American economist Nouriel Roubini announced that thousands of crypto holders could soon go to prison.
In fact, in response to a tweet with which Modern Consensus shared an article about Tether’s regulatory compliance, Roubini wrote:
Criminality is standard in crypto land. 1000s of folks in crypto belong to jail n will end up there soon. They have been arrogantly flouting all criminal laws/regulations as if they are above the law under the b/s fig leaf of "censorship resistance": excuse for sheer sick greed! https://t.co/kR3Td8h5Ks
— Nouriel Roubini (@Nouriel) August 3, 2019
“Criminality is standard in crypto land. 1000s of folks in crypto belong to jail n will end up there soon. They have been arrogantly flouting all criminal laws/regulations as if they are above the law under the b/s fig leaf of “censorship resistance”: excuse for sheer sick greed”.
Roubini is well known worldwide for having repeatedly accused cryptocurrencies of making no sense and promoting crime, but this tweet seems a little over the top even for a character so accustomed to being against crypto.
First of all, Roubini’s answer seems to have very little to do with the article shared by Modern Consensus: it seems more like another opportunity to aim the gun at the crypto world, than an attempt to discuss the original tweet.
Moreover, Roubini hypothesises that thousands of people will end up in prison but without saying why: the crypto holders according to him “have broken all laws and criminal regulations” and this sounds only like a boutade, so to speak. In short, a fine performance perhaps to look like a loudmouth at the bar, but certainly not worthy of a public figure who boasts the title of “CoinDesk’s Most Influential“.
It is not even clear to who is referring with that “thousands of people in the crypto sector” because, if on the one hand there is certainly someone in the sector who has violated laws (as in all sectors), on the other, there are millions of crypto holders who have not broken any law when buying, storing or trading cryptocurrencies.
In other words, his tweet is inconclusive and rather irrelevant, more like a sterile concentrate of insults than an analysis of a professor worthy of the Stern School of Business at the University of New York.
The language used is certainly not suited to that of the lecture halls of one of the most prestigious universities in the world and the obvious search for controversy at all costs is more suited to a talk show than to public debate on important issues.
It remains to be seen whether the tweet was written in a rational, conscious, reasoned way, or whether it is the result of a sudden raptus of pure malice.
There are already many haters online: it’s really sad to have to take note that now, even among university professors, there are those who transform from the good Dr Jekyll to the evil Mr Hyde.
