Crypto critic Nouriel Roubini is into crypto now

Nouriel Roubini, a professor at NYU and a rabid anti-crypto advocate, has decided to put his past behind him and advise an asset that includes a cryptocurrency token.

The asset, called ATLAS (Asset Trust for Land, Adaptation, and Sustainability) is a three-pronged approach to building a portfolio that will go up during climate change scenarios.

Atlas, the fintech firm behind the token, states that it’s also building out an ETF and an index fund to help maintain better portfolio performance for retail investors as the climate warms. On its website, Atlas suggests that its ETF will be launched in early 2024. There’s no timeline for the index fund or token.

What exactly is this?

Atlas calls its products “digital currency for resiliency.” While none of what it’s offering has been tested in the real world, it has apparently backtested data and feels that it’s developed a solution to the pain of holding cash. It even declares that it can outpace interest-bearing bank accounts.

In a video on its website, a seated Roubini talks about typical fear-mongering subjects, including, but not limited to, climate change, pandemics, inflation, and civil strife.

The company calls Roubini its chief economist and also features a former Binance executive — who just so happens to have resigned from Binance this past weekend, according to Reuters.

The strategy that Atlas suggests it’s using seems to include all the buzzwords to woo venture capitalists and angel investors. Specifically, it says its product is “enabled by AI, ML, climate technology, and blockchain.”

It’s unclear why or how a token or blockchain will help alleviate climate change and build a better portfolio for retail, but Atlas claims that the token will “direct capital to climate funding” and is “inflation protected.”

It’s also unknown which cryptocurrency Atlas will use for its token, which will likely be a point of contention given how many environmentalists speak out about how much energy is wasted via the use of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

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