Bitcoin – the “biggest bubble in human history” – is going to crash, according to economist Nouriel Roubini, who accurately predicted the 2008 financial crisis and is known as “Permabear” for his pessimistic forecasts.
Roubini, who has been consistently skeptical about bitcoin, said traders will use ‘wash trading’ to prop up prices. This occurs when people buy and sell their own assets to manipulate markets.
Pointing to bitcoin’s slide, the economist posed the question on Twitter whether authorities like the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would “start looking into these criminal activities?”
He used the term HODL, which stands for “hold on for dear life” and originated in an online forum when someone spelled the word "hold" wrong. HODL has become a meme that is often used in times of extreme volatility in the cryptocurrency market for people holding rather than selling.
Roubini said that "HODL nuts" will hold bitcoin until it plummets to zero.
In November, ‘Dr Doom’ warned that the cryptocurrency will become so regulated that it would “find its end.”
“In my opinion, there is a gigantic speculative bubble related to bitcoin because this is neither a serious method of payment nor a good way to store capital,” he said. “Bitcoin feeds on itself” and there are no fundamental reasons for its price to reach such levels, Roubini explained.
Since hitting $20,000 six weeks ago, bitcoin has lost more than two-thirds of its value, plunging to $6,000 on Tuesday. Other major digital currencies are also well off their all-time highs.
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