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Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Slams Bitcoin SV: ‘Obviously a Complete Scam’

Last Updated March 4, 2021 2:34 PM
Greg Thomson
Last Updated March 4, 2021 2:34 PM

By CCN.com: Ethereum wunderkind Vitalik Buterin maintained his hardline stance on Bitcoin SV in a recent interview, calling Craig Wright’s cryptocurrency a “complete scam.”

Speaking with YouTuber Hardcore Crypto, Buterin left little room for interpretation regarding his thoughts on BSV. The Ethereum co-founder also gave his thoughts on decentralized exchanges and the worryingly centralized accumulation of power by Binance.

Ethereum Co-Founder: Bitcoin SV is a ‘Complete Scam’

vitalik buterin, craig wright, bitcoin sv, cryptocurrency
Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin ripped Bitcoin SV a new one. | Source: TechCrunch/Flickr (i), CoinGeek/YouTube (ii). Image Edited by CCN.com.

Just in case there was any doubt remaining about Buterin’s thoughts on Bitcoin SV, he told Hardcore Crypto :

“Obviously BSV is a complete scam, but the delisting from Binance – that was interesting. There’s arguments in favour of it, but then there’s also an argument that this is a centralized exchange that’s wielding a lot of power.”

Those thoughts regarding Binance’s delisting of Bitcoin SV were echoed in an article of my own from the same time – one which wasn’t received positively by a majority of commenters.

But what those commenters don’t realize is that Binance presents a much bigger potential threat than Bitcoin SV ever could. BSV will at best manage to hoodwink a few gullible investors into parting with their money – maybe.

Binance, on the other hand, has a long history of shenanigans, including demanding exorbitant fees from projects just to gain a listing. As Buterin said:

“They’ve asked for big listing fees. They influence which coins win and lose by deciding which trading pairs they have – so it’s weird to criticize that one decision (the delisting) without looking at all their others.”

Worse yet, if or when Binance falls, so too will most of the cryptocurrency market.

Vitalik Buterin Throws Fuel on the Craig Wright Dumpster Fire

It only took a month between the creation of Bitcoin SV and Buterin feeling obliged to offer some harsh criticism. Not long after the conclusion of the Bitcoin Cash hash war, Buterin gave the following scathing criticism on Twitter:

ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin Calls BSV a Dumpster Fire
  “BSV is a pure dumpster fire,” Vitalik Buterin alleged. | Source: Twitter

The Ethereum overseer also questioned the wisdom of Bitcoin SV’s 128 MB block sizes – some of the biggest (and emptiest) in the cryptosphere. Remarkably, the Bitcoin SV roadmap also posits a Q3 launch date for the activation to 2 GB block sizes. Buterin wrote in December 2018:

Vitalik Buterin Criticies Bitcoin SV Bllock Size
  The Ethereum creator said Bitcoin SV’s scaling method was “insanely stupid.” | Source: Twitter

But not everyone agrees, and Bitcoin SV supporters were out in full force to defend the integrity of their project. They maintain that the 2 GB block size will open up BSV to become the most scalable blockchain in existence. One commenter suggested Vitalik fears BSV, stating:

“BSV is a threat to ETH and he knows it. ETH will be nothing but a novelty sidechain of BitCoin run by a handful of autistic NEETs for nostalgic purposes to play with their antique ‘smart contracts’ and ‘chain links’ like so many neckbeards with N64 emulators.”

The Enemy of My Enemy is NOT My Friend

binance, cryptocurrency exchange
Ethereum’s creator and Bitcoin SV fans have both criticized crypto exchange behemoth Binance. | Source: Shutterstock

One might assume their mutual enemy of Binance might draw Bitcoin SV and Vitalik Buterin closer together, but that’s not so. Another angry commenter on the video wrote:

“Binance and CZ –  that is the actual fraudulent exchange and CZ is involved with serious crime (why he has been moving his business to different countries, running away from law enforcement… CZ is going to end up in JAIL).”

This saga began in mid-2018 when Vitalik Buterin said he hoped centralized crypto exchanges would burn in hell. Indeed, as Buterin noted in the recent interview, the success of decentralized exchanges would render Binance’s king-making (and SV-breaking) null and void.

For more on the utility of decentralized exchanges, check out: A Bet on the Future of DEX: Bancor, Kyber and 0x Protocols Examined .