>In my article We Need To Shut Bitcoin And All Other Cryptocurrencies Down. Here’s Why from last week, I made the argument that cryptomining (the transaction processing behind Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies) is so fraught with criminal enterprise that any crypto transaction unethically supports such crime.
>I pointed out in particular that illicit cryptomining, or ‘cryptojacking,’ where hackers install mining software on unsuspecting corporate networks, is set to explode, as organized crime becomes an increasingly pervasive force behind Bitcoin and other altcoins.
>I further argued that permissionless blockchain was at the heart of the problem, concluding that Bitcoin and its brethren would have to forego this flawed technology if they had any hopes of surviving.
>In response, I received hundreds of responses, many in agreement but an even greater number angrily opposed, particularly among the ‘crypto-anarchists’ at the heart of the Bitcoin/crypto movement.
>To my dismay, every single counterargument was fallacious – and many were downright hateful.
>First, the Anti-Semitic Dog Whistles
>Purveyors of hate speech often speak in ‘dog whistles,’ a kind of code in attempts to disguise their evil intent. For many of the most extreme crypto fans, cryptocurrency is anti-bank, with ‘bank’ being a dog whistle for ‘global Jewish conspiracy.’
>All it took was my Jewish-sounding name to set them off. “We Need To Shut Jews And All Their Currencies Down. Here’s Why,” says anonymous Veeky Forums contributor ‘3auiS//y,’ who calls himself ‘Adolf Hitler.’
