{"id":16473,"date":"2023-05-05T08:28:19","date_gmt":"2023-05-05T12:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo2.dedicatedhost247.com\/crypto\/the-truth-about-eth-founders-split-and-crypto-google-cointelegraph-magazine\/"},"modified":"2023-05-05T08:28:19","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T12:28:19","slug":"the-truth-about-eth-founders-split-and-crypto-google-cointelegraph-magazine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo2.dedicatedhost247.com\/crypto\/the-truth-about-eth-founders-split-and-crypto-google-cointelegraph-magazine\/","title":{"rendered":"The truth about ETH founders split and \u2018Crypto Google\u2019 \u2013 Cointelegraph Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong><br \/>There\u2019s a narrative that\u2019s grown up around Ethereum\u2019s two most important co-founders, Joe Lubin and Vitalik Buterin, to explain how they went in different directions almost a decade ago.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It suggests the pair fell out over the blockchain\u2019s future direction, with the idealistic 20-year-old Buterin determined to turn Ethereum into a nonprofit foundation, while Lubin and others wanted to commercialize the technology via a for-profit company.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat wasn\u2019t really what happened,\u201d the billionaire founder of Ethereum infrastructure and software firm ConsenSys tells Magazine during an in-depth interview in Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cWhat happened was people were looking for a way to explain why these two people were bumped out of the project. And that was a convenient way to label it. But that wasn\u2019t the reason they were moved.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Lubin\u2019s referring to Ethereum\u2019s infamous \u201cRed Wedding\u201d in 2014 when the eight co-founders and the team gathered to incorporate Ethereum as a company. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Hoskinson\" class=\"wp-image-19037\" width=\"346\" height=\"260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Ouroboros-vs-Casper-Vitalik-Buterin-and-Charles-Hoskinson-in-a-Heated-Debate-1024x768-Flickr.webp 640w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Ouroboros-vs-Casper-Vitalik-Buterin-and-Charles-Hoskinson-in-a-Heated-Debate-1024x768-Flickr-300x225.webp 300w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 346px) 100vw, 346px\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Ouroboros-vs-Casper-Vitalik-Buterin-and-Charles-Hoskinson-in-a-Heated-Debate-1024x768-Flickr.webp\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Ouroboros-vs-Casper-Vitalik-Buterin-and-Charles-Hoskinson-in-a-Heated-Debate-1024x768-Flickr.webp\" alt=\"Hoskinson\" class=\"wp-image-19037\" width=\"346\" height=\"260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Ouroboros-vs-Casper-Vitalik-Buterin-and-Charles-Hoskinson-in-a-Heated-Debate-1024x768-Flickr.webp 640w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Ouroboros-vs-Casper-Vitalik-Buterin-and-Charles-Hoskinson-in-a-Heated-Debate-1024x768-Flickr-300x225.webp 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 346px) 100vw, 346px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Former Ethereum CEO Charles Hoskinson (right) with creator Vitalik Buterin (left) from back in the day. (Flickr)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The meeting descended into bickering and infighting over internal politics that saw a devastated CEO Charles Hoskinson pushed out of the team, along with underperforming co-founder Amir Chetrit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s true that I and several people on the team \u2014 like maybe everybody else \u2014 believed that you need to draw businesses in, you needed economic, commercial validation in order to build better things, even open-source software,\u201d the 58-year-old says in his slow, measured tones.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut that wasn\u2019t the root of why I started ConsenSys or why two people were bumped off the project.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-red-wedding-and-crypto-google\"><strong>Red Wedding and Crypto Google<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>As documented in Camilla Russo\u2019s history of Ethereum, <em>The Infinite Machine<\/em>, the co-founders had gathered in Zug, Switzerland on June 7, 2014, to sign a document transforming Ethereum into a for-profit company. But instead of signing the contract, tensions boiled over Hoskinson\u2019s management style and personality, Chetrit\u2019s contribution to the project, Ethereum\u2019s future direction and other internal political issues.<\/p>\n<section class=\"adv-banner adbutler-ad adbutler-ad__desktop\">\n<div class=\"container\"><!-- 1456x180 [img] --><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/servedbyadbutler.com\/go2\/;ID=169476;size=728x90;setID=601214;referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fmagazine%2Fjoe-lubin-the-truth-about-eth-founders-split-and-crypto-google%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img src=\"https:\/\/servedbyadbutler.com\/adserve\/;ID=169476;size=728x90;setID=601214;referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fmagazine%2Fjoe-lubin-the-truth-about-eth-founders-split-and-crypto-google%2F;type=img\"\/><noscript><img src=\"https:\/\/servedbyadbutler.com\/adserve\/;ID=169476;size=728x90;setID=601214;referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fmagazine%2Fjoe-lubin-the-truth-about-eth-founders-split-and-crypto-google%2F;type=img\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"adv-banner adbutler-ad adbutler-ad__mobile\">\n<div class=\"container\"><!