NYU Economist: Crypto Is ‘More Centralized Than North Korea’

A new statement by the prominent New York University (NYU) economist and professor Nouriel Roubini is today’s crypto news – mostly because of the nature of the statement and the reference to North Korea.

Roubini made the statement during the US Senate hearing on blockchain and cryptocurrency technology. As he wrote on Twitter, it is a myth to say that cryptocurrency is decentralized, stating that in this respect the ecosystem is worse than North Korea.

Aside from this, Roubini also openly spoke about the co-creator of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, calling him a ‘centralized dictator for life’. He also stated:

Decentralization in crypto is a myth. It is a system more centralized than North Korea: miners are centralized, exchanges are centralized, developers are centralized dictators (Buterin is "dictator for life" ) & the Gini inequality coefficient of bitcoin is worse than North Korea

— Nouriel Roubini (@Nouriel) October 8, 2018

This is not the first time that Roubini who is known as “Dr.Doom” for his bearish economic forecasts, has taken aim at alleged centralization in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Earlier this year, he said that the idea that Bitcoin is decentralized is “bull$shit” and that blockchain is just a “glorified Excel spreadsheet.”

However, Roubini will also testify before a Senate hearing on blockchain technology, joined by Peter Van Valkenburgh who is the director of research at the cryptocurrency lobbying group Coin Center.

Many analysts are waiting to see what Roubini will pull out of his quiver during the hearing, and how will he describe the current situation in crypto. If we judge by his Twitter account, however, it is expected for his speech at the hearing to be quite creative and colorful.