Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman Ties Crypto Boom To US Housing Bubble, Bitcoin Rises

Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman has become the latest among the world’s thinkers, intellectuals, economists, and business magnates to deride cryptocurrency. 

The American economist has linked the cryptocurrency mania to the mid-2000s housing boom. “People’s faith in digital coins resembles people’s faith in the US housing market before it tanked. Only a handful of investors recognised that house prices had surged to unsustainable heights,” he wrote in a piece in the New York Times.

He wrote that Americans just couldn’t believe they were as inflated as naysayers claimed. 

Krugman, who won the Nobel Prize in 2008 for his contribution to new trade theory and new economic geography further emphasised Bitcoin’s lack of practical applications and its popularity among criminals and money launderers. 

He further described cryptocurrency as “a building constructed on sand, but on nothing at all.” 

Incidentally, Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, has also opined that cryptocurrencies are worthless. Lagarde has urged global authorities to enact measures to safeguard novice investors. 

This year, cryptocurrency prices have plummeted across the board, wiping off more than half of their worth. In reaction to the fast expansion of digital currencies, some central banks are developing their own virtual alternatives to cash.

Apparently, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investing wizard Warren Buffet are also not great fans of cryptocurrency. Gates has stated many a times that he has no intention of entering the crypto market. Buffet has termed cryptos are useless and worthless.

But in 2021, when cryptocurrency and coins swept the global economy, it also attracted a host of other billionaires, besides several thousands of young investors. SpaceX founder Elon Musk has “pocketed” quite a few cryptos, and his frequent playful banter on 'baby cryptos' has swayed many crypto enthusiasts. 

Crypto Prices

The price of Bitcoin in the cryptocurrency market rose by 2.32 per cent in the last 24 hours, and it was trading at $30,423.25 at 5:00 pm IST. According to Coinmarketcap.com, its dominance in the crypto market is currently at 46.52 per cent, up by 0.22 per cent in the last 24 hours.

In the last 24 hours, Ethereum (ETH) was trading at $1,807.56, up by 3.08 per cent, while Binance Coin (BNB) was up by 4.33 per cent during the same time period, and was trading at $291.20. Solana (SOL) was up by 3.87 per cent to $39.42, while Cardano (ADA) was up by 9.32 per cent to $0.6378. 

Meme Coins

Dogecoin was trading at $0.08007 at 5 pm IST, up by 0.60 per cent, on Coinmarketcap.com. Its rival, Shiba Inu, was up by 1.17 per cent, and was trading at $0.00001072. Samoyedcoin was up by 5.90 per cent, and it was trading at $0.006015, while Dogelon Mars was up by 0.63 per cent, and it was trading at $0.0000004332.

Overall Scenario

According to Coinmarketcap.com, the global crypto market cap was at $1.25 trillion, an increase of 2.85 per cent in the last 24 hours, while the total crypto market volume was $91.15 billion, an increase of 14.61 per cent.

Revolotto RVL was the biggest gainer, gaining 769.97 per cent. It was trading at $0.1018 at 5:00 pm IST, according to Coinmarketcap. In contrast, Metacyber METAC witnessed the maximum loss and fell by 100 per cent. It was trading at $0.000000000000000001.