A lot of people have benefited from the cryptocurrency investment. But Shiller would still like to see it as a psychology experiment. It is more psychological than something that could be explained by the computer science department, He said.
Bolded: it sounds like Robert Shiller is claiming
blockchain has no real world application in computer science, security, finance or otherwise legitimate software engineering fields. Almost as if Shiller doesn't realize shipping firms and many others are utilizing blockchain technology in ledgers and banks are being forced to rollout faster transactions with lower fees to better compete with bitcoin, after decades of industry wide stagnation. Perhaps this serves as a real world example why armchair economists should not comment on things they do not understand or have experience with.
I'd say interpreting it like that is a stretch. He was talking about cryptocurrencies specifically, and while it is a product of computer science, it's more of an application of a technology rather than
the technology, which is the blockchain. He's also probably commenting about its effect as a speculative asset on people (as evidenced by his theory that it's a bubble and a mania), rather than its application as a technology -- in which case, he's correct that it cannot be explained by computer science. Even the most rabid Bitcoin fan can't deny that it's being treated more like a speculative asset/investment vehicle rather than its intended use of a currency by most people, so it's not like his opinion doesn't hold water.
Not that I agree with him of course, but this argument has already been beaten to death by other traditional economists and some very influential people on both sides of the fence. I personally don't believe it's a fad nor a bubble, but only time will really tell who's correct.