• The US could mint a platinum coin to solve the debt crisis without worsening inflation, Paul Krugman said.

• The top economist said the inflationary effects of the coin would be offset by the Fed selling bonds.

• "But as I said, people who really should know better constantly get this wrong, and imagine that the coin would be inflationary."

A $1 trillion platinum coin could prevent the US government from defaulting on its debt without making inflation worse, according to Nobel laureate Paul Krugman.

The idea behind the coin is for the Treasury use its authority to mint platinum coins and create one with a face value of $1 trillion that gets deposited at a Federal Reserve account to pay bills while lawmakers remain deadlocked on lifting the debt ceiling. 

Some economists have criticized a $1 trillion coin as "unworkable" and an unrealistic solution that could worsen inflation.