Renowned economist Nouriel Roubini, best known for his predictions of the 2008 financial crash, has followed up on his now infamous “blockchain bashing” hearing with the US Senate yesterday with a series of vitriolic tweets.
During yesterday’s hearing, the Economics Professor had described Bitcoin as the “mother of all bubbles” and went on to describe blockchain technology as a glorified spreadsheet, and “the most over-hyped – and least useful – technology in human history.”
Whilst it is not the first time cryptocurrencies have attracted criticism from sceptics, it is the vitriolic nature of the attack – not just on Bitcoin, but of blockchain technology itself – that has attracted surprise. Leading Bitcoin advocate and entrepreneur Erik Voorhees was among many thousands to react to Nouriel’s criticisms on Twitter, stating that “Bitcoiners couldn’t pay for PR this good” before adding:
Whilst few members of the crypto-community will be inclined to agree with Roubini’s comments, some – including Salman Habbib, CEO of upcoming ICO HelloFriend – have conceded that some elements of his analysis may have validity. “There is no escaping the fact that there are severe challenges that exist to mainstream adoption, but one cannot dismiss the revolutionary nature of this technology,” stated Habbib in conversation with ICOExaminer, before adding that “Blockchain technology is currently at the same critical point in adoption that television, film, and internet once were.”
Nouriel’s attacks on cryptocurrencies came on a day when the crypto markets themselves lost over $15 billion as the stock markets entered into minor panic on the back of fears of a growing economic war between the US and China. It appears unlikely that his own hearing before the Senate will have had much of an impact on crypto markets.