-- 600x500 [img] --><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/servedbyadbutler.com\/go2\/;ID=169476;size=300x250;setID=601213;referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fmagazine%2Fjoe-lubin-the-truth-about-eth-founders-split-and-crypto-google%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img src=\"https:\/\/servedbyadbutler.com\/adserve\/;ID=169476;size=300x250;setID=601213;referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fmagazine%2Fjoe-lubin-the-truth-about-eth-founders-split-and-crypto-google%2F;type=img\"\/><noscript><img src=\"https:\/\/servedbyadbutler.com\/adserve\/;ID=169476;size=300x250;setID=601213;referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fmagazine%2Fjoe-lubin-the-truth-about-eth-founders-split-and-crypto-google%2F;type=img\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>After much back and forth, the decisions were all left to the gangly 20-year-old math genius who\u2019d created the project in the first place. After some time alone on the terrace, he returned to say Hoskinson and Chetrit were out, and Ethereum would become a nonprofit foundation instead of a company.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVitalik wrote an amazing white paper \u2014 it was right place, right time, incredible vision \u2014 and it attracted lots of people of disparate backgrounds, and we worked together well for chunks of time,\u201d Lubin says by way of context.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Joe Lubin\" class=\"wp-image-19033\" width=\"364\" height=\"272\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-Lubin-at-Building-Blocks-small-e1683067672807.jpg 884w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-Lubin-at-Building-Blocks-small-e1683067672807-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-Lubin-at-Building-Blocks-small-e1683067672807-770x575.jpg 770w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 364px) 100vw, 364px\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-Lubin-at-Building-Blocks-small-e1683067672807.jpg\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-Lubin-at-Building-Blocks-small-e1683067672807.jpg\" alt=\"Joe Lubin\" class=\"wp-image-19033\" width=\"364\" height=\"272\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-Lubin-at-Building-Blocks-small-e1683067672807.jpg 884w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-Lubin-at-Building-Blocks-small-e1683067672807-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-Lubin-at-Building-Blocks-small-e1683067672807-770x575.jpg 770w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 364px) 100vw, 364px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Joe Lubin in conversation with Magazine in Tel Aviv.<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe had differences of opinion, at times, those differences of opinion boiled over famously\u2026 infamously. And there was a moment where two people were bumped out of leadership, and up to that point, we were having discussions about whether we were going to be purely nonprofit, or whether we were going to pursue a nonprofit track, put it under a foundation, and then the same group of people who worked so nicely together would build Crypto Google together.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd it became apparent to all of us that we probably weren\u2019t going to build Crypto Google. But it was also clear to all of us that nobody was even close to being able to build Crypto Google and that we\u2019re just building the foundation and the platform for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lubin was already planning his own for-profit company to build out Ethereum\u2019s application layer when the decision was made, and it spun into life not long afterward. <\/p>\n<p>While other co-founders, such as Gavin Wood (Polkadot), contributed more to the early protocol itself, arguably none of them, apart from Buterin, has since contributed as much as Lubin to what Ethereum is today. While ConsenSys didn\u2019t turn into Crypto Google, its infrastructure and apps are as important to Ethereum now as Google is to the web.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConsenSys wasn\u2019t formed to commercialize it. It was formed to continue the vision and the mission of the Ethereum platform,\u201d Lubin explains.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related: <\/em><\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/the-vitalik-i-know-dmitry-buterin\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong><em>The Vitalik I know \u2014 Dmitry Buterin<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-who-is-joe-lubin\"><strong><strong>Who is Joe Lubin?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Born in Toronto in 1964, Lubin studied electrical engineering and computer science at Princeton in the mid-1980s, where his roommate was another future crypto billionaire, Mike Novogratz of Galaxy Digital. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was in the same faculty, though Lubin tells Magazine they never met.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"370\" height=\"246\" alt=\"Lubin\" class=\"wp-image-19029\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-1.jpg 370w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-1-300x199.jpg 300w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-1.jpg\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"370\" height=\"246\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-1.jpg\" alt=\"Lubin\" class=\"wp-image-19029\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-1.jpg 370w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-1-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Joe Lubin was almost 50 before he jumped on board the Ethereum train and made his first billion.