Investing in crypto is like gambling, according to World Wide Web creator Tim Berners-Lee

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(Kitco News) – Tim Berners-Lee, the man credited with inventing the World Wide Web, recently revealed that he is not a fan of cryptocurrencies, calling the asset class “dangerous” and comparing crypto investors to gamblers during Friday’s episode of CNBC’s ” Beyond The Valley” podcast.

Berners-Lee’s comments came during a discussion about the future of the internet, in which the computer scientist said that digital currencies are “only speculative” and compared the growth of the crypto industry to the dot-com bubble where internet stocks with little to no fundamental value became highly inflated.

“It is only speculative. “Obviously, it’s very dangerous,” Berners-Lee told CNBC. “[It’s] if you want a kick out of gambling, basically. Investing in certain things, which are purely speculative, is not where I want to spend my time.”

While not a fan of the sector in general, Berners-Lee acknowledged that one area where digital currencies could be useful is in facilitating transfers, but said such transfers must be immediately converted back to fiat once received.

The British computer scientist has been unhappy with the direction of the World Wide Web since he was credited with inventing it in 1989, and is now looking to reshape the future of the internet through his startup Inrupt, which aims to give people more control over their data.

Many in the crypto industry are focused on the development of Web3, a decentralized version of the internet that runs on blockchain technology and takes some of the power away from companies like Google and Facebook that currently dominate the market.

Berners-Lee prefers to think of the future of the Internet as Web 3.0, which he distinguishes from Web3. “It’s not blockchain,” Berners-Lee said, suggesting the technology isn’t fast or secure enough.

His comments echo recent statements by Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller, who said that crypto-assets are nothing more than speculative assets, similar to baseball cards. Waller also acknowledged that there are some potentially beneficial applications of blockchain technology – such as smart contracts and tokenization – but stressed that most cryptocurrencies have no intrinsic value and are risky investments.

“If people want to hold an asset like that, then go for it,” Waller said. “But if you buy crypto-assets and the price goes to zero at some point, please don’t be surprised and don’t expect the taxpayers to socialize your losses.”

Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger also doubled down on his negative view of cryptocurrencies, saying in a recent article published in The Wall Street Journal on February 1: “It’s not currency. It’s a gambling contract with almost 100% advantage. for the house.”

The gambling mentality is encouraged by the lack of regulation in the sector, he added, noting that in recent years, privately held companies have issued thousands of new cryptocurrencies in the US, which were listed without any government pre-approval of disclosures.

“Such wretched profits have been going on because there is a gap in regulation,” he said. “A cryptocurrency is not a currency, not a commodity, and not a security. Instead, it is a gambling contract with an almost 100% house edge, entered into in a country where gambling contracts are traditionally only regulated by states that compete laxly. It It is clear that the United States should now pass a new federal law to prevent this from happening.”

Both Munger and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett are known for their staunch anti-crypto stance. Previously, Buffett referred to bitcoin as “rat poison squared” and said that not only does it do nothing and is backed by nothing, but it costs something to buy nothing.