Why the creator of the World Wide Web thinks Crypto is a form of gambling
Tim Berners-Lee, the architect of the World Wide Web (WWW), stated that digital currencies are “merely speculative” and compared them to the “dot-com” bubble, where Internet stocks were often overvalued without a good business strategy to back them up.
But the British computer scientist used stronger words to describe crypto: “Dangerous” and a form of “gambling”.
During Friday’s episode of the “Beyond the Valley” podcast on CNBC, he stated:
“Obviously it’s very dangerous. That is if you want a kick out of gambling, basically.”
World Wide Web inventor not happy with how his vision turned out
In 1989, Berners-Lee was credited with creating the World Wide Web. Still, he is not satisfied with how his original vision for the global web has been realized.
In recent years, Web3 has seen its emergence as a metaphor for the expansion of the World Wide Web based on blockchain technology and decentralization.
Berners-Lee believes that the next edition of the World Wide Web should be called “Web 3.0”, which is different from Web3 and will not include such principles.
The World Wide Web. Image: Getty Images
According to some, Web3 is a decentralized internet that deprives Facebook and Google of some of their influence.
Berners-Lee, along with John Bruce, is trying to redefine the future of the internet through the company Inrupt, where he is chief technology officer, to give individuals greater control over their data.
Other detractors Slam Crypto
His statement came about a week after US Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller compared crypto assets to baseball cards.
About a week before Waller shared his assessment, Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger — Berkshire’s second in command after Warren Buffet — described bitcoin as “sh*t,” “ridiculous” and “worthless.”
Cryptocurrencies, Munger said, pose a serious threat to the economic stability of the United States, and the government should ban them completely.
World Wide Web: Quick Definition
According to Britannica, the World Wide Web (WWW) is the Internet’s premier information retrieval service (the global computer network). The web gives users access to a large number of documents that are linked to each other via hypertext or hypermedia links, electronic connections that connect relevant information to facilitate user access.
What was the Internet bubble?
The Internet bubble was a speculative stock market bubble in which many Internet-based companies enjoyed rapid increases in their stock values, often without generating significant profits or revenue.
Often known as the “dot-com” bubble, it was fueled by excitement and speculation, as investors poured money into companies without regard for their business strategies or financial realities.
DOT total market cap at $8.6 billion on the daily chart | Chart: TradingView.com
World Wide Web Inventor: Crypto Good For Money Transfer
In 2021, Berners-Lee took a softer approach to the crypto sector by transforming the original code of the World Wide Web into an NFT through a series of artworks.
“This Changes Everything,” which is the title of the non-fungible token, was eventually auctioned off at Sotheby’s for $5.4 million.
Meanwhile, Berners-Lee believes that bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies only have the ability to be used for international money transfers. Still, once received, he recommended consumers change them back to fiat currencies.
– Featured image from CNN
