Nouriel Roubini, the economist known for predicting the 2008 financial crisis and later for his sharp criticism of crypto, is putting one of his investment products on the blockchain.
Roubini is launching a digital token called USAFi that will be backed by the Atlas America Fund, a $17 million exchange-traded fund he oversees, according to a press release. The ETF, which trades on Nasdaq under the ticker USAF, invests in assets including US Treasuries, gold and real estate investment trusts.
The project highlights a broader push by Wall Street firms to use blockchain technology to represent ownership of traditional financial assets. The process, known as tokenization, creates digital versions of assets that can be traded and transferred on blockchain networks.
USAFi is aimed at investors outside the US and will launch under the supervision of Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, known as VARA. BlackRock-backed Securitize will provide the tokenization technology, and the token is expected to trade on exchanges regulated by VARA.
The move is the latest in a gradual transition for Roubini, who has spent years criticizing cryptocurrencies. He has called Bitcoin a “self-fulfilling bubble,” and argued it is neither an effective payment system nor a reliable store of value. He later joined with Atlas Capital to develop a suite of financial products including a tokenized asset intended to act as a dollar replacement.
But while Bitcoin and most cryptocurrencies are speculative, scam-prone and poor substitutes for money or stores of value, their underlying blockchain technology is proving more useful, Roubini said in an interview.
“Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, they are not currencies. They are not even good stores of value,” Roubini said. “We need better collateral, better reserve assets and a better store of value.”
