The collapse of the crypto exchange FTX has given a lot of grist to the mill of crypto detractors. American economist Nouriel Roubini is one of them. In recent years, he has been highly critical of the industry, indicating that it’s mostly about Ponzi schemes. He recently had some harsh comments about the Abu Dhabi authorities allowing Binance to operate as a custodian in the region.
Spotlight on Binance and CZ!
During the just concluded Abu Dhabi Finance Week, US economist Nouriel Roubini again criticized cryptos. This time, the criticism was mainly about the Binance exchange and its boss, Changpeng Zhao (CZ). Rubini has Emphatically it disagrees with the permission given to Binance by the government of the Emirates to operate in the country. According to him, the local financial services regulatory body should have thought more carefully about the matter. This is because Binance is banned in some countries and under the crosshairs of justice in some other jurisdictions.
“I can’t believe Binance is licensed to operate in the UAE. Unfortunately, it’s a totally corrupt ecosystem. What happened recently is the lesson that these people need to get out of here (…) Binance will be banned in the UK. CZ is under investigation by the US Department of Justice for money laundering. It is 8 billion dollars from Iran, but he is here and has a residence in this country (…) We should deport him. I’m sorry to say it, but it’s a walking time bomb.”, he said. And to continue: “CZ is even sloppier than Sam Bankman-Fried”.
Roubini contextualizes
The economist’s remarks garnered widespread comment on social networks, sparking a huge controversy. Many within the crypto community believed these were personal attacks. For others, the economist has pushed the cork too far in his hatred of cryptos. He has all this answered on Twitter that it isn’t.
“I did not attack CZ. I told the UAE authorities that Binance should not be licensed to operate in the country. This while they are banned in the UK and under investigation by the US Department of Justice.”He wrote.
Nouriel Roubini became famous for predicting the 2008 crisis. He strongly opposes cryptos and believes that CBDCs will dethrone them.
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Far from dampening my enthusiasm, a failed investment in a cryptocurrency in 2017 only added to my enthusiasm. I therefore decided to study and understand the blockchain and its many applications and to pass on information about this ecosystem with my pen.