Li Lu tells Columbia's Graham & Dodd event crypto will 'disappear on its own'
In brief
- Li Lu called crypto fake at Columbia's 36th Annual Graham & Dodd Event on October 15, 2026.
- Digital assets lack the enforcement power only sovereign states provide, Li argued.
- Li Lu didn't call for a ban, arguing crypto's built-in flaw will do the work.
- No notable market reaction has been tied to the remarks, Crypto Briefing said.
The enforcement argument
Lu's case, as Crypto Briefing reported, is that crypto can't do the job money is supposed to do because it lacks "the enforcement mechanism of sovereign states." He framed digital assets as speculative and unsupported by any formal authority.
That's a structural critique, not a regulatory one.
Lu didn't call for regulators to ban crypto. His view is that the asset class carries a built-in flaw, and that the flaw will do the work over time (no crackdown required). It's a forecast, and it's his forecast, so it's worth reading as exactly that.
Lu predicted that crypto assets “will eventually disappear on their own.”
A value investor's lens
So where's the contrast? Lu set crypto against value investing, which centers on businesses with real economic utility and durable competitive advantages. Crypto Briefing said the comments were consistent with his long-established philosophy of favoring real businesses over speculative bets, which means this isn't a new position for him.
He was also speaking at his alma mater. Lu holds a BA, an MBA and a JD from Columbia, and he founded Himalaya Capital in 1997.
No market reaction tied to the remarks
Crypto Briefing reported that Lu's statements didn't line up with any market-moving event, and no notable market reaction has been tied to them. The remarks did land during a period of ongoing regulatory scrutiny of crypto markets worldwide.
The quotes in this piece come from Crypto Briefing's account of the talk, and we haven't added anything from the speech beyond what that report carried. For people who earn, trade and build in crypto (defi, social apps, the wider web3 stack), Lu's comments are another data point in a long-running argument between the value-investing school and digital-asset holders over what actually gives an asset its worth. That argument hasn't been settled. Lu clearly thinks he knows how it ends.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Li Lu think crypto will disappear?
Li Lu argued that digital assets lack the enforcement power that only governments provide. Without that power, he said, crypto can't do the job money is supposed to do, and he predicted crypto assets "will eventually disappear on their own," according to Crypto Briefing.
Did Li Lu call for regulators to ban crypto?
No. According to Crypto Briefing, Lu didn't call for a ban. He argued the asset class has a built-in flaw that will do the work over time, so no outside push is needed for crypto to fade.
Where did Li Lu make his comments about crypto?
Lu spoke at Columbia Business School's 36th Annual Graham & Dodd Event on October 15, 2026. He's a Columbia alumnus with a BA, an MBA and a JD from the university, and he founded Himalaya Capital in 1997.
