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BitMEX CEO Says He’ll ‘Wipe the Floor’ With Bitcoin Hater Nouriel Roubini

Anja van Oosterhout | Jun 19, 2019 | 07:00

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The CEO of one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges has said he will “wipe the floor” with economist and notorious Bitcoin bear Nouriel Roubini next month.

Hayes: Roubini’s Bitcoin Arguments Going Down

Confirming his participation in a debate with the fiat veteran, BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes laid down the gauntlet ahead of time, promising to stand up for Bitcoin in the face of one of its most outspoken critics.

The debate, which is described by organizers as the “biggest in cryptocurrency history,” will take place 2019 Asia Blockchain Summit in Taipei on July 3.

Dubbed the ‘Cryptocurrency Duel,’ the event echoes a previous encounter between Roubini and trading guru Tone Vays, which was marked by the former shouting down his opponent when he attempted to build arguments around cryptocurrency.

“I’m going to wipe the floor with that chump,” Hayes promised on Twitter.

Roubini Calls Stablecoins ‘Oxymoron’

As Bitcoinist often reports, Roubini has made a name for himself as the ultimate naysayer when it comes to Bitcoin. Known as ‘Dr. Doom’ for his negativity, the economist continues to express all-out doubt about any cryptocurrency having a tangible future in the global economy.

His most recent outburst focused on stablecoins, which he described as “an oxymoron as most of them are unstable and not fully backed.”

“They are like fixed rate regimes or currency boards that eventually collapse,” he tweeted Wednesday.

Previously, in November 2018 as Bitcoin price suffered a sharp drop after the Bitcoin Cash hard fork, Roubini claimed the event was a sign BTC/USD was trending to zero.

He has since witnessed markets rebound to their highest in over a year, but shows no sign of U-turning on his position.

Could Buffett Suffer Same Fate On BTC?

The debate with Hayes will come several weeks before the cryptocurrency industry takes on another of its arch critics in the form of Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett.

Having called Bitcoin “rat poison squared” among other things, Buffett will spend his annual charity auction lunch event in the company of some of the best-known crypto figures.

Justin Sun, CEO of blockchain platform Tron, won the auction and paid over $4.5 million to dine with Buffett. Charlie Lee, creator of Litecoin, will also attend, along with various others.

“It might be unrealistic in just three hours to convince Warren Buffett to buy cryptocurrencies… We just want to show him the recent progress of… cryptocurrency and… blockchain technology,” Sun told the media about the plan.

Who will win the Hayes/Roubini Bitcoin debate? Let us know in the comments below!

Images via Shutterstock