Kenneth Rogoff is a Harvard University economics professor. On an X post, he identified himself as the Harvard economist who predicted back in 2018 that “A decade from now, Bitcoin is more likely to be $100 than $100,000.” He obviously, got that prediction wrong since Bitcoin has consistently been at or above $100,000 for months.

He explained his mistake by saying that he was far too optimistic about the U.S. coming to its senses about sensible crypto regulation. As a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, he likely has no use for Bitcoin and has been surprised that it has been accepted by so many financial institutions.

This includes private companies, public companies, mining companies as well as some countries. One of those is Harvard University’s endowment which has invested approximately $117 million in Bitcoin through shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust.

Another reason the economist predicted the fall of Bitcoin was due to his belief that government would step in to regulate or even ban Bitcoin. He even wonders why the current administration and Congress would pass something like the GENIUS act when he is convinced that Bitcoin is only good for tax evasion and money laundering.

One post by Dr. Jan Wüstenfeld explained, “It is hard to understand something if you first have to unlearn what you have been taught and believed your whole life. That makes it especially hard for traditionally educated economists, as Bitcoin turns this world upside down.” He says the Harvard economics professor is a perfect example of that.

Two important lessons here: economics predictions by Harvard professors can be wrong, which is why we need to be open to new ideas.