Controversial Hollywood star James Woods has engaged Bitcoin fans and enemies in a Twitter debate. Bitcoin, he claimed, enabled criminal activity and its supporters are overly-sensitive to criticism.
Also read: Australia’s Largest Bank Faces Money Laundering, Terrorism Fines
The 70 year-old star of Shark, Salvador and Ghosts of Mississippi — who’s best known for his bad-guy portrayals and provoking Democrat supporters on social media — opened with the following:
"A sucker and his #bitcoins are soon parted…" – old Chinese proverb, circa 12th century https://t.co/IXUG6hGuZX
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) August 3, 2017
Woods’ 756,000 Twitter followers include a wide selection of Bitcoin fans and regular people. Several agreed with him, while others pointed out ransomware is more likely to victimize the non-tech savvy than people who actually own cryptocurrency.
Criticisms displayed the usual misunderstandings of how Bitcoin works, describing it variously as completely untraceable, a Chinese conspiracy, or “like collecting Beanie Babies”.
Woods was happy to engage the crowd, responding to an accusation that he might have an ulterior motive:
Wrong question: why are criminals promoting it? https://t.co/xAkcWTsTbp
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) August 3, 2017
“(I’m) old enough to spot a Ponzi scheme when I see one,” he replied to one Bitcoiner who suggested his advanced age might be the issue.
“I’m not against #bitcoin. For you! Just personally uncomfortable with the idea of losing one’s net worth to a mouse click from the Dark Web.”
But the vocal conservative/libertarian noted he’s no fan of the fiat system either, writing: “Feel the same way about the Fed, too! Anything of value managed by a cabal is not for me. I’ll take things that have real value, thanks.”
#BITCOIN is less than air.. it's an online fantasy that has an online wallet. Online is safe?
— Shawn G. Chasing The Truth (@1shawnster) August 3, 2017
Woods also compared Bitcoiners to alchemists, before tweeting out his coup de grace:
Here's the only thing I know about #bitcoin to an absolute certainty: if I question it, those who embrace it will become abusive.
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) August 3, 2017
This final post prompted the longest debate. However it didn’t completely prove Woods’ point — Bitcoiners certainly defended their positions, but very few were rude or impolite. On the contrary, most attacks seemed to come from the anti-digital currency side.
Could Woods Actually Be Right?
Woods’ critical take on Bitcoin isn’t new. In May 2017 he compared it to a Ponzi scheme, tweeting “If Bernie Madoff were reincarnated as an algorithm: #Bitcoin”.
Some within the cryptocurrency community have raised the topic too. Strong Bitcoin proponents like Chris De Rose and Joshua Unseth have at times questioned whether it may be a “naturally-occurring Ponzi”.
World Bank policy researcher Kaushik Basu also argued in a 2014 paper Bitcoin fit the “standard definition of a speculative bubble” that benefited early investors — but added “Bitcoin is not a deliberate Ponzi”.
Woods did make a valid point, though: some Bitcoiners (and devotees of most new technologies) don’t handle criticism well:
https://twitter.com/brentstevens33/status/893643994982268928
The above tweet, as well as being ad hominem, is not a debate-winner by any stretch. Bitcoiners also have a bad habit of using price gains as an argument to “prove” Bitcoin’s viability.
Current price of Bitcoin $2737. Lets see this time next year what the price is. Your Bitcoin can be as safe as you want to make it.
— CyberHornet🐝 (@MrMochizuki) August 3, 2017
While those who bought and sold at the right time did make impressive gains, it’s not Bitcoin’s purpose — and mentioning price only fuels further warnings about Ponzis and sudden losses.
Even a true believer could easily have gone all-in at $1,200 USD in November 2013, before crashing out at $200 some time in 2015. If price wasn’t a good defense for those two years, then it isn’t now.
Perhaps the best response to ill-informed attacks on Bitcoin comes from Roger Ver, who says “the best thing about Bitcoin is no-one’s forcing you to use it.” If you don’t like Bitcoin, then it’s simple — don’t hold any.
Do you agree with any of James Woods’ comments? Share your opinions below.
Images via Twitter, Wikimedia Commons