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Lubin has had a surprisingly diverse career, working in AI, robotics and autonomous music creation for a number of different employers. He founded a hedge fund and was the vice president of private wealth management at Goldman Sachs, but nothing world-changing, according to Novogratz, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/949ee788-6630-4aac-9c4d-b6b0a45f4e25\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">quoted<\/a> in the Financial Times in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJoe was one of the brightest among us, a forward thinker, but by 45 hadn\u2019t done anything to stand out,\u201d Novogratz recalled. \u201cI don\u2019t think any of our gang would have guessed how things would turn out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/ethereums-layer-2-zk-rollups-can-become-interoperable\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Here\u2019s how Ethereum\u2019s ZK-rollups can become interoperable<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The combination of his near-front-row seat to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and then the global financial crisis shook him to his core. He said at the ConsenSys Ethereal Summit in May 2017 that the events had made him feel as though \u201cwe were living in a global society and economy that was figuratively, literally and morally bankrupt.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-suggest\">\n<p>Read also<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-suggest__items\">\n<div class=\"article-suggest__item\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/who-takes-gold-in-crypto-blockchain-olympics\/\" class=\"article-suggest__subtitle display4\"><br \/>\n                            <span>Features<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Who takes gold in the crypto and blockchain Olympics?<\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"article-suggest__item\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/cryptos-critics-can-fud-ever-be-healthy\/\" class=\"article-suggest__subtitle display4\"><br \/>\n                            <span>Features<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Crypto critics: Can FUD ever be useful?<\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>He believed a slow, cascading financial collapse was taking place, which made him receptive to the ideas in the <a href=\"https:\/\/bitcoin.org\/bitcoin.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Bitcoin white paper<\/a>, which he read in 2011. The following year he moved to Jamaica with his girlfriend, who was trying to forge a career in dancehall music, and he became a music producer while investing in Bitcoin and waiting for the collapse.<\/p>\n<p>During a trip home to Toronto in late 2013, he attended a Bitcoin meetup alongside another co-founder, Anthony Di Iorio, and encountered a kid named Vitalik Buterin, who was touting his just-written white paper for an improved version of Bitcoin called Ethereum. Lubin was \u201cblown away,\u201d and he became an official co-founder in early 2014.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Early Ethereum 2014\" class=\"wp-image-19152\" width=\"733\" height=\"410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ethereum-co-founders-at-Bitcoin-Miami-in-2014.webp 800w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ethereum-co-founders-at-Bitcoin-Miami-in-2014-300x168.webp 300w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ethereum-co-founders-at-Bitcoin-Miami-in-2014-770x430.webp 770w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 733px) 100vw, 733px\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ethereum-co-founders-at-Bitcoin-Miami-in-2014.webp\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ethereum-co-founders-at-Bitcoin-Miami-in-2014.webp\" alt=\"Early Ethereum 2014\" class=\"wp-image-19152\" width=\"733\" height=\"410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ethereum-co-founders-at-Bitcoin-Miami-in-2014.webp 800w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ethereum-co-founders-at-Bitcoin-Miami-in-2014-300x168.webp 300w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Ethereum-co-founders-at-Bitcoin-Miami-in-2014-770x430.webp 770w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 733px) 100vw, 733px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>The core early Ethereum team at the house rented for Bitcoin Miami 2014, including Joe Lubin in the back row, second from right. (yanislav.medium.com)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Approaching 50, he was an odd fit with a bunch of anti-establishment 20-something-year-old coders, but his Jamaican music production background gave him just enough cachet with the team to get by. And, of course, Lubin and Di Iorio personally bankrolled around $500,000 to $800,000 of the funding necessary to get Ethereum off the ground.<\/p>\n<p>Lubin\u2019s experience also helped the team avoid potential pitfalls and roadblocks, and he insisted on early meetings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and hiring high-priced lawyers to minimize the extraordinary legal risks.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-consensys-arises\"><strong>ConsenSys arises!<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>ConsenSys was founded in Switzerland in October 2014 for legal reasons, which subsequently led to a nasty ongoing <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/former-consensys-employees-file-for-audit-claiming-serious-irregularities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">court battle between employees and <\/a>shareholders who claim they weren\u2019t properly compensated when the assets were transferred to an American entity.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related: <\/em><\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/account-abstraction-supercharges-ethereum-wallets-dummies-guide\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong><em>\u2018Account abstraction\u2019 supercharges Ethereum wallets: Dummies guide<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>But it actually operated from a graffiti-covered warehouse in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The aim was to build out applications and infrastructure for Ethereum by investing in startups, incubating projects and consulting with firms like JPMorgan and BHP Billiton on how to incorporate this new technology. It spawned more than 50 businesses early on, including a poker site, a prediction market and a healthcare records firm. But by all accounts, its early years were pretty slapdash, with no real corporate structure.