Ask HN: How can you be pro freedom and anti crypto?
4 by yourabstraction | 2 comments on Hacker News.
Here's a list of things that I imagine the average HN user supports. Freedom of the press Freedom of speech Encryption Privacy The Internet Net neutrality Open source The above items are generally regarded as a net good to society. These technologies can be dangerous in the wrong hands, but what powerful technology isn't. So what I simply cannot understand, is how someone can be ideologically aligned with the above list, yet vehemently opposed to cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency encapsulates all of these ideas around freedom into a monetary system. It's certainly not perfect, there's issues with energy use, price volatility, scalability, scams, consumer protections, and a number of other things. But, it's the most freedom preserving financial system the world has ever seen. I can see being against certain negative aspects of this, like the energy use or scams, but to be outright against it just seems crazy at this point. It feels like the equivalent of rallying against the printing press, the internet, or encryption. And no doubt, powerful people who stood to loose control from technological shifts have done just that throughout history. But why are a bunch of tech nerds who only stand to gain from freedom empowering technology rallying against it?