Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin has argued that ETH could become an important store of value during a period of rising inflation and economic uncertainty, predicting that the cryptocurrency will gain more uses as financial services move onto blockchain networks.
Summary
- Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin says ETH could become an important store of value during economic instability.
- Lubin argues that Ethereum offers financial applications and programmable transactions beyond the features of Bitcoin and gold.
- Vitalik Buterin has called for ETH’s long-term value to depend less on transaction fee burning.
- Lubin predicts quantum-safe ETH by 2028, while Ethereum’s published network roadmap targets December 2029.
- Ethereum traded near $2,050 on November 11, down approximately 3% over the previous 24 hours.
In a Wednesday post on X, Lubin warned that national currencies and other assets could lose purchasing power during economic and social instability. He compared Ethereum with Bitcoin and gold, arguing that ETH offers additional features through decentralized finance, stablecoins and smart contracts.
“We are almost certainly heading into a period of high inflation and extreme economic and social volatility,” he wrote.
At the same time, the comments follow recent remarks from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who has called for ETH to be viewed primarily as a store of value instead of an asset whose worth depends on transaction fees being burned.
Joseph Lubin explains why Ethereum could rival Bitcoin and gold
Lubin’s argument centers on Ethereum’s ability to function as money while supporting financial applications that operate without traditional intermediaries.
“Gold and BTC are high-powered money and excellent stores of value. ETH goes further,” he stated.
The Consensys CEO identified Ethereum’s resistance to censorship, its use as collateral and its programmable transactions among the characteristics supporting his position.
Like Bitcoin, ETH does not represent a debt obligation issued by a government or financial institution. However, Ethereum supports smart contracts that allow developers to build applications for lending, borrowing, trading and payments.
Lubin described Ethereum’s base network as capable of processing financial agreements involving both small payments and transactions worth billions of dollars.
He argued that its decentralized structure could help protect users from financial restrictions imposed by governments or other centralized authorities.
His post further addressed Ethereum’s monetary supply, describing ETH as disinflationary and capable of becoming deflationary during periods of heavy network activity.
Ethereum’s EIP-1559 mechanism destroys a portion of transaction fees, although the amount burned varies with network usage and does not always exceed new token issuance.
Vitalik Buterin backs ETH as a store of value over fee burning
Lubin’s comments arrive days after Buterin questioned the argument that Ethereum’s long-term valuation should depend heavily on reducing token supply through transaction fee burns.
On November 8, Buterin said Ethereum should concentrate on decentralization, security and resistance to external control.
As crypto.news previously reported, Buterin argued that efforts to maximize fee burning could conflict with Ethereum’s ability to provide affordable and decentralized services.
“ETH as store of value (SoV)” makes more sense than focusing on ETH as a fee-burning token, he wrote.
Buterin maintained that Ethereum should retain EIP-1559 even if the network continues burning fewer tokens than it issues.
He explained that Ethereum’s monetary value should come from its usefulness as an asset held within a secure, decentralized financial system.
Lubin took a similar position while emphasizing the potential demand for ETH as collateral in lending markets and other financial applications.
Lubin predicts quantum-safe Ethereum by 2028
Among Lubin’s longer-term predictions was a timeline for making Ethereum more resistant to future security threats involving quantum computing and artificial intelligence.
“By the end of 2027, or partway through 2028 at the latest, ETH will be quantum-safe and AI-safe money,” he wrote.
Ethereum developers have been working on cryptographic upgrades intended to protect wallets, transactions and network consensus from increasingly powerful computers.
The Ethereum Foundation’s published roadmap targets quantum resistance across the execution, consensus and data layers by December 2029.
Those plans include replacing cryptographic systems that could become vulnerable to sufficiently powerful quantum computers.
The Foundation’s September roadmap identifies post-quantum signatures and other security improvements as ongoing research and development priorities.
Lubin’s earlier timeline is his own prediction, while the Foundation’s published target covers the network’s three main protocol layers.
His post further predicted that artificial intelligence (AI) would accelerate economic growth and create demand for blockchain-based financial agreements involving people and automated systems.
Ethereum price trades near $2,050 despite Lubin’s long-term outlook
Ethereum was trading around $2,050 on November 11, down approximately 3% over 24 hours, according to crypto.news market data.
The cryptocurrency had traded between approximately $2,000 and $2,100 during the period, with daily trading volume reaching $14.22 billion.
Selling pressure has continued despite institutional purchases, with Ethereum-linked wallet activity showing transactions involving large holders during the recent decline.
Lubin’s comments focused on Ethereum’s longer-term adoption, particularly its potential role in financial markets and the use of stablecoins.
He said Ethereum hosts substantial stablecoin activity and expects companies and governments to increasingly use blockchain networks for financial transactions.
However, competition remains active. During the third quarter, TRON overtook Ethereum in average USDT supply, holding $90.75 billion against Ethereum’s $87.73 billion, according to Token Terminal.
Lubin expects Ethereum’s base network and layer-2 systems to support more financial activity as businesses adopt blockchain applications.
He predicted that ETH’s monetary premium would continue growing as individuals, corporations and governments hold the asset for transactions and financial agreements.