<\/p>\n<p>MetaMask co-founder Dan Finlay spoke about the early days on the <em>Epicenter<\/em> podcast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConsenSys was this wonderful, just kind of chaotic incubator at the early stages. I don\u2019t know, there must have been hundreds of different experiments getting validated and tried out there. And there was a really exciting energy,\u201d he says, adding that a lot of projects got built before Ethereum could support them:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cBack then, it was very normal to just kind of build your application as if the blockchain was going to scale or did scale already.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In 2018, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/jeffkauflin\/2018\/12\/05\/cryptopia-in-crisis-billionaire-joe-lubins-ethereum-experiment-is-a-mess-how-long-will-he-prop-it-up\/?sh=683cb0f82f0a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Forbes<\/a> investigation suggested that pretty much all of ConsenSys\u2019 projects were in the red, and the company was burning $100 million a year on non-profitable projects, including an asteroid mining company.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19118\" width=\"702\" height=\"362\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/cryptopoia-1024x528.png 1024w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/cryptopoia-300x155.png 300w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/cryptopoia-770x397.png 770w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/cryptopoia.png 1217w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/cryptopoia-1024x528.png\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/cryptopoia-1024x528.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19118\" width=\"702\" height=\"362\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/cryptopoia-1024x528.png 1024w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/cryptopoia-300x155.png 300w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/cryptopoia-770x397.png 770w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/cryptopoia.png 1217w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Forbes took aim at ConsenSys in a 2018 investigation. (Forbes)\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Not long after, Lubin axed a bunch of underperforming projects, culled the 1,200-strong headcount and reset the company into ConsenSys 2.0 with a much more corporate and accountable culture.<\/p>\n<p>Despite being worth $7 billion after its most recent $450-million fundraising round in 2022, ConsenSys let go of another 11% of its staff in January of this year. Lubin tells Magazine it was readying itself to survive bad conditions as \u201cmacroeconomic and geopolitical\u201d storm clouds gathered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe wanted to ensure that we had significant runway so that we can stay strong and build,\u201d he says, revealing it was eyeing a number of acquisitions that \u201cif we\u2019re able to bring some on board that will add really valuable pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"\/>\n<h2 id=\"h-centralization-vs-decentralization\"><strong>Centralization vs. decentralization<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Anyone who\u2019s listened to Lubin speak will know that he\u2019s genuinely committed to, and a proponent of, the benefits of decentralization.<\/p>\n<p>So, is there tension between running a centralized company like ConsenSys that provides the crucial infrastructure to a decentralized blockchain?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s a tension,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s all about progressive decentralization. There\u2019s nothing wrong with having an entity that is organized in one way that is trying to build something that is organized in a different way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Lubin explains that the products ConsenSys is building need to achieve \u201cproduct-market fit; otherwise, they\u2019re kind of useless, and so bringing something forth, wholly and perfectly decentralized, is very difficult \u2014 it may be impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ConsenSys\" class=\"wp-image-19028\" width=\"643\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-4-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-4-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-4-770x513.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-4.jpg 1450w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 643px) 100vw, 643px\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-4-1024x682.jpg\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-4-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"ConsenSys\" class=\"wp-image-19028\" width=\"643\" height=\"428\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-4-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-4-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-4-770x513.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-4.jpg 1450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 643px) 100vw, 643px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>ConsenSys plays a big role in the Ethereum ecosystem.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>ConsenSys\u2019 most crucial infrastructure is called Infura, which offers Ethereum nodes as a service, making it easier for developers and users to connect to the network. It\u2019s basically an intermediary service between decentralized apps (DApps) and the blockchain that projects rely on to stay up and running.