A hot potato: Despite its meteoric rise over the last decade, there are still those who think cryptocurrency in all its forms is a scam. On that list of skeptics is a surprising name: Jackson Palmer, the co-creator of Dogecoin.
Software engineer Palmer, who created the payment system with Billy Markus in 2013 as a joke based on the "doge" meme, has been absent from Twitter since making his account private in 2019. He returned with a bang yesterday, slamming cryptocurrency as a way for the rich to get richer, and being little different from the "existing centralized financial system they supposedly set out to replace."
"After years of studying it, I believe that cryptocurrency is an inherently right-wing, hyper-capitalistic technology built primarily to amplify the wealth of its proponents through a combination of tax avoidance, diminished regulatory oversight and artificially enforced scarcity," he tweeted on Wednesday.
The cryptocurrency industry leverages a network of shady business connections, bought influencers and pay-for-play media outlets to perpetuate a cult-like "get rich quick" funnel designed to extract new money from the financially desperate and naive.
--- Jackson Palmer (@ummjackson) July 14, 2021
Palmer went on to say that crypto "is controlled by a powerful cartel of wealthy figures," and that it exploits the desperation of the financially desperate and naïve.
"Financial exploitation undoubtedly existed before cryptocurrency, but cryptocurrency is almost purpose built to make the funnel of profiteering more efficient for those at the top and less safeguarded for the vulnerable," he added.
Lose your savings account password? Your fault.
--- Jackson Palmer (@ummjackson) July 14, 2021
Fall victim to a scam? Your fault.
Billionaires manipulating markets? They're geniuses.
This is the type of dangerous "free for all" capitalism cryptocurrency was unfortunately architected to facilitate since its inception.
Palmer has spoken out against the industry he helped created before. In a 2017 Vice article, he wrote "something is very wrong" when Dogecoin hit a $2 billion market cap. Palmer also revealed he ended any involvement with crypto back in 2015.
While Dogecoin has fallen around 72% since reaching its all-time high in May, it still has a market cap of $25 billion, making it one of the top ten cryptos based on market value.
Doge's co-creator Markus tweeted that Palmer's points are valid, "aside from the pointless American politics piece."
This could be the last time we hear Palmer's opinion on the subject. "I am often asked if I will 'return to cryptocurrency' or begin regularly sharing my thoughts on the topic again. My answer is a wholehearted 'no,'" he tweeted.
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