Von Tetzchner Slams Crypto Again: 'We Should Have Banned It'

Vivaldi CEO Jon von Tetzchner is no stranger to criticizing cryptocurrencies. In fact, he's been a long-time critic of them. He recently expressed his views on social media, stating that 'we should have banned cryptocurrencies.' According to him, they are used to exert excessive political influence and lack proper regulation.

Von Tetzchner also pointed out the issue with user profiling for ads and content algorithms, saying that it's something that 'we did not ban' and now live with its consequences. He noted that some AI companies are themselves calling for regulation, as they seem unable to stop their own negative impacts.

Von Tetzchner has a history of being uncompromising in his views on crypto. Back in January 2022, he published an extensive article explaining why Vivaldi would not follow rival browsers by adding crypto-related features. He called cryptocurrencies 'a pyramid scheme posing as currency' and argued that their extreme volatility prevents them from functioning effectively.

Von Tetzchner's views on AI are also worth noting. In August 2025, he said that Vivaldi would resist the industry-wide rush to turn browsers into AI assistants. He criticized competing browsers for spending resources on AI assistants instead of conventional browser improvements and pointed out that his company's users overwhelmingly resisted this trend.