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Infura probably works a little too well, as much of the Ethereum ecosystem is dependent on it. That means if Infura goes down, so too do half the network\u2019s projects, including Uniswap, Compound, MetaMask and Aave.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also a weak point for censorship and was criticized by some for <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/alchemy-and-infura-block-access-to-tornado-cash-as-vitalik-buterin-weighs-in-on-debate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">complying with the Tornado Cash sanctions<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-decentralizing-infura\"><strong>Decentralizing Infura<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>ConsenSys has been working on a plan for some time now to \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/decentralized-infura-may-help-prevent-ethereum-app-crashes-interview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">decentralize Infura<\/a>.\u201d This will take the form of a marketplace of competing infrastructure providers that offer similar services, of which Infura itself would be one.<\/p>\n<p>Lubin believes it\u2019s \u201cextremely important\u201d to make this happen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been a proponent of decentralizing Infura since the start but more actively since five years ago,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we\u2019ve run into is that our ecosystem keeps having these wicked growth spurts,\u201d he continues, adding, \u201cIt was a sub-priority to keep things going rather than to start a parallel project to parallelize and decentralize \u2014 and that\u2019s going pretty well right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-suggest\">\n<p>Read also<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-suggest__items\">\n<div class=\"article-suggest__item\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/can-p2e-gaming-grind-away-market-share-from-mainstream-games\/\" class=\"article-suggest__subtitle display4\"><br \/>\n                            <span>Features<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Blockchain games take on the mainstream: Here\u2019s how they can win<\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"article-suggest__item\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/unique-amazing-south-koreas-cryptoverse\/\" class=\"article-suggest__subtitle display4\"><br \/>\n                            <span>Features<\/span><\/p>\n<p>South Korea\u2019s unique and amazing crypto universe<\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The protocol will either be called XFura or the Decentralized Infura Network Protocol.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe idea is that we believe now that we can take a high-performance product and federate the protocol, initially do a lot of hand-holding with other providers and then we situate Infura on the protocol,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s pretty close. There are a bunch of very sophisticated partners that are working closely with EG [Galano], the lead of the project. I can\u2019t give you a date.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although Infura researcher Patrick McCorry went out of his way in an interview with Cointelegraph to say <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/decentralized-infura-may-help-prevent-ethereum-app-crashes-interview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">censorship resistance was not the point of decentralizing Infura<\/a>, that\u2019s certainly one of the benefits.<\/p>\n<p>A decentralized network would enable DApps to pick and choose providers, allowing them potentially to get around censored protocols or addresses like Tornado Cash.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI like the idea that there\u2019s optionality,\u201d says Lubin, carefully noting that different providers would operate in different nation-states and jurisdictions.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cI think that works well if there\u2019s a lot of them and if there\u2019s real choice, so you can always go to an uncensored service and be sure that they\u2019ve got enough validating power so that you\u2019re gonna get your transaction processed fairly rapidly.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>However, he adds it\u2019s equally possible that future aspects of the protocol are obfuscated so that no one actually knows what\u2019s in a packet or a transaction. He says he knows of people already \u201cworking on protocol enhancements\u201d who will make this happen, and the explosion of layer 2s and layer 3s makes it even more likely.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they\u2019re already glommed in and impossible to read, then it\u2019s hard to imagine that regulators will either care that much or have the ability to do anything,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sure [there is] lots of criminal activity that flows through AWS and Azure and every mail server everywhere. So, there\u2019s a level of infrastructure that you just can\u2019t halt because it\u2019s doing mostly useful activity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The other core bit of infrastructure provided by ConsenSys that underpins the entire Ethereum ecosystem is its ubiquitous browser wallet MetaMask. It\u2019s also being sort of decentralized by crowdsourcing the development of new features and the addition of new blockchains.<\/p>\n<p>Called MetaMask Snaps, it\u2019ll turn the browser wallet into a permissionless platform for others to build on \u2014 one proof-of-concept Snap enables MetaMask to act as a Bitcoin wallet.