Nouriel Roubini is launching his own USAFi crypto, backed by a $17 million ETF that holds U.S. Treasuries, gold and investment trusts.
Nouriel Roubini, the economist also known as “Dr. Doom” who predicted the 2008 financial crisis and later became one of Bitcoin’s loudest critics, is going to use blockchain technology to offer an investment product of his own.
Roubini is launching USAFi, an ERC-20 token backed by the Atlas America Fund, a $17 million exchange-traded fund he oversees, the fund announced in a Tuesday press release.
The fund trades on Nasdaq and holds a portfolio of securities consisting of U.S. Treasury bills, gold, and real estate investment trusts. Technically, USAFi is the on-chain version of that same fund, with each token backed by USAF ETF shares.
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The token isn’t live yet, though. According to the project’s FAQ, Atlas AI Labs has in-principle approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority and plans to issue USAFi after receiving a full issuance license.
USAFi will be available only for eligible non-U.S. holders, the FAQ page reads. Those investors would also have to pass KYC, AML, sanctions and jurisdiction checks.
Securitize, a BlackRock-backed tokenization firm, will provide the technology.
Not a Stablecoin
The project also says USAFi isn’t a stablecoin. Since a stablecoin is usually built to track the dollar, USAFi will float with the net asset value of the underlying ETF basket.
Its backing is supposed to be stored in custody at BNY Mellon, separate from the issuer’s own assets.
However, despite the token launch, Roubini still rejects Bitcoin as money. Speaking with Bloomberg, he reiterrated that Bitcoin and altcoins “are not currencies,” adding that they are “not even good stores of value.”
The token launch comes amid the continuing rise of tokenization in finance. Data from RWA.xyz shows tokenized assets reached $32 billion, up from around $6 billion in the beginning of 2025.
Read more: How to Invest in Tokenized Treasuries: Step-by-Step Guide
