Quick take:
- A Harvard lecturer, a former Microsoft Engineer, and a principal engineer at Google Cloud have signed a letter delivered to US lawmakers urging a crack down on crypto and blockchain.
- A total of twenty-six leading computer scientists and academics signed the letter.
- The document urges the US lawmakers to resist the pressure from digital asset industry financiers, lobbyists, and boosters who want to create regulatory safe-havens.
The crypto and blockchain industries have received a potentially damaging blow as a group of renowned technologists have joined forces to persuade US lawmakers to crack down on crypto, and counter lobby efforts by well-financed blockchain companies.
26 Computer Scientists and Academics Unite to Persuade US Lawmakers
According to a report by the Financial Times, the group consists of 26 leading computer scientists and academics, including ‘Harvard lecturer Bruce Schneier, former Microsoft engineer Miguel de Icaza and principal engineer at Google Cloud Kelsey Hightower.’
Blockchain is Not Decentralized. It Is Wasting Millions of Dollars Worth of Equipment
The letter criticizes crypto investments and blockchain technology and is the first organized effort by professionals and academics to challenge the safety and reliability of digital assets.
Stephen Diehl, a Software Developer and signatory of the letter, reiterated that they were counter-lobbying ongoing efforts by blockchain companies who ‘say what they want to the politicians.’
Harvard’s Professor Schneier added that blockchain is not secure nor decentralized. He said:
The claims that the blockchain advocates make are not true.
It’s not secure, it’s not decentralised. Any system where you forget your password and you lose your life savings is not a safe system.
Miguel de Icaza indicated that blockchain technology is essential wasting millions. He explained:
The computational power is equivalent to what you could do in a centralised way with a $100 computer.
We’re essentially wasting millions of dollars’ worth of equipment because we’ve decided that we don’t trust the banking system.
The Letter Addresses both US Republicans and Democrats
The letter to US legislators also attempts to cross party lines as it is addressed to both Senate Majority and Minority Leaders Charles Schumer and Mitch McConnell. It also addresses other leading senators, such as Republican Patrick Toomey and Democrat Ron Wyden, who have had a history of supporting the crypto industry.
The letter further highlighted crypto’s volatility and cautioned that digital assets were being promoted to retail investors who might not understand the risks and nature of such investments.
