hand man described digital assets as gambling contracts that are neither currencies nor commodities and securities.
Munger thinks they present a serious threat to America’s economic stability, wishing the government imposed a blanket ban on them. Most recently, he claimed cryptocurrencies are “worthless” and “totally absolutely crazy, stupid gambling” options. The 99-year-old finds it “ridiculous” that anyone would want to purchase such assets, calling those who oppose his position “idiots.”
While crypto’s legacy has been severely harmed after the countless bankruptcies, scandals, and the market decline in 2022, some digital assets such as Bitcoin seem capable of surviving the turbulence. Despite being declared “dead” hundreds of times, it has endured previous crises.
