Paul Krugman: Cryptocurrency Era May Be Coming to an End

In an opinion piece in New York Times, crypto skeptic Paul Krugman argued that we might be seeing the end of crypto. 

The article “Blockchains, What Are They Good For?” discussed the end of crypto and the uselessness of blockchain technology. In his view, blockchain technology has no point.

Shocked by the comments here — I expected much more crypto bro outrage. Maybe this era really is ending https://t.co/wjEDv7JQ58

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 2, 2022

Krugman Describes Crypto Market Condition as “Fimbulwinter”

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The economics professor wrote that the market was currently experiencing not a crypto winter but a Fimbulwinter. Fimbulwinter references Norse mythology, describing “an endless winter” that precedes the world’s end. In this case, he suggested that this winter would spell the doom of the crypto industry.

According to Krugman, the original argument that Bitcoin would do away with the need for trust was yet to happen. This is because banks rarely steal customers’ funds and crypto institutions are more likely to be vulnerable to temptation and extreme inflation.

The Nobel laureate also argued against the idea that cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology will guarantee cheaper transactions saying this was yet to happen.

Highlighting Blockchain Failures

Paul Krugman listed several failed attempts to use blockchain technology to solve real-life problems. These included Australia’s stock exchange effort to use blockchain for clearing and settling trade which was canceled two weeks later with a write-off of $168 million in losses.

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Furthermore, he mentioned that shipping giant Maersk abandoned its blockchain projects when it could not solve real-life problems.

Meanwhile, Krugman believes blockchain technology became famous because of political ideologies. According to him, the space was pushed by those who distrust banks, the romance of high tech, the fear of missing out, and the incomprehensibility of crypto itself.

This is not the first time that Krugman has predicted crypto’s end. In January, he criticized companies who jumped on the crypto bandwagon and claimed that Bitcoin does not have legitimate users.

However, Krugman is not the only one who has predicted the end of the blockchain. BeinCrypto reported that Bitcoin had been declared dead over 465 times since 2010.

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