ConsenSys founder and Ethereum co-creator Joseph Lubin recently expressed his thoughts on the “equal waves of fascination and skepticism” concerning cryptocurrency, in a Quartz op-ed published on Sept. 25.
Lubin referenced a number of historical antidotes to assert that society has always been a bit skeptical towards those who come up with new concepts of money but argued that:
“Cryptocurrency is in many ways a natural evolution of prior representational systems, though one that favors truth over state-sanctioned power.”
A New Representation System For The Future
In the piece, Lubin noted that much of Europe demurred on representative money until the 1600s and that it also took time for digital cash transfers and wires to gain acceptance.
He characterized digital currencies as just the “21st century’s version of that flimsy paper money” and also pointed out that the decentralized and open character behind them stand in contrast to the “government-run property systems (and the financial vehicles that followed it).”
Lubin wrote that the use of cryptocurrencies could eventually lead to better distributions of wealth thanks to the power of decentralized networks.
He also touched on the power of virtual currency and blockchain to give displaced persons or refugees an ability to maintain an identity, since they could use the technology to store and present documents in other countries for practices relating to economic livelihood, like securing a loan.
According to Lubin, networked open platforms will eventually serve as the foundation for “collective common-good relationships,” overall replacing an adversarial system comprised of corporations and customers.
Growth Only Continues
Lubin’s bullish perspective in his piece seems to echo earlier optimistic sentiments about continued growth, despite price turbulence.
Speaking to Bloomberg in mid-August, he noted that price slumps would seem like “little pimples on a chart” due to future exponential growth. Lubin asserted that each bubble has actually led to a “tremendous surge in activity.”
Lubin also made several wide-ranging comments during an interview with CCN at TechCrunch Disrupt SF.
He spoke about the work of ConsenSys, which includes projects related to education, consultancy, advising, and capital markets endeavors.
Lubin also explained that the company was operating according to guidance dating from the summer from the SEC’s director of corporation finance, Bill Hinman, concerning questions about if a particular token project is a security token or a consumer utility.
When asked about the potential disruptive capabilities of ConsenSys’ work, Lubin said the blockchain could be a big game-changer in pretty much any scenario where there are “companies or people who don’t trust one another” but want “to enhance trust in their interactions.”
Featured Image from Collision Conference/Flickr
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