‘Dr Doom’ Nouriel Roubini Says Crypto King CZ Is a ‘Walking Time Bomb’ After Sam Bankman-Fried
Famed prophet of financial doom, Nouriel Roubini, has unloaded himself on a “completely corrupt” cryptocurrency industry and one of its most influential figures, Binance exchange founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.
Speaking at Abu Dhabi Finance Week on Wednesday, he urged the Emiratis to expel CZ before it was revealed that the crypto entrepreneur, much like the disgraced Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of bankrupt crypto trading platform FTX, was to responsibility is taken.
Roubini, an economics professor at New York University, said he couldn’t believe that CZ — as Binance’s founder is known — is a resident of the United Arab Emirates and licensed to operate in the country.
“He’s banned in the UK, he’s under investigation by the US Department of Justice for money laundering, $8 billion from Iran, and he’s here on this stage, residing in this country,” Roubini said Wednesday.
In his opinion, the choice for the regulators in the UAE is then clear.
“He’s a walking time bomb, he should be kicked out of the country,” said the economist, known in the financial world as “Dr. Doom” nickname.
“He shouldn’t be allowed to operate, sorry, but he will [be] worse than Sam Bankman-Fried.”
Roubini, famous for his contradictory prediction of the global financial crisis, said events surrounding the collapse of Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX last week showed the ecosystem was “completely corrupt.”
He therefore urged the organizers of the Abu Dhabi event to stop inviting industry representatives to the Finance Week conference.
“What are the seven Cs of crypto? Undercover, corrupt, crooks, criminals, scammers, carnival screamers, and finally CZ, who just happened to be on stage,” Roubini said.
Separately, speaking to crypto investor Mike Novogratz, Zhao argued that the increased scrutiny and regulatory oversight isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it can help restore shattered confidence in the industry.
However, Zhao doesn’t leave it entirely up to regulators.
During a briefing held on Twitter on Monday, the Binance founder said his team has been trying to increase transparency. In part, that would be through its decision to publish the company’s cold wallet addresses so third parties could track the exchange’s on-chain transactions.
In addition, Zhao planned to issue a proof of reserve in about two weeks, which he hopes will allay concerns about the stability of his company’s stock market.
Sign up for the Fortune Features Email list so you don’t miss our biggest features, exclusive interviews and investigations.
