Bitcoin skeptic Nouriel Roubini is pushing a digital replacement for the dollar as inflation threatens the greenback's reserve currency status

• Nouriel Roubini is working on a digital token to serve as a "more resilient dollar," Bloomberg reported.
• "Dr. Doom" sees a digital coin serving as a hedge against higher prices and devalued fiat currencies.

Economist Nouriel Roubini is working on the development of an asset-back digital token that would act as a digital dollar, as the well-known bitcoin skeptic expresses fear over the declining status of the greenback, Bloomberg first reported.

As chief economist and co-founder of Atlas Capital Team, Roubini said declining confidence in the US dollar and other fiat currencies are a reason to expand into crypto offerings.

"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," Roubini told Bloomberg.

The key difference, Roubini stressed, is that Atlas Capital's token will be backed by a mixed bag of assets like gold, US Treasuries and property. The move allows Atlas to cater to funds seeking to diversify outside of traditional markets without delving into risk assets without backing.

Roubini's comments come as the cryptocurrency market is going through a steep sell-off after years of high-flying growth during the pandemic. The economist has been labelled "Dr. Doom" due to his often grim market outlook.

Roubini has been a vocal bitcoin critic, referring to the cryptocurrency in the past as "the mother of all bubbles". He has slammed the token as neither a currency nor an asset, and has expressed doubt that it will ever see widespread adoption by investors. He's also slammed the underlying technology that makes crypto possible.

"In practice, blockchain is nothing more than a glorified spreadsheet," Roubini wrote in 2018.