Important Highlights
- Kenneth Rojoff of Harvard admitted that he told Bitcoin wrong and said that the U.S. Gave a chance to lead Crypto regulation.
- Matt Hougan of Bitwise argues that Bitcoin’s decentralized structure is precisely what makes it function.
- Fed’s Michelle Bowman wants regulators to actually use crypto so they can understand it before making rules.
Crypto Regulation Is Still a Mess and Harvard’s Top Economist Just Admitted It
It’s not every day that a top Harvard economist says, “Yeah, I got it wrong.” But that’s exactly what Kenneth Rogoff did when he looked back on his early predictions about Bitcoin.
A decade ago, he confidently said Bitcoin would probably crash to $100 rather than ever climb to $100,000. Oops.
But to his credit, Rogoff didn’t just shrug it off. He recently admitted that his biggest mistake wasn’t just misjudging the price, it was overestimating the U.S. government’s ability to create smart crypto regulation.
He figured Washington would step in with clear rules, helping to curb things like tax evasion and criminal use without killing innovation. That didn’t happen. Instead, the U.S. mostly watched from the sidelines as the cryptocurrency industry grew from a fringe experiment to a multitrillion-dollar industry.
Rogoff also admitted something else: he didn’t think Bitcoin would seriously challenge government-issued currencies. And he definitely didn’t expect U.S. regulators to be personally holding crypto while still pretending to stay neutral.
All of this, he says, points to a much bigger issue: the U.S. still doesn’t have its act together when it comes to crypto regulation.
Wall Street Isn’t Waiting Around for Crypto Regulation
While economists argue and regulators waffle, Wall Street is already moving full speed ahead.
Matt Hougan, CIO at Bitwise Asset Management, didn’t hold back in responding to Rogoff’s comments. His view? Rogoff missed the entire point of crypto.
“Bitcoin works because no one controls it,” Hougan said. “Its power comes from decentralization.” In other words, it’s strong because it doesn’t rely on governments or banks. That’s not a bug, it’s a feature.
And here’s the twist: Rogoff might be skeptical, but Harvard—the very institution he works for is investing big in crypto. Just a couple of weeks ago, Harvard quietly revealed it holds over $116 million in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF (IBIT).
That’s its fifth-largest investment, beating out even tech giants like Alphabet. So, while Rogoff questions Bitcoin’s role in the economy, Harvard’s endowment team seems to believe in its future. The irony isn’t lost on anyone.
Even the Fed Is Starting to Rethink Crypto Regulation
If you need more proof that things are shifting, look no further than Michelle Bowman, Vice Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve.
At the 2025 Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, Bowman said something that would’ve seemed wild just a few years ago: regulators shouldn’t just watch crypto from afar, they should get their hands dirty.
She suggested letting Federal Reserve employees own a small amount of cryptocurrency so they can gain firsthand knowledge of how it operates. And she compared blockchain technology to major historical shifts like the industrial revolution or the rise of the internet.
Her message was clear: Crypto regulation needs to be practical, not fearful. If the U.S. wants to lead, regulators can’t treat crypto like some strange experiment anymore. They need to engage with it and fast.
Crypto Isn’t Waiting, and the World Is Watching
Here is reality: Crypto continues to move forward with or without Washington’s blessings. Financial institutions, hedge funds, and yes, even the Ivian League University are embracing digital assets.
The tech is evolving. The money is flowing. The demand is growing. And the U.S. is still stuck figuring out what to do about it. Of course, there are real risks with crypto.
Nobody’s saying there aren’t. But the market has already proven it’s more than a passing trend. Particularly Bitcoin has bounced back and is currently stronger than ever in spite of scandals, crashes, and restrictions.
Risk management is no longer the only aspect of crypto regulation. The objective is to keep the US from falling behind. Other nations are already developing astute, innovative regulations. If we keep dragging our feet, the future of finance might happen somewhere else.
