The founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, initiated a debate with a statement comparing the reliability of banks and Bitcoin, which resonated widely in the cryptocurrency world. John Deaton, one of the leading lawyers in the Ripple-SEC case, responded to Wales’s statement with a personal stance.
Deaton described an incident from his past when he wanted to withdraw $19,000 in cash from a bank. He explained how the absence of the manager caused significant delays, during which Bitcoin produced 144 blocks.
Billy Markus, the founder of Dogecoin, accused Jimmy Wales of continuously making financial demands on behalf of the Wikipedia platform. The critiques of Wales’s post from prominent figures in the cryptocurrency world were not limited.
Erik Voorhees, the CEO of ShapeShift, criticized Wikipedia’s donation model and stated that if the company had invested in Bitcoin ten years ago, it would not have such financial expectations. Cryptocurrency tracker and YouTuber Wendy O praised the accountability of the person at the core of Bitcoin and defended Bitcoin’s morality by alleging that banks perform daily robberies.
Crypto advocates like John Deaton and Billy Markus, by providing a counter perspective to the views of Wikipedia’s founder, are fueling ongoing debates on the trustworthiness of traditional banking and the potential of cryptocurrencies. In this context, the evolution within the financial structure contributes to shaping concepts such as autonomy, efficiency, and accountability for the future.