David Drake, the founder of LDJ Capital, was the moderator for a bout between Nouriel Roubini and Tone Vays at Block Show America 2018. Roubini is the chairman of an economic consultancy firm Roubini Macro Associates LLC, and a professor at Stern School of Business, New York University. Vays, at the same time, is a former Wall Street trader and is known as an expert for trading, risk analysis, economic trends, and cryptocurrency.
During the discussion, Roubini stated that this experience in blockchain comes from his ability to see a bubble before it bursts. Former trader Vays and now a prominent YouTuber and speaker refuted Roubini’s claim with his strong disagreement against the dysfunction of the crypto space. However, Vays maintains that anything besides Bitcoin is ‘useless’ and ‘anything else is scammy or fraudulent.’
Roubini laid a strong emphasis on the tension between institutions and regulations. Vays further went on to compare Bitcoin to nuclear waste, “if you don’t know how to properly store it, disaster may strike.” Vays remains a devotee despite this apparent pitfall.
Roubini remains extremely wary of crypto. He backed up his claim stating numerous pump and dump schemes as well as traders exchanging “shitcoins day in and day out.” Roubini said that Bitcoin is the only crypto that would exist should the crypto market go haywire.
Roubini is extremely sceptical that any modern government, especially the Trump government, would actually tolerate the ‘anonymity’ associated with Bitcoin.
During the end of the dialogue, Roubini spoke about crypto mining, stating that the centralisation of mining is a scam in light of the claims that these digital assets are decentralised. Neither party pulled any punches, and the match-up led up to a brief discussion about mining centralisation before wrapping up for good.
Events in the crypto space have always been fascinating, given that they are a platform where some of the most notable faces of the crypto space come together to express and share their views about this industry.
