• Ethereum co-creator, Vitalik Buterin, and Cardano creator, Charles Hoskinson, join forces against Adam Back’s claims.
• Back compared Ethereum and Cardano to Ponzi schemes and criticized “pre-mining” of cryptocurrencies.

A new controversy has arisen in the crypto community. Initiated by Blockstream’s CEO and co-founder Adam Back, it has involved some of the most important personalities in crypto space. Among them are Cardano’s creator, Charles Hoskinson, Ethereum co-creator, Vitalik Buterin, and Ripple‘s CTO, David Schwartz.

Back is recognized as one of the precursors of Bitcoin (BTC). Back is the creator of the HashCash system that Satoshi Nakamoto used as one of the inspirations for creating Bitcoin. In addition, he’s been involved with Bitcoin since its inception. Therefore, there’s been a growing rumour that Nakamoto and Back are the same person. However, Back has denied the theory. As CEO of Blockstream, Back is dedicated to promoting the development of Bitcoin and is known as one of its “Maximalists”.

Cardano and Ethereum versus Bitcoin’s maximalists

The controversial discussion was initiated by journalist Layah Heilpern. In a tweet, the journalist asked her audience what would be like if “you don’t like someone because they prefer a different coin than yours”. Back responded by comparing Ethereum, Cardano and Ripple, 3 of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, to Ponzi schemes:

Bitconnect, Charles Ponzi, ethereum, onecoin, Cardano, ripple, Bernie Madoff, stellar, Dan Larmer. All looking very similar grade to me.

The reporter responded by asking Back if he thinks Ethereum is criminal and illegal or a way to add value to the ecosystem in terms of dApps. Back responded by criticizing that Ethereum “pre-mined” 70% of its supply and by asking: What is a bigger scam Ripple or Ethereum?

In the crypto community there are frequent discussions between the communities of one coin and another. Usually centered on which currency is a scam, which has greater benefits, or which will go up in price first. The discussions, according to some users, promote hate and do not contribute to the progress of the crypto space.

Bitcoin’s maximalists are known for their radical stance. These users believe that only Bitcoin is a legitimate cryptocurrency. Back is one of their main figures. IOHK’s CEO and creator of Cardano responded to Back’s statements. According to Hoskinson, comparing Cardano to a Ponzi scheme is “sad and pathetic”. In addition, Hoskinson said that maximalism is a “mental illness”. Hoskinson joined Ripple’s CTO, David Schwartz, and established a position on “pre-mining”:

I guess Microsoft is a scam because Bill Gates got that pre-mine. People amaze me sometimes. Satoshi silently mines for a year with mostly unused software -> AWESOME AND MORAL. A team comes together and takes huge risk to deliver something over multiple years -> PREMINE SCAM!!!!

Cardano’s creator has been very vocal on establishing his position against “fake news”. In several videos, Hoskinson has called for a stop to the dissemination of false and malicious information. In that sense, Ethereum co-creator, Vitalik Buterin, also responded to Back. Calling his statements “propaganda,” Buterin said that fake news is becoming less and less effective. The co-creator of Ethereum added:

Ethereum is rising, proof of stake and sharding are rising, and rollups are here, all through a large distributed ecosystem working in parallel. The tides of history will not be favorable to maximalism.

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