Nobel Prize winner calls blockchain technology a waste of time

A Nobel Prize-winning economist has called blockchain technology a waste of time and energy. This economist is Paul Krugman, who is «a professor emeritus of economics at the City University of New York Graduate Center and a columnist for The New York Times.»

According to Wikipedia, in 2008, Krugman was «awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to the new theory of trade and new economic geography.»

Krugman was still a crypto-skeptic in 2018, when he wrote: «Many say that we are experiencing a 'cryptozyme'. But this expression understates the assessment. It’s looking more and more like the endless winter that precedes the end of the world in Norse mythology — in this case, the end of blockchain ideas. I can’t understand why so many people — not only naive small investors, but also large financial and business players — believe that the idea of cryptocurrencies is an idea on the way to the future.»

In his new column, Krugman continued his caustic remarks: «Amidst all the hype and rage about FTX, I’m not sure how many people have noticed that the few players who have been seriously trying to use blockchains seem to be giving up.» Two of the examples Krugman cited were the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and the integrated logistics company Maersk, which recently announced the closure of their blockchain projects.