U.Today-It's not every day that a cryptocurrency exchange CEO and vocal critic finds themselves in a daze, but here we are. Brian Armstrong, president of Coinbase (NASDAQ:), recently pointed out a problem that is both a blessing and a curse for the crypto industry: the sheer volume of new tokens being created.
With about a million tokens appearing every week, Armstrong argued that the current system of evaluating each one individually is no longer feasible.
Instead, he proposed switching from an “allow list” to a “block list,” relying on customer reviews and automated scanning of on-chain data to help users sift through the noise. He also hinted at deeper integration with decentralized exchanges (DEXS), with the goal of making the trading experience seamless, regardless of whether it happens on a centralized or decentralized platform.
Proof of work? Nothing more than a hole in the ground
Enter Peter Schiff, a Gold Advocate and Cryptocurrency skeptic who never misses an opportunity to question the value of digital assets. Schiff's response to Armstrong's comments was characteristically frank.
He took note of the idea of “finite supply,” a cornerstone of Bitcoin’s value proposition, and called it into question. With so many tokens flooding the market, Schiff argued that the inflation rate for digital assets is “effectively off the charts.”
However, he did not stop there and turned to the Bitcoin Proof of Work mechanism, which is the process through which new coins are created and transactions are verified. For him, proof of work is a flawed concept.
Schiff compared it to spending $10,000 to drill a hole and then fill it back up—energy is expended, but no value is created. While Bitcoin enthusiasts often tout the energy-intensive process as an advantage, gold advocates see it as a mistake.
Energy is consumed, yes, but it is not stored or converted into anything useful. He said that Bitcoin is not a battery. It does not hold energy that can be exploited later.
