In January 2019, UC Berkeley researcher Nicholas Weaver stood on stage at the Enigma security conference and declared: “Cryptocurrency: Burn it with fire.” Ars Technica covered it, and his message was blunt: crypto wastes electricity, fuels crime, and should be scrapped.
Full video above, read the Ars Technica article here.
At the time of his speech, Bitcoin was worth about US $3,500. Today, it trades at around US $116,000 — more than thirty times higher. That doesn’t erase his criticisms, but as the Chinese saying goes: 生米煮成熟饭 — rice has already been cooked. You can’t uncook it. The better question is: what do we actually do with it now?
Weaver’s “Myths” — and Today’s Reality
Myth 1: Crypto is good for payments. Weaver argued it’s clumsy and expensive for everyday shopping. He was right. But skip the coffee line — crypto does shine in high-friction transfers. Migrant workers and freelancers now use stablecoins to send money cheaply and instantly across borders.
Myth 2: Crypto is a currency. Weaver warned that Bitcoin’s deflationary design discourages spending. He was right — it never really worked as everyday money: too slow, volatile, and clunky to buy coffee with. But the market reframed it. Bitcoin became not “internet cash,” but “digital gold.” Instead of spending, people hold it. Scarcity gives it value, regret fuels holding, and ETFs make it easy for ordinary investors. In short, Bitcoin failed as a currency but succeeded as an asset class.
Myth 3: It’s safe and decentralised. He pointed to hacks, frozen funds, and lost wallets. Still risks, yes. But since 2019, custody has matured: ETFs, regulated exchanges, and hardware wallets mean people don’t always need to guard their keys alone.
Myth 4: Blockchain will revolutionise everything. He dismissed “blockchain for [insert industry: healthcare, supply chain, real estate, voting]” as hype. And many projects did collapse. But serious pilots remain — banks tokenising bonds, deposits, and funds. Quiet, back-end changes rather than flashy revolutions.
What People Actually Use Crypto For
- Protect savings from inflation In Argentina, Turkey, and Nigeria, families use crypto to shield their money from collapsing local currencies.
- Send money abroad instantly A Filipino worker in Singapore can send digital dollars (stablecoins) home in minutes, saving S$20–30 per transfer.
- Borrow or earn without a bank Platforms let you borrow against your holdings or stake them to earn interest — a kind of DIY savings account.
- Buy and resell tickets safely Concert and event tickets can be issued as NFTs, each with a unique ID on the blockchain. That makes them hard to fake, easy to verify, and simple to transfer. Organisers can even cap resale prices or require resale through official channels. Done right, this cuts down on counterfeits and ticket scams. Ditto for memberships, in-game items.
- Move funds during crises When banks shut down in Ukraine, millions in aid flowed in via crypto because it was faster and harder to block.
- Micro-payments and tips Creators can accept tiny payments from anywhere — amounts too small for PayPal or Visa.
The Takeaway
Weaver’s flamethrower critique wasn’t baseless. Payments are clunky. Scams still abound. Decentralisation is messy.
But the rice is cooked. Since his 2019 speech, Bitcoin alone has risen over thirtyfold. Crypto has become a toolbox that people actually use — not for buying coffee, but for saving, sending, borrowing, buying, donating, and tipping.
The challenge isn’t whether it should exist. It does. The challenge is how to use it wisely, and how to stop the meal from being spoiled.