What makes it immoral for Buterin to have a large amount of Ether? Would it be immoral for a very early investor to buy a lot of Ether for a very low price?
In the US, we have laws and the SEC which require executives to be transparent about important aspects of their business, such as their personal equity interest. In general, corporations are accountable to their shareholders by law.
What about crypto currencies? Obviously there's nothing immoral about the founders holding equity in their own currency. In fact, as an investor I'd prefer to know that the founders had some skin in the game! But, the idea that I don't have any transparency or accountability to protect my interest is unsettling. Further, the notion that a founder could just liquidate and walk one day with no recourse doesn't leave me with very much assurance that my investment is safe.
I think coming to terms with the morality is a fun thought experiment but not entirely useful. We should be thinking about how to apply the right amounts of transparency and regulation to keep the public safe.
Is Buterin supposed to invent a cryptocurrency and own none of it and not be invested in its own success? How much is acceptable? Who deems the amount acceptable?
These are all very good questions! I wasn't trying to pass judgement one way or the other, I just think it's an interesting discussion point. Certainly, if crypto currency is going to stay mainstream we (the US) will be regulating a lot of this in short order.
Are they "close enough"? How can we be sure which wallets belong to who? As far as I know (which is admittedly little in this space) the very point is that we can't be sure. So really there's no assurance at all.
What about crypto currencies? Obviously there's nothing immoral about the founders holding equity in their own currency. In fact, as an investor I'd prefer to know that the founders had some skin in the game! But, the idea that I don't have any transparency or accountability to protect my interest is unsettling. Further, the notion that a founder could just liquidate and walk one day with no recourse doesn't leave me with very much assurance that my investment is safe.
I think coming to terms with the morality is a fun thought experiment but not entirely useful. We should be thinking about how to apply the right amounts of transparency and regulation to keep the public safe.