Ex-Fed. Prosecutor Turned Crypto VC Katie Haun: Crypto Is in the 'Dial-up Days'

Former U.S. federal prosecutor and current cryptocurrency VC executive Kathryn Haun recently took part in a debate on crypto with Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman, posted on YouTube by crypto venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz Nov. 2.

A former federal prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice and current general partner at a16z, Haun was representing the optimistic approach towards crypto-related technologies.

Krugman, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2008, held his previous negative position on the topic, debating with Haun as a crypto skeptic.

Haun for her part stressed that BTC reached a mass audience quite a bit later than when Satoshi Nakamoto released the Bitcoin whitepaper - pointing to the years 2012-2013 as when digital currencies became somewhat more broadly know.

Haun also reminded the audience that many people still tended to believe in myths about crypto and crime, which have slowed down mass adoption of the technology.

In response to that, Haun said that fiat currencies were also easy to counterfeit, while global governments do not have the resources to fully prevent such crimes.

Despite their contrary stances, both participants seemed to agree that blockchain and crypto would not necessarily fully undermine or destroy existing systems.

As Cointelegraph has previously reported, Haun was introduced to crypto and blockchain during her time in government when she worked as a prosecutor on the Silk Road case.

This spring, Haun stated that she doubts cryptocurrencies and blockchain will see relevant regulation in the near future, due to the rate of development in the industry.

Krugman, in his turn, has previously called the collapse of crypto "a real possibility," claiming that crypto enthusiasts are "Effectively celebrating the use of cutting-edge technology to set the monetary system back 300 years." He has been repeatedly criticized for his unapologetically negative stance on Bitcoin by members of the crypto community.