Wikipedia

David Gerard (author)

David Gerard (born 1966/67) is an Australian IT systems administrator,[4][5] finance author and Wikipedia administrator, best known as a cryptocurrency sceptic and commentator on cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and related blockchain technologies.[6] He is the author of the cryptocurrency books Attack of the 50-foot Blockchain (2017),[7] and Libra Shrugged (2020).[8]

David Gerard
Gerard in 2020
Born (1967-02-19) February 19, 1967 (age 57)[1][2]
Perth, Western Australia[3]
OccupationIT systems administrator[4]
Known for
  • Cryptocurrency criticism
  • Wikipedia volunteering
Notable work
  • Attack of the 50-foot Blockchain (2017)
  • Libra Shrugged (2020)
SpouseRose Gerard
Websitedavidgerard.co.uk

Criticism of cryptocurrency

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Gerard has expressed sceptical views on cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and blockchain technologies.[9]

Advocacy

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In 2018, Gerard was consulted by the Treasury Select Committee in the Parliament of the United Kingdom during its inquiry into crypto-assets,[10] and his evidence was cited in the committee's final report.[11] His works have been cited in various academic papers and journals on cryptocurrencies and related blockchain technologies.[12]

In 2022, Gerard was interviewed on both 60 Minutes Australia about the dangers of cryptocurrencies and the bursting of the cryptocurrency bubble[13][14] and on CNN Business about the dangers of the bubble in non-fungible tokens in the United States.[15] Gerard is interviewed in the 2021 Canadian documentary film Dead Man's Switch: A Crypto Mystery, about the collapse of Canadian cryptocurrency firm, QuadrigaCX, in 2018 and 2019.[16]

Gerard's stance against cryptocurrencies has attracted the ire of parts of the cryptocurrency community, including being labelled as "the most intellectually dishonest man in the crypto universe".[17][18] Gerard has won public support from prominent financial commentators, such as in 2021 when US investor Mike Burry changed his Twitter image to a quote from Attack of the 50-foot Blockchain: "NFTs exist so that the crypto grifters can have a new kind of magic bean to sell for actual money, and pretend they're not selling magic beans."[19][20]

Books

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In 2017, Gerard released his first book, Attack of the 50-foot Blockchain,[21] which criticises cryptocurrency for, among other reasons, its energy cost and the high number of exchange hacks.[22] Gerard details technological issues with the infrastructure of blockchain applications, including smart contracts, which he describes as neither smart nor legal contracts. Parts of the book are dedicated to debunking claims made by cryptocurrency advocates; for example, he provides evidence that bitcoin has not dispensed with the malfeasance present in traditional banks and markets or helped people rise out of poverty.[23]

Sue Halpern described the book in The New York Review of Books as "a sober riposte to all the upbeat forecasts about cryptocurrency".[22] Martin Walker of the London School of Economics Business Review called the book "the first real, 'no holds barred', attack on the whole bitcoin/cryptocurrency/blockchain movement".[23] Regarding the cryptocurrency bubble, the BBC said, "Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain is a very convincing takedown of the whole phenomenon."[24] In the American Book Review, Aaron Jaffe recommended it alongside David Golumbia's Politics of Bitcoin: Software as Right-Wing Extremism.[25]

In 2020,[8] Gerard released his second book, Libra Shrugged.[26] The book explores Facebook's aborted attempt to create Libra, a cryptocurrency, and discussed reactions to it from central banks.[27]

Wikipedia editing

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Gerard has been active as a Wikipedia volunteer since the encyclopedia's early days,[28] and is one of the administrators on the project.[29] At various times he has volunteered and acted as a spokesman for Wikipedia[30] for various news media outlets, including appearing on Newsnight,[31] speaking with BBC News,[1] and others.[32][33][34]

