Showdown with Krugman: Bitcoin Proponents Strike Back After Venmo Payment Issue
The latest generation of Bitcoin fans just won’t back down – especially when it comes to Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman.
Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist, ruffled a few feathers when he expressed his opinion on the recent encounter between Venmo and Bitcoin. Commenting on the situation where Venmo mistakenly accepted payments in Bitcoin, Krugman concluded that digital currencies are simply too volatile and too unpredictable.
Naturally, his words didn’t go by unnoticed by Bitcoin supporters. They were loudly expressed in the forms of debates, comments and other forms of response.
The Bitcoiners Have Spoken
The emotions-packed arguments of Bitcoiners ranged from technical nitpicking of the Nobel Prize laureate statement to outright declarations of war. Where some argue Bitcoin’s price volatility is an “element of the experience,” others feel that Krugman should “stick to talking about trade deficits” since he “doesn’t know anything” about digital currencies.
Let’s take a look at the two across-the-board arguments that Krugman’s statement got fired up:
- Factual misinterpretation: Bitcoiners argue that Krugman is mistaken in saying that Bitcoin is too volatile and unpredictable. They argue that the digital currency is volatile, but isn’t any more volatile than other currencies.
- Misplaced reputation: Bitcoin defenders take issue with the Nobel Prize-winnings analysis, claiming that Krugman is evidently misinformed and is assessing Bitcoin’s potential with a purely conceptual mindset.
The Final Verdict?
Ultimately, it’s hard to conclusively assess who was in the right. However, what is certain is that debates between Bitcoin devotees and prominent economists are not likely to end here. In the end we will have to wait and see who will have the last laugh in this Bitcoin-Krugman smackdown.
