Bill Gates Releases Criticisms About Cryptocurrencies Well After Supporting Them

Microsoft’s Bill Gates had been an early supporter of cryptocurrencies. In 2014, he said in an interview that cryptocurrencies will make transactions between people cheaper and that they would be even more useful than traditional currency. His charitable organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, also released open source software to assist countries with a lack of banking functions with the makers of the Ripple cryptocurrency being a key backer in the process.

But now Gates is making a new statement about the bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. During an Ask Me Anything event on Reddit, Gates was asked about cryptocurrencies and how they might work for people. He mentioned that many currencies, with the bitcoin in particular, were actually doing more to hurt the world and that they might not be as useful as he originally thought. This includes worries about how currencies might be responsible for causing extreme harm to people.

Bill Gates mentioned in his interview that he was concerned about how cryptocurrencies do not list the names of the people who invest in them like what people would get out of regular transactions. He cites that credit card companies always work to review what people are doing and that cryptocurrencies should try and put in some effort for handling these currencies before they are used for negative intentions.

Gates particularly lists a number of situations where the anonymity of a cryptocurrency could be utilized. These include issues like a government engaging in money laundering activities or terror organizations using such currencies to fund their operations. He also talked in his AMA about how these currencies can be used for illegal tax evasion procedures or even to illegally buy dangerous drugs including opioids.

Although Gates did not mention Monero in his comments on Reddit, he did refer to how some currencies are allowing people to use even more protective anonymity features. Monero in particular has been used with extra features to keep transactions from being easily found. This has helped Monero to become a popular cryptocurrency among terror organizations, drug traders and other people engaging in heavily illegal activities.

Gates did mention that physical cash might be a better solution for those who are looking to make anonymous payments. This comes as people who use cash would have to be physically present to get their transactions handled. This makes it difficult for people to make payments for potentially illegal activities without being caught in the act.

Not all of the things that Gates said during his AMA were negative. He also mentioned that the blockchain technology used for such currencies could still be worthwhile and may be improved upon to create secure and sensible transaction options. He discussed that blockchain programs should be engineered to simplify the lives of others and to find ways to bring more financial functions and projects to people who might otherwise struggle to get them. However, changes might have to be made to keep the anonymity factor in check and to be less of a concern.