Personal life

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Gerard lives in Greater London with his wife and child.[35][5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Miller, Joe (6 August 2014). "Wiki wars: Do Wikipedia's internal tiffs deter newcomers?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  2. ^ @davidgerard (19 February 2010). "Happy Fuckin' Birthday To Me. Mayor of my bed on FourSquare" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Salmon, James (13 April 2022). "Cryptocurrency has its fans — and its detractors". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023. Gerard, a London-based journalist from Perth ..
  4. ^ a b Van Boom, Daniel (13 April 2021). "Beyond Bitcoin: Inside the insane world of altcoin cryptocurrencies". CNET. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  5. ^ a b Brown, Abram. "Inside The Reddit Forum That Wants To See Bitcoin Die". Forbes. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Don't be fooled: Crypto is going up because of market manipulation". Mashable. 17 January 2023. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  7. ^ Edelman, Gilad. "Welcome to the Zombie Cryptocalypse". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  8. ^ a b Silverman, Jacob; Shure, Natalie; Pareene, Alex (20 April 2021). "Cryptocurrencies Are the Next Frontier for the Surveillance State". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  9. ^ McCallum, Shiona; Vallance, Chris (16 November 2022). "Over a million are owed money by failed crypto exchange". BBC News. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Researchers, journalists and businesses questioned on blockchain uses". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 23 June 2022. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  11. ^ "2Blockchain and crypto-assets: advantages and limitations". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 19 September 2018. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Academic papers: Attack of the 50-Foot Blockchain". davidgerard.co.uk. 2023. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  13. ^ McWilliams, Lauren (2022). "'You can't get rich for free': Expert predicts crypto crash is only going to get worse". 60 minutes. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  14. ^ Chung, Frank (6 June 2022). "Crypto expert says mum-and-dad investors are going to get 'absolutely wrecked'". news.com.au. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  15. ^ Sarlin, Jon (4 September 2022). "No one seems to want NFTs anymore. Here's why". CNN Business. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  16. ^ "Dead Man's Switch: a crypto mystery". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 20 December 2021. Archived from the original on 28 December 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  17. ^ Munster, Ben (8 April 2019). ""Bitcoin is an apocalyptic death cult" — Curry with David Gerard". Decrypt. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  18. ^ Munster, Ben (22 January 2020). "Do "no-coiners" gate-keep Crypto Wikipedia?". Decrypt. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  19. ^ Graziosi, Graig (16 March 2021). "'Big Short' investor Michael Burry shares quote slamming NFTs as 'magic beans' sold by 'crypto grifters'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  20. ^ Mohamed, Theron (16 March 2021). "'Big Short' investor Michael Burry slams NFTs with a quote warning 'crypto grifters' are selling them as 'magic beans'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  21. ^ "Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain: The Book". Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain. 22 April 2017. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  22. ^ a b Halpern, Sue. "Bitcoin Mania". ISSN 0028-7504. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  23. ^ a b Walker, Martin (30 October 2017). "Blockchain and bitcoin: In search of a critique". LSE Business Review. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  24. ^ "Tech Tent: What a year for Bitcoin". BBC News. 22 December 2017. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  25. ^ Jaffe, Aaron (2019). "Reboot Everything". American Book Review. 40 (6): 15–16. doi:10.1353/abr.2019.0094. ISSN 2153-4578. S2CID 208620206.
  26. ^ "Sam Bankman-Fried was hailed as a crypto wonder child. What happened?". The Guardian. 15 November 2022. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  27. ^ "Central bank digital currency – nine key questions answered". LSE Business Review. 15 December 2020. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  28. ^ "Wikipedia at 20: The encyclopedia in five articles". BBC News. 15 January 2021. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  29. ^ Kelly, Jemima (24 August 2020). "Who's been editing the Ripple CEO's Wikipedia page?". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  30. ^ "Wikipedia child image censored". BBC News. 8 December 2008. Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  31. ^ Wark, Kirsty (26 August 2009). "Is the philosophy of Wikipedia now dead?". BBC Newsnight. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023. Kirsty Wark is joined by David Gerard, a Wikipedia Editor, and by Kevin Anderson from the Guardian
  32. ^ Smith, Catherine (18 December 2007). "Wikipedia blocks users in Lehi neighborhood". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  33. ^ "Wikipedia bans posts from Qatar". The Age. 4 January 2007. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  34. ^ Sonnenfeld, Daniel (9 February 2021). "IDF asks Wikipedia to edit 'Hezbollah' entry to reflect terror designation". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  35. ^ "About the author". Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain. 8 July 2017. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
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