By Samuel Indyk
Investing.com – "It doesn’t have any income. It doesn’t have any use. It doesn’t have any utility."
Nouriel Roubini, the man with the nickname Dr Doom, has called Bitcoin a “bubble” in an interview with Bloomberg TV. It’s not the first time Roubini has cast doubt on cryptocurrencies and bitcoin. He has been a critic of digital assets since they first became popular in the last decade. In April 2013, Roubini called bitcoin “the bubble flavor of the day”. At the time, the price was just $240.
Back in December last year, Roubini said bitcoin’s hyperbolic bubble is going to go bust. Since then, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap has rallied to all time highs above $50,000.
In his latest interview he doubles down on his views.
“The Flintstones had a better unit of account, using shells as money,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg's Tom Keene.
Roubini also compared the surge in bitcoin to tulip mania, often cited as the world’s first financial market bubble. Back in the 1600s, the value of tulips soared to unprecedented levels before prices dramatically collapsed in 1637. At the time, it was estimated that tulip bulbs sold for more than 10x the annual income of a skilled artisan.
Dr Doom
The economist picked up the moniker of Dr Doom back in the early 2000s ahead of the housing market crash and subsequent global financial crisis. He had warned about the crisis in an IMF position paper back in 2006.
Roubini was proved right in 2006. Only time will tell if the economist is proved right this time.