The cryptocurrency space is lapping up the drama following the recent Asia Blockchain Summit in Taiwan. American economist Nouriel Roubini debated BitMex CEO and co-founder Arthur Hayes, but that’s just where the story starts.
Following the debate, Roubini took to twitter to hurl accusations at Hayes.
Crypto is a mafia hush money racket. The blockchain conference organizers cowed and caved to BitMEX's censorship and didnt tape or broadcast my debate with @CryptoHayes; he had his underlings make the only tape of the debate and is hiding it from view. Release that tape coward!
— Nouriel Roubini (@Nouriel) July 3, 2019
Roubini has since gone on to accuse the event, and Hayes, of trying to cover up the shame of their industry, and specifically to hide Roubini’s debate comments from the world.
Hayes has responded by mocking Roubini, tweeting that if the tapes of the event are released, it will make the economist look like a fool and lose his academic standing.
The question is, why wasn’t there a live stream, or video posted immediately afterward? According to The Block reporter Mike Dudas, the feed was specifically turned off at the request of BitMex, who helped to organize the event.
According to reporters from CoinTelegraph who attended the event, Roubini discussed his usual talking points when it comes to the cryptocurrency markets, of which he’s not a fan. He said the industry was full of scams, and noted the lack of decentralization of scalability.
Twitter banter of those attending the event noted some of his other talking points, with highlights being his comparison of the crypto industry to the drug trade, and that men like Hayes were screwing their customers over.
To that, Hayes responded that his site was merely offering a service to customers who wished to speculate on the market in a safe space.
Roubini might take his arguments a little too far, as there is certainly an example of at least one crypto that seeks to be accountable, scale to the needs of enterprises, and has many of the same arguments against exchanges that he has.
However, his assertions that the majority of the cryptocurrency space is full of rampant speculation on worthless assets isn’t far off at all. What’s even more concerning is that he could be invited to speak on the topic and then be censored, proving that players in the industry like BitMex aren’t afraid to blatantly silence those who speak truth to power.
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