AFP/Getty Images
Nouriel Roubini just crapped on the cryptocurrency party.
The famously bearish NYU economist — who earned the nickname “Dr. Doom” for predicting the financial crisis — blasted bitcoin fanatics as “suckers” and said repeatedly that its underlying technology was “ bulls–t.”
Bitcoin radicals say the cryptocurrency’s “blockchain,” or decentralized ledger for recording transactions, could eventually replace centralized banking systems worldwide.
But at a Wednesday panel at the Milken Institute Global Conference here, Roubini called the blockchain a “glorified Excel spreadsheet,” noting that cryptocurrency holders still go through centralized exchanges to clear their transactions.
“There is no decentralization, it’s just bulls–t,” Roubini said, using the potty-mouthed epithet no less than four times as he bad-mouthed bitcoin.
“This was a bubble … the ones who arrived late to the party are the suckers, Roubini said, referring to investors who bought Bitcoin last year when it traded at $20,000. It now trades around $9,000.
Roubini traded barbs with Alex Mashinsky, chief executive of crypto-lending space Celsius Network and Bill Barhydt, chief executive of cryptocurrency app Abra.
“Why don’t you buy one coin and then tell us how it works,” Mashinsky fired back at Roubini after the latter said he hasn’t bought any bitcoins.
It’s “like a horse salesman saying we don’t need combustion engines,” Barhydt said of Roubini.
It’s not the first time Roubini has weighed in, of course. He’s recently written an opinion piece claiming blockchain is one of the most overhyped technologies ever.
The crypto-craze — coupled with the flood of bad actors trying to get their piece — has captured the attention of regulators who are grappling with how to treat the space.
“Crypto is not a synonym for immune from the rule of law. We don’t want it to be a safe haven for bad things. We don’t think that mom and pop who invest in it should be ripped off,” Brent McIntosh, General Counsel of the Treasury Department, told The Post in a sidelines interview following the panel.
But McIntosh stopped short of saying what regulation would look like.
“I’ve long since stopped trying to predict what happens on The Hill,” McIntosh said.