Economist Nouriel Roubini, a crypto skeptic known as “Dr. Doom,” is developing a tokenized asset intended to be a more resilient U.S. dollar. “Our goal is to create a global store of value … This is something akin to a substitute for Treasuries, or a digital asset that has payment features in it.”
Nouriel Roubini’s Tokenized USD Alternative
Bloomberg reported that Nouriel Roubini, an economist, revealed this week that his team is creating a range of financial products including a tokenized investment called the United Sovereign Governance Gold Optimized dollar (USG) to protect against inflation, climate change and civil unrest.
Roubini is a longtime crypto skeptic who called bitcoin “the mother of all bubbles.” He teaches at New York University’s Stern School of Business and has his own economic consulting firm called Roubini Macro Associates. Famed for predicting the housing bubble crash of 2007-2008, his gloomy predictions have earned him the nickname “Dr. Doom” in the media.
Atlas Capital Team is a Dubai-based realty investment and management company. Dr. Doom works with them to develop the products. He was appointed chief economist of the company in 2012, two years after he joined it.
Roubini explained that the dollar could be in jeopardy as the U.S. “prints too much money and adversaries start de-dollarizing.” He detailed:
We recognize that America’s dollar reserve currency could be at risk and are working to create a new instrument that’s effectively a more resilient dollar.
His plan came as a surprise to the crypto community since he has been one of Bitcoin’s most vocal critics for many years.
Roubini posted details about his plan Monday on Twitter. “The digital rail will have super strict AML/KYC features so it will be a digital asset-backed security with serious ESG [Environmental, Social, and Governance] features — ie sustainable real estate. So the digital option is only one of the three and it is an end point not a starting point,” he tweeted.
Additional details are provided by the economist
USG begins as an insurance against financial and political risks, such as inflation, currency debasement, and economic crisis. This is its core concept, not its digital train.
He added: “Second, the implementation of USG is first an index on which you can write TRS [total return swap]Then, a fund (or ETF) [exchange-traded fund]. And then finally and eventually as a security token backed not by vaporware like most junk in crypto but rather real/financial assets so you know at all times its market value/NAV.”
The new dollar would be backed by “a mix of short-term U.S. Treasuries, gold, and U.S. property (in the form of real estate investment trusts, or REITs),” the economist noted, adding that they are likely to be less affected by climate change.
Reza Bundy, cofounder of Atlas and chief executive officer, opined as follows:
Our goal is to create a global store of value … This is something akin to a substitute for Treasuries, or a digital asset that has payment features in it.
Roubini hopes his product will appeal to large investors looking for alternatives to stocks and bonds. Roubini noted that central banks with large dollar-denominated reserves may also be interested in the product.
What do you think about Roubini’s tokenized dollar alternative project? Please leave your comments below.
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