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"370\" height=\"246\" alt=\"Lubin\" class=\"wp-image-19031\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-2.jpg 370w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-2-300x199.jpg 300w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-2.jpg\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"370\" height=\"246\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-2.jpg\" alt=\"Lubin\" class=\"wp-image-19031\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-2.jpg 370w, https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Joe-lubin-2-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Joe Lubin has arguably made a bigger contribution to Ethereum than any other co-founder apart from Vitalik Buterin. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe MetaMask Grants DAO [decentralized autonomous organization] will get increasingly decentralized and will incentivize people to build cool things, to start companies that permissionlessly innovate that we have nothing to do with,\u201d says Lubin.<\/p>\n<p>He explains that over the years, MetaMask was approached by numerous blockchains looking for support, but after they\u2019d crunched the numbers, there wasn\u2019t enough activity to justify splitting its focus from Ethereum. Snaps, though, will open the doors to everyone.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-crypto-regulations\"><strong>Crypto regulations<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Lubin is unconcerned about the possibility of <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/ethereum-co-founder-joe-lubin-says-no-chance-eth-is-classed-as-security\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Ethereum being declared a security<\/a>, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s as likely and would have the same impact as if Uber was made illegal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere would be tremendous outcry from not just the crypto community but different politicians, certain regulators.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a sense of frustration from Lubin that this ground even needs to be covered again, saying that ConsenSys has been through all of this in discussions with the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission over many years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe went in there on a voluntary basis five years ago or something like that, when they\u2019re just trying to wrap their heads around what tokens were,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey thought back then that everything was a security; we think [we] helped them significantly understand that lots of tokens are not securities and then they went away, and Gary and his team now think almost everything\u2019s a security.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But he believes that the renewed focus on regulations in the wake of the FTX and stablecoin collapses will ultimately be a good thing.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-suggest\">\n<p>Read also<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-suggest__items\">\n<div class=\"article-suggest__item\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/legal-dangers-getting-involved-daos\/\" class=\"article-suggest__subtitle display4\"><br \/>\n                            <span>Features<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The legal dangers of getting involved with DAOs<\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"article-suggest__item\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/how-silk-road-made-your-mailman-a-dealer\/\" class=\"article-suggest__subtitle display4\"><br \/>\n                            <span>Features<\/span><\/p>\n<p>How Silk Road Made Your Mailman a Dealer<\/p>\n<p>                        <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe now have the world\u2019s attention, and smart people who care will prevail because it just makes sense,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd sure, there will be people with agendas who don\u2019t want to see it that way. Maybe the banking lobby will help them not see it that way. But in terms of finally paying a lot of attention to trying to regulate an important space, I do believe that clear heads will think through this and that people will start to understand the benefits of decentralization and make good regulation for CeFi [centralized finance] and no regulation for tech, crypto.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-crisis-equals-opportunity\"><strong>Crisis equals opportunity<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In fact, Lubin is remarkably philosophical and sanguine about all the regulatory, game theory and technological challenges facing Ethereum. For example, he concedes centralization of staking on <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/lido-overtakes-makerdao-and-now-has-the-highest-tvl-in-defi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">platforms like Lido<\/a> could become a concern, but because progressive decentralization is baked into the nature of the ecosystem, it won\u2019t be a problem for long.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThings don\u2019t start very decentralized,\u201d he says. \u201cThese are still pretty new innovations, and our ecosystem is pretty exacting. If you want to be in the Ethereum ecosystem proper, then you\u2019re not going to want to try to dominate something, you\u2019re not going to want to operate centralized for very long. The ecosystem will identify that as problematic and come up with solutions for it, which is great.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In Lubin\u2019s world view, problems are just short-term issues you deal with as part of the process of making the project better.