Crypto appears to be in a bull market, perhaps not by a technical definition, but most of the attendees at ETHDenver would agree that it sure feels like it. 

Even Ethereum co-founder and Consensys CEO Joe Lubin believes that things are looking up for crypto, and he’s convinced that the best is yet to come.

On Feb. 29, Lubin joined the “What will drive the next super cycle” fireside chat moderated by Axios reporter Crystal Kim, and during the conversation, Lubin touched on the current “super cycle,” whether or not a spot BTC and ETH ETF are good for retail investors and the more developer-focused community and the growing need for decentralization in multiple industries.

When asked what would catalyze the next super cycle — a long period of economic expansion that is typically driven by strong growth in the demand for products and services — Lubin said,

“We are in this 4th turning, and we are ready for a new system of the world. The other way of thinking about it is that it’s a monetary super cycle, where the monetary systems of the world reach and end of life essentially, basically because of interest, and there’s too much debt in the system because certain generations broke the monetary system and other elements of the financial system.”

Lubin explained that “crypto was born into an era of free money. It was born of an era of constrained money, controlled money, top-down command and control. Essentially, we for millennia have been living in a paradigm of centralized top-down trust and its authorities imbue intermediaries with certain powers and the intermediaries help run the world, they maintain these databases or ledgers that control who owns what and who has rights and privileges.”

According to Lubin,

“Satoshi invented decentralized trust as opposed to centralized trust. We’d never seen decentralized trust on the planet before.”

Are spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs good for the community?

Before spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved, crypto advocates and investors had waited more than 7 years for an approval, and while their launch may be the validation stamp that authenticates BTC’s status as a sound investment, there have always been concerns that institutional investors could dilute the true vision of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

When asked whether a spot Bitcoin ETF and the possibility of an ETH ETF were good for the community, Lubin said, “there are a lot of different issues in there, but in the near term, it’s a great thing.”

“The floodgates are open now, and there’s an enormous amount of value piling into the crypto ecosystem. The good thing about that is it’s going to be hard for regulators and politicians to stomp on people’s portfolios, and we’re going to see more and more funding come into our ecosystem.”

Can crypto thrive in the U.S.?

Historically, regulators and politicians in the U.S. have taken a pretty firm stance against the crypto industry, and many believe that this has hampered the sector’s growth for years. When asked if crypto can “thrive” in the U.S., Lubin suggested that the decision to obstruct the growth of the crypto industry may not be in the hands of policymakers anymore.

“I think the momentum is picking up, and it's unstoppable. The SEC has done some things under the Biden administration that are real headscratchers, there’s an element of gaslighting and an element of unreasonableness in some of the actions that they have brought, and the judicial branch has been wonderful in seeing things clearly and making sure the laws of the United States of America and the Constitution are followed and protected.”

Lubin ended with,

“I look forward to a more decentralized governance in the United States”