The "Black Swan" author said in a recent paper that the largest cryptocurrency by market cap has failed to satisfy the notions of it as a cu

'Black Swan' author Nassim Taleb says bitcoin is worth zero and fails as a currency and a hedge

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2021-07-13 17:00:06

The "Black Swan" author said in a recent paper that the largest cryptocurrency by market cap has failed to satisfy the notions of it as a currency without government, a hedge against inflation and as a safe haven investment.

The Lebanese-American Taleb had previously spoken more favorably on bitcoin, particularly on its potential to help people circumvent capital controls in markets that rely on them to manage their exchange rates. He called it "the first organic currency," in the foreword of "The Bitcoin Standard" in 2018, and "an insurance policy" against government control over currency.

In his recent paper, published in late June and titled "Bitcoin, Currencies, and Fragility," Taleb says bitcoin is worth "exactly zero" partly because it requires a sustained amount of interest to maintain it.

By contrast, "gold and other precious metals are largely maintenance free, do not degrade over an historical horizon, and do not require maintenance to refresh their physical properties over time," he said.