TL;DR: Bitcoin pioneer turned self-styled revolutionary, Amir Taaki, announced the advent of Facebook Coin Libra is effectively an end for any mainstream cryptocurrency adoption hope, “exactly like when Linux lost to Mac, or Firefox lost to Chrome.” He also told followers, “The only way forward is to embrace our destiny as the tool of terrorists and criminals.”

Amir Taaki Believes Facebook Coin is a Bitcoin Mainstream Adoption Killer



“FB coin is exactly like when Linux lost to Mac, or Firefox lost to Chrome,” Taaki scorned. “Stop spinning this as a victory for crypto. All the normies [will never] use Bitcoin. FB coin will become standard online. States will outlaw unregulated cryptos and nobody will pay any attention.”

It’s a decidedly stark contrast from the enigmatic, once notoriously jovial Bitcoin celebrity. Taaki is considered one of the earliest and most important adoptors of cryptocurrency. A self-taught coder, he also styled himself something of a crypto-anarchist, making common cause with other early movers in the space like Cody Wilson of 3D gun, Defense Distributed fame. Taaki was active in the Bitcoin community, is said to have created prototypes of what would become OpenBazaar, and even helped to birth the current privacy-oriented wallet craze with projects such as Dark Wallet.

“‏The only way forward,” Taaki continued, “is to embrace our destiny as the tool of terrorists and criminals, and start to realize only our morals are what carry us. We will never have more users, better design, usability. We must double down on values. And the current leaders of crypto are corrupt.”

Facebook’s official rollout of its project Libra has indeed grabbed headlines, essentially forcing cryptocurrency luminaries to comment, weigh-in ahead of its 2020 formal launch. Reaction has been decidedly mixed, teetering between outright dismissal, to Libra’s potential popularity being a net-positive for cryptocurrency adoption. Taaki is one of the few to outright state how the social media giant’s reach is so vast it basically drowns out everything else, relegating digital currencies to the margin. In recent years, Taaki’s tone has indeed increasingly turned sour, especially regarding Bitcoin Core (BTC) and its developer leadership.

DISCLOSURE: The author holds cryptocurrency as part of his financial portfolio, including BCH.

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