In sum, cryptocurrencies can definitely compete for business with the dollar in the global underground economy, and this is a source of fundamental value. However, naive crypto evangelists who believe that their superior technology will allow non-state or private currencies to outcompete government currencies in the legal economy should look at the long history of money. The private sector may drive innovation, but over the long run, the government holds the cards. The crypto industry can pour money into Washington, as it did during the 2024 U.S. Presidential campaign, following the path Samuel Bankman-Fried had pioneered. This may work for a while, but eventually, perhaps soon, a crisis of one sort or another will make it clear that the government needs to establish a much more comprehensive regulatory regime in which innovation can thrive but where crypto is no longer the Wild West.

K.Rogoff Our Dollar, Your Problem pg198