“Let me say it this way. When you build the tool, you don’t know how it’s going to be used. You try to improve the tool looking at how it’s being used, but really, you have no control over how the thing is used.”
Stroustrup continued, “So, I’m very happy and proud of some things C++ is being used at and some other things I wish people wouldn’t do. Bitcoin mining is my favorite example. It uses as much energy as Switzerland and mostly serves criminals.”
Well he is wrong. Perhaps his current Bank employer has fed his head with FUD, or he is simply repeating like a parrot whatever the media says without stopping to study things properly.
Besides mining is more related to
cgminer (or forks), which happen to be what most asic mining devices use and that's written in C, not C++
We have discussed countless times those same old lies repeated again and again here. "Mostly serves criminals" is as insulting as it can get. This reminds me of certain developer of certain project that used nearly the very same words about Tor, freedom be damned if a "criminal" happens to use the tool...
Except crime prefers fiat and their adoption is identical to worldwide adoption, if not less since they trust fiat more...
He is just attacking Bitcoin out of ignorance, maybe he just wanted to look nice in the interview and wanted a "counterpoint" Well i'm sure c++ is also used in worldwide mass surveillance, state oppression, terrorism, espionage and whatnot. Maybe he justs wants people to discard "the tool" and move to Rust or something...
