A January 7th report in Harvard\'s own newsletter says some of their economics professors believe Bitcoin will go down. Since much of the popularity of cryptocurrency lies in its anonymity, Professor Kenneth S. Rogoff thinks that the current price boom is unsustainable, and attempts at government regulation will eventually crush Bitcoin.

Rogoff, a cryptocurrency expert, says that illicit or criminal activities contracted via bitcoin markets include unlicensed gun sales, drug dealing and anonymous donations to hate groups. Moves by governments to impose taxes on digital currency trading, or to make payment processes more transparent, would effectively hinder such illegal activities and reduce the desirability of an unregistered currency. Highlighting the two possible ends of the spectrum, Rogoff noted Chinese moves to ban crypto versus Japan\'s adoption of it as legal tender, which he thought could see it becoming a secretive banking system like Switzerland\'s.

Libertarian economist, Professor Jeffrey A. Miron, disagrees with the idea that distributed ledger technology is a more risky venture, noting the many successful industry transformations from paper-based to electronic-based management. Further, he says that criminal activities have always been conducted illicitly, way before the concept of digital currency was ever dreamed of. He does agree, however, that governments can’t let sleeping dogs lie, and will insist on some form of regulatory intervention that will potentially kill the market.