In the long-standing battle between the government and the crypto industry, John McAfee has actively supported the latter and has been quite vocal about his views on legislating digital currencies. The computer scientist, known for his controversial statements, tweeted on Saturday that using cryptocurrencies is a “personal desire”, and the government cannot control it.
In America, was illegal to drink alcohol from 1920 to 1933. Constitutional Ammendment 18. Only amendment to be repealed. You can't legislate personal desires. If you want to use Crypto, you will do so. Can't be forced to do otherwise. Governments have no power in this decision.
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) October 12, 2019
The tweet comes at a time when governments all over the world are taking serious steps to either regulate or completely ban digital currencies. Emerging economic powerhouses like India and China already have stringent, and even criminal laws against the crypto transactions. However, voices against the use of such force by the government to prevent people from engaging in investment assets have intensified, and popular techies like McAfee are at the forefront. In fact, the anti-virus pioneer had previously mentioned that he was also against income tax, and considered it as theft of wealth by the establishment.
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Earlier in the week, former Goldman Sachs partner Michael Novogratz stated in a TV interview that keeping the decentralized economy is necessary, as it allows people to fight against the atrocities of the government. Citing the example of the ongoing protests in Hong Kong, the Galaxy Digital boss stated that crypto must remain decentralized as centralizing it would bring dangers of misuse, causes targeted harassment of vulnerable groups.
John McAfee is known for blasting the US government and agencies for several reasons, and their attempts to regulate crypto is one of them. He recently launched McAfee DEX, a decentralized crypto exchange, which banks on low processing fees, privacy, and ease of use. Interestingly, McAfee himself is on the run for various economic offenses, and keeps shifting his bases to avoid arrest.
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While McAfee’s argument, that the government shouldn’t and cannot control crypto usage, is not a lone incident, it would be interesting to see how the authorities react to his move to launch a decentralized exchange. McAfee will also be attending the CC Forum for Investments in Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence.
