The CEO of browser Vivaldi, Jon von Tetzchner, has spoken out on crypto claiming that “cryptocurrencies are a pyramid scheme”.
Summary
Cryptocurrencies are a pyramid scheme
Browser manufacturer Vivaldi has published its clear stance on cryptocurrencies through a blog post written by its own CEO, Jon von Tetzchner.
When asked if cryptocurrencies are really a revolution, Tetzchner, states the following:
“Cryptocurrency has been touted by many as a revolution in currency, the future of investment, and a breakthrough technology. But if you look beyond the hype, you’ll find nothing more than a pyramid scheme posing as currency”.
Von Tetzchner points out that the volatility of crypto leads users to treat it as a kind of investment scheme, rather than a real currency, which only works as long as there are users willing to buy the tokens, ready to sell them back to someone who will pay even more, and so on.
The moment there are no more people willing to buy those tokens, perhaps because the promise that they will be more valuable in the future is broken, the whole scheme could collapse, bringing all the tokens to zero.
The environmental disaster caused by crypto according to Vivaldi’s CEO
Another critical aspect that von Tetzchner points out in his speech is the disastrous effect that crypto assets have with respect to the enormous consumption of energy. In this regard, here is what he says:
“The energy consumption of cryptocurrency is another major concern. The energy usage of bitcoin alone is staggering, consuming as much electricity as some countries. And this is likely to keep increasing as the technology behind it does not and cannot scale in any reasonable way”.
Von Tetzchner also criticises the consumption of renewable energy that is increasingly being used for Bitcoin and crypto mining lately, as the same can be used to replace fossil fuels in other applications, in his opinion.
In this scenario, Vivaldi’s CEO says he does not want to support cryptocurrency-related features in the browser, preventing his users from participating in what he calls a gamble and a scam.
Browsers and crypto: the different stances
Apparently, Vivaldi’s browser’s stance of not wanting to support crypto is the same or contrary to other of its competitors.
Opera’s browser, for example, has been known for years now as the browser that “loves” cryptocurrencies. Back in 2018, Opera introduced the crypto wallet in its Android version, then iOS and then also desktop. Initially supporting only Ethereum, Opera later also introduced support for Bitcoin and Tron, with the possibility of making transactions in BTC.
In contrast, Mozilla, creator of the Firefox browser, a few days ago suspended crypto donations activated only a week earlier. This was a collaboration with BitPay for the creation of the Mozilla Foundation, which would accept donations in Dogecoin (DOGE), Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
The cause of this suspension was associated with the idea that Jamie Zawinski, one of Mozilla’s co-founders, had spoken out about cryptocurrencies, claiming that they only create pollution.
