Edward Snowden: Bitcoin is failing as an electronic cash system

During the Consensus 2022 conference in Austin, whistleblower Edward Snowden says: Bitcoin is failing as an electronic cash system. The culprit is the lack of replacement capacity as a central element of cash.

Edward Snowden Consensus 2022. I speak

Edward Snowden also attended the Consensus 2022 conference in Austin, Texas. As he was threatened with trial in the United States, he was seen via a live switch.

As President of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, Snowden addresses Internet privacy and the role of cryptocurrencies in this issue.

He noted with concern the various options for monitoring citizens that have been available to the states for many years. The bottom line is that the mere opportunity for control is quickly misused to the detriment of the public.

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Snowden Criticizes Bitcoin’s Poor Replacement Potential

Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto described BTC as an electronic peer-to-peer cash system in the title of his white paper. However, an important function of cash is its replacement capacity.

All bills and coins are of equal and equal value. However, bitcoin’s transparent blockchain actually prevents this and thus ensures poor replacement. Therefore insufficient confidentiality is a “critical error”.

[Bitcoin] Electronic cash systems fail as cash is assumed to be largely anonymous.

Still, Snowden says he is a huge supporter of the oldest cryptocurrency. The simple victory over borders is especially great. It has never been so easy to send money around the world in no time without worrying about any loss.

You can still expose yourself to threats through a transparent blockchain.

I fear a world where our own money can be used against us.

Snowden explains.

Have money instead of crypto currencies?

Furthermore, many cryptocurrencies are money rather than currencies – a significant, positive position for Snowden.

People don’t understand the difference, but money is something that has value, a token that can be exchanged and is not controlled by a central authority.

But the crypto scene does not remain free from criticism. Snowden sees greed and monetary interests in particular as a deterrent. He wants more enthusiasm for the underlying technology.

I only use bitcoind to use it.

Like Snowden. In addition, he shares:

In general, I do not recommend people to use cryptocurrencies as an investment. This sets me apart from many in the user community.

Bitcoin will soon come in handy for Snowden. In 2013 he was able to pay with bitcoin without being caught. At the time, in the midst of the NSA affair, he found himself exposed to great danger by US law enforcement agencies.

At the time, bitcoin was quite capable of protecting its privacy. Meanwhile, there has been an increase in bullish monitoring by blockchain analysts. KYC has been standard on crypto exchanges since 2017.

The crypto community is split due to increasing financialization

Between the lines, however, Snowden makes it clear that he will never again resort to bitcoin today in order to keep his identity a secret and avoid a lengthy prison sentence.

Snowden has positively mentioned Zcash and Monero. He believes that both the projects are extremely good and useful. The number of useful cryptocurrencies is huge. Its goal is peaceful coexistence.

There is a lot of division in the crypto landscape. The background is – as they say – increasing financialization. Snowden explains:

There is fragmentation due to financialisation. People are trying to make money from cryptocurrencies.

Technology takes a back seat.

One doesn’t primarily ask oneself: “What network will we use to move values ​​in the next 100 years?”

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Will bitcoin still remain confidential?

At the end of 2021, Taproot Uggpred was implemented on the bitcoin mainnet. Since then, Schnorr can work to enhance signature privacy.

Litecoin has recently implemented the Mimblewimble protocol. It also serves to ensure confidentiality. As a result, Litecoin has already been removed from many crypto exchanges for not violating anti-money laundering regulations.

In the past, bitcoin developers have repeatedly copied changes to the Litecoin blockchain and integrated similar functions into bitcoin.

Many people have already voiced their support for the Mimblewimble upgrade of bitcoin. However, Blockstream CEO and founder Adam Back is not enthusiastic about Mimblewimble.

Many of the main Bitcoin and Lightning developers are employees of Blockstream.

Edward Snowden believes that bitcoin could fail in the long term if the current lack of privacy is not rectified at some point.

Image: Wikimedia

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