Paul Krugman, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics, again criticized cryptocurrencies last Friday (26). His biggest attack, however, was directed at Ron DeSantis, the current governor of Florida and candidate for the US presidency, but was left to anyone to decide.
Going back in time, the governor of Flória had already positioned himself against the arrival of the digital dollar through a CBDC (central bank digital currency). His rationale is that this tool would allow the government to confiscate citizens’ money without any dispute.
As far back as last week, DeSantis claimed that Joe Biden, the current US president, will kill Bitcoin if reelected. In his speeches for the 2024 presidential campaign, DeSantis returned to talk about CBDCs, but this angered Krugman.
Paul Krugman’s talks about CBDCs, Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and Ron DeSantis
“Frankly, I thought Ron DeSantis’ attacks on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), while revealing, would not continue to be an important message”Paul Krugman, Nobel laureate in economics, tweeted last Friday (26).
The tweet also leads to an article of his own, written for The New York Times in April, in which Krugman criticizes both DeSantis and Bitcoin while defending CBDCs.
“Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin should meet this demand [de moedas digitais]”Krugman wrote. But, as the Federal Reserve study notes, they are “not widely accepted as currency” because their prices are extremely volatile, difficult to use and “make consumers vulnerable to loss, theft and fraud.”
Going back to his tweets, Krugman also claims DeSantis “is still [defendendo o Bitcoin e atacando CBDCs]maybe because Elon Musk and the cryptocurrency guys are the only base he has left.
“It brings back memories of Rick Santorum trying to block public access to the National Weather Service, which he viewed as a competitor to AccuWeather”concluded Krugman. “It is clear that private meteorological services provide a useful service. Cryptocurrencies… not so much.”
Of course, private weather services provide a useful service. Cryptocurrencies… not so much 4/
— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) May 26, 2023
Talk good, talk bad, but talk about Bitcoin
Founded in 2009, Bitcoin has gone through several stages of adoption. In the beginning, the largest group of users was developers, who later managed to attract the attention of the general public.
For the past few years, Bitcoin has been used to assemble boxes for businesses and donations to countries at war. In more extreme cases, it even became legal tender in small countries.
Now being debated as a hot topic by US presidential hopefuls like Ron DeSantis and Robert J. Kennedy Jr., Bitcoin may be entering a new era. Mainly because of the problems in the US economy, such as inflation, weakening of the dollar, bank failures and more recently the discussion about the national debt ceiling.
Ultimately, criticism from opponents like Paul Krugman may be all such presidential candidates want is attention to an increasingly popular topic.
Source: Live Coins
Barry Siefert is an accomplished journalist and author at The Nation View. He is known for his expertise in the field of cryptocurrency, and has written extensively on the topic. With a background in finance and economics, Barry has a deep understanding of the underlying technology and market forces that drive the crypto industry.
