, Columnist
Dr. Doom v. Mr. Ethereum: Crypto Pits Economists Against Engineers
The heated debate between Nouriel Roubini and Vitalik Buterin is evidence of a fundamental conflict of two worldviews.
What are they worth, really?
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Economist Nouriel Roubini, nicknamed Dr. Doom for predicting the most recent global financial crisis, has crossed swords with cryptocurrency guru and Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin. In the epic battle of words, both are right about some things, and neither is quite wrong. Theirs is a fundamental, and philosophical, conflict.
It started with Roubini’s testimony before the U.S. Senate’s Banking Committee on Wednesday. The New York University professor, who has long disparaged virtual currencies and the blockchain technology behind them, delivered a particularly stinging indictment of the industry.