Nouriel Roubini, economist and notorious cryptocurrency critic asserts that crypto “as technology has absolutely no basis for success,” in an interview with the CFA Institute on March 6.
Roubini is a New-York-based economist who famously predicted the 2008 financial crisis and has been a vocal about his anti-crypto sentiment. Reiterating his negative stance towards the crypto and blockchain space, he stated that the entire crypto industry consists of assets that are neither money nor currency; stressing that cryptocurrencies are neither stable in terms of bringing a store of value, nor a scalable means of payment.
Roubini’s argument
Roubini pointed in the interview, that the extreme bull market during the second half of 2017 as of crypto’s flaws, he argued that “millions of people” were buying crypto because of a fear of missing out, but didn’t “know anything about finance or portfolio investments.”
As per Roubini crypto’s performance represents an “exponential, parabolic bubble,” which is starting to burst as there is no real fundamental value backing it as an asset. Along with his negative stance on crypto, Roubini also targetted blockchain, the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies, adding that the technology has “nothing to do with” the future of financial services.
Roubini gladly excluded blockchain tech from the list of major technologies leading to a manufacturing or fintech revolution that includes artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, and the Internet of Things. He went on to state that the “real revolution in financial services is fintech, but fintech has nothing to do with crypto.”
He elaborated:
“Fintech is going be a combination of artificial intelligence and big data and the ubiquitous internet. It will revolutionize payment systems, credit allocation, capital market functions, insurance, investment management, financial advice, etc.”
Roubini stated earlier this year that blockchain is “no better than an Excel spreadsheet” and is the “most overhyped technology ever.” Contrary to Roubini’s thought process, the chairman of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, recently claimed that blockchain would have transformed regulators’ real-time responses to the 2008 global financial crash if it had been in use at the time.
Just recently, International Data Corporation and advisory services firm published a report claiming that blockchain spending will grow almost 89% in 2019 and blockchain investments are expected to reach $2.9 billion in 2019 and $12.4 billion in 2022. The study also states that the financial sector will be the leading industry in terms of investment in blockchain tech, forecasted to spend a total of more than $1.1 billion.
These reports are well supported by recent Blockchain use cases, including Russian Political Party Launching Blockchain-Based E-Voting to bring transparency to the whole voting system. Also, the Argentinian government plans to support Blockchain Startups Backed by Binance Labs.
Read more:OneCoin Founders Charged Billions For Alleged Fraud By The US District Attorney
