During a recent interview, British computer scientist Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, who is best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web, explained why he thinks that cryptocurrencies are “really dangerous.”
He wrote the first web browser, web server, and web page, and his work paved the way for the development of the modern internet as we know it today. Berners-Lee is also known for his net neutrality advocacy and work promoting an open and decentralized web accessible to everyone. In addition, he has received numerous honors for his contributions to the field of computer science, including a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II and the Turing Award, often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of Computing.”
According to a report by CNBC, in a recent episode of CNBC’s “Beyond The Valley” podcast, Berners-Lee, who is the director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), criticized cryptocurrencies, calling them “really dangerous” and comparing them to the dot-com bubble. Berners-Lee expressed his concerns about the speculative nature of digital currencies and called it a form of gambling. He argued that investing in purely speculative things differs from where he would like to spend his time. However, Berners-Lee did acknowledge the potential of cryptocurrencies for remittances, provided that they are immediately converted back to fiat currency when received.
Along with John Bruce, Berners-Lee aims to reshape the future of the internet through their startup Inrupt to give people more control of their data. In a wide-ranging interview with CNBC, both spoke about the future of the internet, and Berners-Lee emphasized that the future of the internet is “Web 3.0,” which he distinguished from Web3.
While some proponents see Web3 as a decentralized internet that takes away some power from tech giants such as Facebook and Google, Berners-Lee stated that Web 3.0 is his proposal for reshaping the internet, and it’s not blockchain, as he considers the technology needs to be faster and more secure.
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