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI see things as processes. I hope we run into lots of complications in the near term, and all the way through, because every complication just points out how we can build a more robust platform and a more decentralized platform. Yes, hopefully, we\u2019ll run into lots of difficult problems.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLots of smart people have good solutions that are being built.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Also read:<\/em><\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/ethereum-eating-world-only-need-one-internet\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong><em> Ethereum is eating the world \u2014 \u2018You only need one internet\u2019<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-future-of-ethereum\"><strong>The future of Ethereum<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The big question is, <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/consensys-founder-bullish-on-ethereum-following-crypto-winter-performance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">where does he see Ethereum heading<\/a>? Does he believe the <a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/ethereum-eating-world-only-need-one-internet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">world\u2019s entire financial system<\/a> could end up running on Ethereum using ZK-Rollups?<\/p>\n<p>Lubin says the founding conception of Ethereum was that it would become a \u201cworld computer,\u201d and he suggests that was still in the cards.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think several of us thought early on that we were building the <em>Star Trek<\/em> computer essentially,\u201d he says, explaining it handled pretty much anything and everything.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd so, I think that decentralized protocols will be the underlying trust foundation for lots of heterogeneous architectures. So, it\u2019s possible that Ethereum will scale sufficiently so that we can have one trust foundation and then build lots of layer 2s and layer 3s and up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere have been many computer revolutions for the last 200 and something years and this is another one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, the answer\u2019s yes. And the answer will take time to unfold. It would be impossible to rearchitect the global economy or global financial system in a short period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"subscribe subscribe--inner\">\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"subscribe__inner\">\n<div class=\"subscribe__content\">\n<p>Subscribe<\/p>\n<p>The most engaging reads in blockchain. Delivered once a<br \/>\n        week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"subscribe__img\">\n    <img alt=\"Subscribe to Magazine by Cointelegraph Newsletter.\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/reading-copy.png\"\/><noscript><img src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/reading-copy.png\" alt=\"Subscribe to Magazine by Cointelegraph Newsletter.\"\/><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author category_page\">\n<div class=\"author__img\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Andrew Fenton\" height=\"300\" width=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Andrew-Fenton-New-CT-Headshot.jpg\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Andrew-Fenton-New-CT-Headshot.jpg\" alt=\"Andrew Fenton\" height=\"300\" width=\"300\"\/><\/noscript>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"author__content\">\n<h2 class=\"author__name\">Andrew Fenton<\/h2>\n<p>Based in Melbourne, Andrew Fenton is a journalist and editor covering cryptocurrency and blockchain. He has worked as a national entertainment writer for News Corp Australia, on SA Weekend as a film journalist, and at The Melbourne Weekly.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author__follow body-l\">\n\t\t\t\t\tFollow the author \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/andrewfenton\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@andrewfenton<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<section class=\"news\">\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/joe-lubin-the-truth-about-eth-founders-split-and-crypto-google\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s a narrative that\u2019s grown up around Ethereum\u2019s two most important co-founders, Joe Lubin and Vitalik Buterin, to explain how they went in different directions almost a decade ago. It suggests the pair fell out over the blockchain\u2019s future direction, with the idealistic 20-year-old Buterin determined to turn Ethereum into a nonprofit foundation, while Lubin and others wanted to commercialize the technology via a for-profit company. \u201cThat wasn\u2019t really what happened,\u201d the billionaire founder of Ethereum infrastructure and software firm ConsenSys tells Magazine during an in-depth interview in Tel Aviv.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[34],"tags":[148,133,62,4114,1479,130,2461,4085],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo2.dedicatedhost247.com\/crypto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16473"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo2.dedicatedhost247.com\/crypto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo2.dedicatedhost247.com\/crypto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo2.dedicatedhost247.com\/crypto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo2.dedicatedhost247.com\/crypto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo2.dedicatedhost247.com\/crypto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo2.dedicatedhost247.com\/crypto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo2.dedicatedhost247.com\/crypto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo2.dedicatedhost247.com\/crypto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo2.dedicatedhost247.com\/crypto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}