According to the co-founder of the second largest cryptocurrency Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, the days of rampant and explosive growth in the prices of digital currencies are over.
No More 1,000 Times Returns
Speaking to Bloomberg at the Ethereum Industry Summit conference in Hong Kong, the co-founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin shared his two cents on the current state of the cryptocurrency field. According to Buterin, we are past the point where 1,000 times growth is possible:
The blockchain space is getting to the point where there’s a ceiling in sight.
He continued:
If you talk to the average educated person at this point, they probably have heard of blockchain at least once. There isn’t an opportunity for yet another 1,000-times growth in anything in the space anymore.
Ethereum’s co-founder also noted that the strategy of aggressive marketing which is what supposedly underpinned the growth in cryptocurrencies throughout the last years is no longer going to work:
That strategy is getting close to hitting a dead end.
Buterin sees real application of blockchain technology as the next step forward.
Saying No to Institutional Investors
While many are waiting for the SEC to rule on the commodity-backed VanEck/SolidX Bitcoin ETF as means to allow institutional investors to step in the market and trigger a rally, Buterin seems to share an entirely different philosophy:
I honestly don’t think this stuff matters much. There’s honestly a part of me that would be happier if institutional trading of cryptocurrencies did not happen at all for another five years.
Buterin continued:
Ultimately if all that cryptocurrency is, is this thing that millionaires keep buying and selling to each other, then what have we really accomplished?
In any case, it’s worth noting that Ethereum is having a very rough 2018, having lost nearly 80 percent of its value since the start of the year. At the time of writing this, the cryptocurrency trades at $199,06, marking a slight recovery of about 4 percent in the last 24 hours.
What do you think of Buterin’s stance on the state of the cryptocurrency market? Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments below!
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