[atweiden]

> Frankly, cryptocurrency being invented and created was a huge mistake for society at large. I hope the comeuppance isn't super destructive outside of cryptocurrency circles.

Satoshi Nakamoto did nothing wrong: hard to imagine, but Bitcoin started out as a crummy C++ GUI Windows application hosted on SourceForge and adopted almost exclusively by batshit insane people. It had no value: you could CPU mine it on any ordinary Windows PC. Many people refused to do even that because of how worthless BTC was at the time.

Enter the Libertarian/profiteer cohort, and the rest is history. Really think a bunch of you need to redirect your anger at the ICO game. Try to imagine Vitalik Buterin hard selling a clear gray market IPO on Reddit in combination with a high pressure countdown timer, and lots of fancy lawyers and Swiss foundations. That — the fact so many bitcoins were raised so easily for so little — is what unleashed the hellfire shillnado that has become synonymous with cryptocurrency in the modern era.

[SwimSwimHungry]

I'm still not sure I agree that Satoshi did nothing wrong, per se. But I really appreciate what you're saying, as this does afford some separation of the art (Bitcoin and Co.) from the artist (Satoshi).

Satoshi (whether it be he, she, or they) went into creating Bitcoin intended as a peer to peer cash that was easy to spend and outside of government control. Unfortunately, at least in the case of Bitcoin, it has turned into this slow, unwieldy "commodity" that is now rebranded as digital gold.

Thanks for your perspective, atweiden.

[jobigoud]

> that is now rebranded as digital gold

It was called that before bitcoin even existed. See BitGold, a late 90's precursor to bitcoin.