Episode 114 of Season 4 of The Scoop was recorded live with The Block’s Frank Chaparro and Roubini Macro Associates Chairman and CEO, Nouriel Roubini.
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Part one of this two-part special on Nuriel Roubini’s new book, Megathreats: Ten Dangerous Trends That Imperil Our Future, And How to Survive Them, examined how the economy is facing a combination of interconnected phenomena that Roubini believes will result in a severe economic crisis.
In part two of this two-part macro special of The Scoop, Roubini discusses some alternative assets that could gain prominence in the event of a global financial meltdown and explains why he prefers gold over bitcoin in such a situation.
According to Roubini, the “weaponization” of the U.S. dollar is making it less attractive as a reserve currency:
“We have weaponized the dollar as a tool of national security and foreign policy… If I owe you a billion it is my problem; if I owe you a trillion it is your problem because we could default on those treasuries eventually if there is a conflict…”
Similar to USD, Roubini believes other common reserve currencies such as the euro, yen, pound, and Swiss franc can be similarly weaponized, leaving gold as the only widely held reserve currency that remains a viable option:
“What’s the only other asset that is a liquid asset that can be a reserve currency?… What’s the only one that cannot be seized if there are sanctions? It’s gold — as long as you keep it in your own vault.”
Although ardent bitcoin proponents claim BTC has similar properties, Roubini is dismissive of the largest cryptocurrency’s potential to be used legitimately in global commerce.
“Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies — we know they are not currencies,” Roubini says, “They are not a unit of account, nobody’s pricing anything in Bitcoin, they’re not scalable means of payment.”
During this episode Chaparro and Roubini also discuss:
- How to distinguish between data and narratives
- Why ‘zombie’ companies and nations are going to be exposed
- The future impact of climate change on the housing market
This episode is brought to you by our sponsors Tron, Ledn, Athletic Greens
About Tron
TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by H.E. Justin Sun, the TRON network has continued to deliver impressive achievements since MainNet launch in May 2018. July 2018 also marked the ecosystem integration of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized web3 services boasting over 100 million monthly active users. The TRON network completed full decentralization in December 2021 and is now a community-governed DAO. | TRONDAO | Twitter | Discord |
About Ledn
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© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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