An entrepreneur who sued the state for foiling his efforts to get seven city bodegas to accept bitcoin wants Pulitzer Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman to testify in his case, reports the New York Daily News.
An attorney for Theo Chino says
the New York Times columnist and CUNY Graduate Center professor should testify before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Carmen St. George regarding the "economic nature" of the global digital currency.
"I'll take any expert! Krugman is good enough for me," Chino's attorney Pierre Ciric told the Daily News.
Both Chino and attorneys for the state Department of Financial Services have cited Krugman as an authority amid a legal dispute over whether bitcoin is a "financial product or service." A judge would have to approve a subpoena for the economist.
According to the News, Chino argues bitcoin’s value fluctuates too wildly to be considered a viable financial product. State Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Conley said that argument "defied common sense" and that bitcoin is money subject to state regulation.
Chino sued in 2015, arguing that the state license required to engage in a "virtual currency business" was too burdensome. He had hoped to get the bodegas to accept bitcoin for any purchases.
There is no indication that Krugman's knowledge about bitcoin is any less confused than his general thinking about economic topics.
-RW
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