As cryptotraders watched their portfolios deteriorate Wednesday, Turkish-born American economist, Nouriel Roubini took to social media to reiterate his stance on cryptocurrencies and blockchain, the decentralized technology that underpins digital currencies.
Roubini, who famously predicted the collapse in the U.S. housing market and banking system, has been just as bearish on digital currencies since they began their meteoric rise in 2017. In February, he said bitcoin was going to zero and has called bitcoin “the mother of all bubbles,” living up to his Dr. Doom nickname.
The New York University professor has frequently voiced his opinions on social media, and as digital currencies unraveled yesterday, Roubini was at it again, taking a shot at Tim Draper, who thinks a single bitcoin will be worth $250,000 by 2022.
Draper is indeed a lousy investor. After Theranos he became a crypto-evangelist... he will lose on his shitcoins even more than he lost in Theranos https://t.co/NczK9G0M8W
— Nouriel Roubini (@Nouriel) June 13, 2018
Roubini went on to offer some advice to someone claiming he would sell a kidney to buy a bitcoin if it reached $4,000.
“One thing is to be an idiotic HODLER and keep your sh*t-bitcoin while it free falls 80% in 6 months. Another is to be self-destructive of your health and sell your kidney if Bitcoin falls to $4K. Some of these lunatics should be committed to prevent them from physical self harm,” Roubini tweeted.
Read: Opinion: Roubini: Blockchain is one of the most overhyped technologies ever
However, those decimated portfolios are showing some life Thursday, with major coins recovering a good portion of Wednesday’s losses. After trading to $6,133.31 late Wednesday, bitcoin was higher, with a single bitcoin last changing hands at $6,522.38, up 4.3%, since Wednesday 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the Kraken crypto exchange.
Read: Have bitcoin investors become irrationally bullish (again)?
Downtrend confirmed says technical analyst
As technical analysts continue to hunt for the next support level, one noted chart-focused analyst said yesterday’s break of $6,450 was confirmation we are in a downtrend, and there is no support for another $1,000.
“BTC is now stress testing its next critical support level at the April lows (6450), which if broken, would establish the first series of lower lows since 2015, and by definition, confirm a new downtrend of lower lows for BTC,” said Rob Sluymer, managing director and technical strategist at Fundstrat Global Advisors, in a note early Wednesday. “Next support is near 5500 followed by 3200.”
Sluymer’s colleague, Tom Lee, managing partner at Fundstrat Global Advisors is one of bitcoins biggest bulls, having a year-end price target of $25,000 for the worlds biggest digital currency.
Read: Here’s why bitcoin is falling—and it isn’t just the Coinrail exchange hack
Altcoins and futures show life
Coins alternative to bitcoin, commonly referred to as altcoins, are off life support Thursday, with all in the green early Thursday trading.
Ether ETHUSD, +3.30% has regained 3.9% to $488.45, Bitcoin Cash BCHUSD, +3.85% is up 5.8% at $870.30, Litecoin LTCUSD, +5.08% has added 5.8% to $97.29 and Ripple’s XRP XRPUSD, +3.63% is the best performer of the major altcoins, up 6.8% to 55 cents.
The Cboe June contract expired yesterday and the July contract XBTN8, +1.83% opens 3.7% higher at $6,505, while the CME June contract BTCM8, +1.67% is up 3.4% at $6,480.