Ethereum co-founder says crypto ecosystem has never been better or stronger – Regulation Bitcoin News

Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin says the strength of the crypto ecosystem has “never been better or stronger.” He believes “more clarity” from regulators will be helpful for the crypto industry. “I think our industry has suffered from having two major factions rolled into one: the money crypto faction … and the technology crypto faction,” he explained.

Ethereum co-founder of crypto ecosystem, regulation

Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin discussed the state of the crypto ecosystem, regulation and whether ether (ETH) is a security in an interview with CNBC last Wednesday.

“The strength of our ecosystem has never been better or stronger,” he began. While noting that “There are certainly headwinds — some microeconomic, financial headwinds — out in the world,” as well as “banking problems for a small number of companies” in the crypto space, he emphasized, “The size of the conferences that are going on in Paris and Denver and Los Angeles have never been bigger.” The Ethereum co-founder added:

When developers come into our ecosystem to essentially build an alternative economy, they don’t leave. The speculators run in and they run out, but the building has never been better.

Commenting on why the prices of bitcoin and ether have risen, he said: “Because they are healthy. Bitcoin is good money. Ether is ultrasound money… the development, the use cases, the ease of use, the scalability of the Ethereum ecosystem – it has never been better. It accelerates.” Lubin also noted that the possibility of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates less aggressively in the future has helped boost cryptocurrency prices. “It’s an inflation hedge,” he stressed.

Regarding cryptocurrency regulation and the aggressive enforcement actions of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Ethereum co-founder opined:

I think more clarity, being more explicit will be helpful for our industry. I think our industry has suffered from having two major factions rolled into one: the money crypto faction … and the technology crypto faction, which is just building decentralized protocol infrastructure.

While noting that “Crypto money should absolutely be regulated” and “Crypto money people issued tokens that are rightfully seen as securities,” he argued, “Tech crypto people are just technologists. We’re just building infrastructure that the traditional economy can use, and the economy ours can use, and you don’t want to regulate innovation.”

Is Ether a security?

Lubin also commented on regulators claiming ether is a security. In response to the New York Attorney General’s claim in his lawsuit against crypto exchange Kucoin that ETH is a security, the Ethereum co-founder said, “Anybody can say anything, that doesn’t make it true.”

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has stated several times that all crypto-tokens besides bitcoin are securities “because there is a group in the middle and the public expects profits based on that group.” Lubin argued:

People buy barrels of oil with the expectation of profit.

When asked if he is sure that ether is not a security, the Ethereum co-founder replied: “I don’t think there is any point in speculating on something that is extremely unlikely.”

Opinions differ among US regulators about whether ether should be classified as a security. SEC Chairman Gensler believes that ETH is a security, while the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has stated several times that it is a commodity. However, both regulators agree that bitcoin is a commodity.

What do you think of the statements made by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin? Let us know in the comments section below.

Kevin Helms

A student of Austrian economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects and the intersection of finance and cryptography.