Roubini and Novogratz encounter ends in a bet over a T-shirt

Two prominent experts met face to face on Wednesday during a panel discussion at the SALT 2019 conference in Las Vegas.

Mr. Roubini also known as Dr. Doom, is a vocal critic of digital assets, who believes that crypto is the mother and father of all bubbles. Meanwhile, Michael Novogratz, who has been a crypto backer for years, thinks that crypto is a small miracle.

Their debate over cryptocurrencies ended in a bet over a T-shirt. 

“Bitcoin is at $6,000 now.If at Christmastime it’s above $6,000, you have to wear a shirt that says, ‘I love bitcoin.’ If it’s not, I will wear a T-shirt saying, ‘Nouriel was right.’” Novogratz told Roubini. 

Roubini said he doesn’t care about bitcoin, however, earlier he expressed a lot of criticism towards the industry. He believes that Bitcoin and any other digital coin cannot be called currency as it does not possess the fundamental qualities of money.  

“To be a currency, you have to be a unit of account, a valuable and a scalable means of payment,” he said.

Meanwhile, Novogratz pointed out at widespread interest towards Bitcoin both from retail investors and institutions that are eager to jump on the cryptocurrency train.

“The reality is there’s a tremendous amount of stuff going on. In some ways, there’s been a small miracle. The debate is over, bitcoin won. It is now seen by people all around the world as a legitimate place to [store] their value,” Novogratz said.