Cornell University professor thinks Bitcoin might not last very long
Even though the market cap of Bitcoin topped $1 trillion earlier this year, there are still skeptics who believe that the largest cryptocurrency might not stick around for much longer.
Eswar Prasad, professor of trade policy at Cornell University, predicted that Bitcoin’s days could be numbered in a recent interview with CNBC.
The Indian-American economist is convinced that blockchain will end up being Bitcoin’s biggest legacy.
Prasad takes issue with Bitcoin’s ‘environmentally destructive’ proof-of-work consensus mechanism, adding that these are new green alternatives:
I think the promise of decentralized finance using blockchain is a real one, but Bitcoin itself may not last that much longer.
The economist also does not believe that Bitcoin has fundamental value given that it cannot serve as a suitable medium of exchange.
Still, he acknowledges that Bitcoin has kickstarted “a revolution” in payments, pointing to the fact that central bank is now rushing to issue their own digital currencies:
My view is that central bank currencies will remain dominant as stores of value.
Prasad also praised fiat-pegged stablecoins for creating a more efficient way of transacting money.
Bitcoin obituaries continue to grow
Bitcoin has already collected 435 obituaries from the media, the oldest dating back to December 2010 ($ 0.23).
Yet, the crypto king has always managed to come stronger than ever, setting a new all-time high of $69,000 last month.
Some of Bitcoin’s harshest critics remain defiant despite the cryptocurrency’s gains. In May, Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman called his success “disgusting.”
On the other hand, Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor, who predicted that Bitcoin days were numbered in 2013, is now one of the cryptocurrency’s biggest cheerleaders.
