Bill Gates says cryptocurrencies have “caused deaths in a fairly direct way”

Enlarge / Bill Gates answering questions on Reddit in 2013. (credit: Bill Gates)

Microsoft and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation progenitor Bill Gates is not a fan of cryptocurrencies. In a Reddit AMA yesterday, he posited that cryptocurrencies subvert governments' abilities to intercept terrorist funding, illegal drug transactions, and more.

Redditor Askur1337 asked Gates, "Whats your opinion on Crypto Currencies?" To this, Gates responded:

The main feature of cryptocurrencies is their anonymity. I don't think this is a good thing. The government's 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.

Redditor dikkepiemel followed up with a rebuttal that cryptocurrencies aren't doing anything cash wasn't already doing, saying, "The US dollar is also used to buy fentanyl and god knows what else."

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