Cornell University professor: Misleading promises and hype exacerbate the risks of cryptocurrencies

In an opinion piece published in The New York Times, Eswar Prasad, a professor at Cornell University's Dyson School and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, expressed great concern about the risks posed by the booming cryptocurrency market.
Despite Bitcoin's recent surge to all-time highs and political support from figures such as former US President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris, Eswar Prasad warned: In any case, today's cryptocurrencies pose greater risks to investors and Financial Institutions Groups than before. He noted that the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) deregulation has made it easier for retail investors to enter the cryptocurrency market, but often they do not fully understand the risks involved.
Eswar Prasad further highlighted the dangers of centralisation in the crypto ecosystem, pointing to the collapse of FTX and the legal wrangling at Binance as examples of how centralised power undermines the fundamental principles of decentralised finance. He also highlighted that "risks can spread from decentralised finance to traditional finance and vice versa", creating vulnerabilities for the entire financial system.