Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates said on February 18 that cryptocurrency paves way for certain criminal activities and it would be “great to get rid of that”.
He expressed his disdain for cryptocurrency and digital assets in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal where he was asked which technological advancement the world could do without, reported Market Watch.
Bill Gates responded saying: “The way cryptocurrency works today allows for certain criminal activities. It would be good to get rid of that.”
However, he said on second thought that humanity could do without bioweapons, as they really are a “bad thing”.
The billionaire’s comments make it amply apparent that he is not a bitcoin enthusiast. The leading technologist also believes that cryptos are prone to abuse by hackers and is used for money laundering.
In an old interview he gave to CNBC two years ago, Bill Gates had maintained a more neutral stance on the decentralised digital currency that was developed in 2009.
“I do think moving money into a more digital form and getting transaction costs down, that is something the Gates Foundation does in developing countries,” Gates had added.
Gates, whose net worth is of $123 billion, making him the world’s second wealthiest man, had further said: “Bitcoin can go up and down just based on the mania or whatever the views are, and I do not have a way of predicting how that will progress.”
Gates even said that as “asset class, you are not producing anything and so you shouldn’t expect it to go up. It’s kind of a pure ‘greater fool theory’ type of investment.”
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