As a long-time crypto skeptic, it may seem odd that I am helping organize a digital assets conference at Duke University on Jan. 20-21. After all, I once wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed calling for a cryptocurrency ban. While I continue to believe that unbacked cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, provide no economic utility and impose societal costs that vastly outweigh the benefits, I also recognize that the broader digital asset industry is not going away.
How do I know this? Well, for starters I have been teaching and writing about cryptocurrency and digital assets at Duke for over six years. During this time, the sector continuously evolved and defied all predictions, including mine. This history suggests that those arguing the ongoing crypto winter signals the death knell of crypto will similarly be proven wrong.
I have also spoken with countless Duke students from across campus, including students in our groundbreaking Master of Engineering in Financial Technology program, who are passionate about digital assets and blockchain technology and want to make a career out of it….
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Finally, I know digital assets are here to stay because leading figures and firms from the traditional financial system say so.
Source: Now I Know the Cryptocurrency Industry Is Here to Stay
