Cryptocurrency tends to split opinion. Some people believe in digital currencies like bitcoin and maintain that their value will keep rising, while others call them Ponzi schemes beloved by criminals.
After his Reddit "Ask Me Anything" session yesterday, it seems Bill Gates falls firmly into the latter camp. The former Microsoft CEO even said the technology "has caused deaths in a fairly direct way."
When asked for his opinion on cryptos, Gates said their main feature was the anonymity they offer, and he doesn't think this is a good thing. The Governments ability to find money laundering and tax evasion and terrorist funding is a good thing. Right now cryptocurrencies are used for buying fentanyl and other drugs so it is a rare technology that has caused deaths in a fairly direct way, he explained.