Nouriel Roubini Bashes Crypto, Says “Cryptocurrency as a Technology Has Absolutely No Basis for Success”

Nouriel Roubini, infamous for his anti-cryptocurrency stance, having called it a scam and that it is worse than the tulip bubble, has now made the claim that crypto “as a technology has no basis for success.”

Roubini made the remarks during an interview with CFA Institute, which covered several different subjects in detail.

The American economist and Stern School of Business professor said that he believes blockchain has nothing to do with the future of finance, and that cryptocurrencies are not stable as a store of value or scalable for payment.

Based on his expertise on the subject of bubbles and financial crises, Roubini is adamant about cryptocurrencies being a bubble:

I know one when I see one. And, of course, knowing when there is a real bubble — it’s a long and complicated story. But to me, the whole crypto space is one of assets that are not really money. They’re not really a currency. They’re not a scalable means of payment. They’re not as stable in terms of store of value.

He also said that there is a great deal of arrogance and ignorance in the crypto space, and cited the fanatic attitude of crypto enthusiasts:

Well, I engage on Twitter and I also have attended many of these crypto or blockchain conferences. I met some of these individuals, and I must say I’ve never seen in my life people who on one side are so arrogant in their views, who are total zealots and fanatics about this new asset class, while at the same time completely and totally ignorant of basic economics, finance, money, banking, central banking, monetary policy.

Still, Roubini is not entirely against technological developments bolstering the economy.

He expects other emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, big data and the Internet to revolutionize several segments of the financial world:

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.

Several in the crypto industry beg to differ with Roubini, who holds similar views as Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. That said, some notable names in the business world, like JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, have taken a 180 on their views on cryptocurrency.

There are also others who are firmly behind the idea that digital assets could better the world in several ways, like Morgan Creek’s Anthony Pompliano, and increasingly, tech leaders like Twitter’s Jack Dorsey.