Bill Gates on Reddit AMA:

The main feature of crypto currencies is their anonymity. I don’t think this is a good thing. The Governments ability to find money laundering and tax evasion and terrorist funding is a good thing. Right now crypto currencies are used for buying fentanyl and other drugs so it is a rare technology that has caused deaths in a fairly direct way. I think the speculative wave around ICOs and crypto currencies is super risky for those who go long.

Lets nitpick line by line.

The main feature of crypto currencies is their anonymity.

Wrong. Bitcoin is pretty hard to use anonymously while virtually no one uses altcoins designed to be more anonymous. Anonymity is a feature, but not the main one. The main feature is sovereignty.

I don’t think this is a good thing.

Wrong. The anonymity (and sovereignty) that Bitcoin gives to each individual holder is very good, because it’s virtually the only tool that protects the individual against all-powerful police states all around the world.

The Governments ability to find money laundering and tax evasion and terrorist funding is a good thing.

Wrong. The governments’ ability to do things rests on large-scale extortion. Governments themselves run giant money scams, extract nominal fees from banks that launder money, fund terrorists around the world and finance unimaginable range of guns and other sadistic devices such as prisons, public schools and DMVs.

Right now crypto currencies are used for buying fentanyl and other drugs so it is a rare technology that has caused deaths in a fairly direct way.

Non sequitur. USD cash is used for buying all sorts of drugs too. Also, USD is involved in financing the largest military-industrial complex in the entire world for the last several decades, that has caused deaths in a fairly direct way at a scale which makes the entire cryptocurrency activity a joke. Even more direct is government messing with substances to actually hurt people.

At the same time, the correct monetary policy of Bitcoin (restricted supply and immutable rules) and a resulting 7x/yr average appreciation over the past 9 years is a huge motivating factor for saving both money and health so one can enjoy a rich and fulfilling life in the long run. People who realize it not only try to stay away from illegal transactions, but also avoid the harming legal ones (e. g. quit smoking).

I think the speculative wave around ICOs and crypto currencies is super risky for those who go long.

Wrong. It is actually, more risky to get involved in the speculative wave of ICOs and try to time the market, not for those who go long on Bitcoin.