Economist Alex Krüger sparked debate across the crypto industry on Wednesday after contending that crypto has largely “failed as an asset class” even as blockchain-based applications continue gaining traction.

Krüger, the Founder of Aike Capital, said on X that most crypto assets are either “worthless” or do little to reward holders over time, while accusing many founders of exploiting weak industry guardrails and selling tokens into retail demand. He also pointed to the meme-coin boom and a rise in decentralized-finance (DeFi) exploits as factors that have damaged investor confidence.https://x.com/krugermacro/status/2062039764216476115?s=20

While Krüger was critical of the investment case for most cryptocurrencies, he said that…