Cryptocurrency still has plenty of fans despite recent troubles, but don’t count Andrew Left, the founder of the investment newsletter Citron Research, as one of them. Speaking at a recent conference about the subject, Left called crypto a “complete fraud.”
Left founded Citron back in the early 2000s as a blog about untrustworthy companies. Over the years, the blog grew into an online stock commentary website that focused on the company that are overvalued or “engaged in fraud.” In the meantime, Left gained a reputation as a short seller and financial activist.
On Monday, Left was invited to speak at a conference about financial market frauds and was at one point asked where he sees a potential for fraud in the future. And he didn’t need to think much about his answer.
“I think crypto is just complete fraud, over and over and over,” said Left but failed to follow up on his comment.
Left recently made waves when he announced that Citron Research would have a notable shift in the way it operates. Instead of dealing with struggling companies, Citron will start compiling reports about the companies that could actually provide value to investors. The move was reportedly prompted by the criticism the website received for its writing about GameStop.