Tag: Joseph Lubin

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Jimmy Song Calls Out Joseph Lubin Over Ethereum (ETH) Bet

One of the aspects of an emerging technology is that some of the most well-respected and well-known figures have all sorts of different theories and ideas about cryptocurrency and blockchain. For example, there are all sorts of various figures that have made different price predictions, or claimed that various catalysts would lead to mass adoption. Of course, some have been more accurate than others, and some have been more optimistic than others, as well.

It appears as though Jimmy Song, the famous Bitcoin engineer-turned-instructor, is tired of Joseph Lubin not respecting a bet regarding the future of Ethereum. Lubin has recently been scrutinized tremendously, given the fact that his blockchain startup, Consensys, is undergoing massive layoffs currently.

Details Of Bet

Jimmy Song has taken his frustrations to Twitter. He quoted a Joseph Lubin tweet and pointed out that Lubin had predicted that “dApps will take over the world by 2023”, but that the bet – to this day, hadn’t been finalized.

The particular tweet that Song quoted was Lubin’s assertion that we had reached the “cryptobottom of 2018”. Jimmy Song appeared to attack Lubin’s credibility in general, as well. You can find Song’s tweet here:

More Information

Jimmy Song has always maintained that BItcoin will be the “prime” cryptocurrency, and is a well-known Bitcoin proponent. It’s only natural that the two would clash on this topic, given the fact that Lubin is a co-founder of Ethereum.

Song has stated that if five dApps have 10,000 daily active users, and 100,000 monthly active users over a 6-month period. Give the fact that Lubin’s company is actively developing dApps, it’s important to note that this has not been met. In addition, it is clear that – at least according to Song – Lubin has not truly committed to the bet.

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UK Cryptocurrency Company Data Released

This year has been tough for all sorts of cryptocurrency companies who had high hopes in 2017. As one can imagine, the idea of cryptocurrency had a much more different sentiment a year ago today, when Bitcoin was in the middle of a huge cryptocurrency bull run that took it over $19,000.

Even though the past few days has seen a nice rally for the digital asset, there is still plenty of hesitation, given the fact that Bitcoin and Ethereum lost the vast majority of its value, and the cryptocurrency markets have lost hundreds of billions of dollars in market capitalization. A new report has detailed which blockchain-related and cryptocurrency-related companies have been affected in the UK.

About The Report

 

A Sky News article recently elaborated on how data has shown that over 300 companies have closed in the sector this year. Of course, not every business survives for various reasons, but the markets obviously are a huge factor. For some context, only 139 companies closed in the sector in 2017, and at least 340 companies related to cryptocurrency closed this year.

The data was gathered by OpenCorporates and Companies House. One blockchain entrepreneur and early Bitcoin adopter by the name of Hugh Halford-Thompson spoke about how the influx of inexperienced investors concerned him.

He stated: “There was a lot of people getting in, and I think for the first time I felt there were a large number of people who really didn’t understand what they were getting into as well.

“So every Uber driver I had either had invested or was thinking about it. I had people asking me genuinely which coin to put their children’s university funds into. That’s not good. I didn’t follow up with them, but I hope they didn’t.”

Overall Downturn

The data isn’t that surprising, given the fact that the UK is not the only country in the world with cryptocurrency companies or blockchain startups. One recent story that has grabbed headlines within the cryptocurrency community is the fact that Brooklyn-based blockchain startup Consensys is laying off a large percentage of its workers. The company is founded by cryptocurrency enthusiast Joe Lubin, a co-founder of Ethereum. Lubin recently took to Twitter to assuage fears about his company, as well:

Interestingly enough, regardless of the 2018 bearish sentiment, there are more jobs associated with blockchain and cryptocurrency than ever. Specifically, Linkedin stated that “blockchain developer” was the fastest-growing job in the United States.

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Consensys To Lay Off Half Its Staff Or More

In the wake of cryptocurrencies losing hundreds of billions in market capitalization – it’s been tough for cryptocurrency companies and blockchain startups of all kinds. Of course, to some – this means that it is perfect time to invest in companies, while the sector is quiet, and before more institutional money comes in.

Consensys apparently will be laying off a significant percentage of its staff, a further sign that the cryptocurrency markets are not conducive to blockchain startups thriving at this time.

About Consensys

However, one blockchain startup that is clearly having issues is Consensys. Consensys is one of the most discussed blockchain startups, because it is founded by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, and is one of the few high-profile blockchains startups in New York City (Consensys is based in Brooklyn).

For those who are unaware, Consensys was founded earlier than many other blockchain startups, in 2014. The startup is ambitious, and aims to develop various blockchain-based services, platforms, and infrastructural projects in various sectors.

Layoffs

To Lubin’s credit, he appears to have seen this problem coming for a while. He recently addressed the urgency to remain “lean” during this bearish phase, writing in a letter to his staff: “We must retain, and in some cases regain, the lean and gritty startup mindset that made us who we are. We now find ourselves occupying a very competitive universe…we must recognize that what got us here will probably not get us there, wherever ‘there’ is.”

 

It is clear that Consensys will be doing more than simply restructuring, but instead will be laying off more employees. It’s important to note that many believed the company had already trimmed costs by laying off 13% of its staff not too long ago, but apparently, it wasn’t enough.

The company plans on spinning out startups and laying off up to 50-60% of its staff, according to an unnamed source. A representative for Consensys apparently did not deny this assertion.

A source pointed out that the environment at the company is more tense than ever, stating: “The office is empty, people are only finding out who’s getting fired because you try to to send Slack messages and they’re not there,” a source says. “ConsenSys won’t create a list [of the projects that are being spun out] or send out anything in writing because they’re afraid of everything going to the press.”