Ethereum's Joe Lubin: We're Moving Into Phase Two of ETH Blockchain 'This Year'

Ethereum's Joseph Lubin said that with the fundamental "Layer one" in the Ethereum ecosystem now established, 2018 will see "Layer two" systems ramify and mature.

Lubin's comment came from his speech at the Rise conference in Hong Kong Tuesday, July 10.

'We're moving into a space where Ethereum can serve as the layer one trust system, and built into Ethereum we'll have hundreds of thousands of transactions in the layer two systems and we're going to see that ramified this year.

In Lubin's vision, an elaborated "Layer two" infrastructure for the blockchain ecosystem would preserve "Layer one" - an underlying "trust layer" secured by the radical decentralization of the core blockchain.

Panel discussion with Joe Lubin, Erik Torenberg and Melissa Guzy at the Rise conference.

Lubin mentioned Plasma, Ethereum's on-chain scaling solution, which was introduced back in August 2017 by Vitalik Buterin and Joseph Poon - the creator of Bitcoin's own "Layer two" solution, dubbed Lightning Network.

Lubin's co-panelist Torenburg agreed with the suggestion that this year is one of transition for the blockchain space, adding that "if 2017 was the year of the ICO, then 2018 is for the building and delivery of products.

Lubin also offered his wider vision of the implications of the emerging space, considering that blockchain offers a "natively digital world" of interaction in trustless contexts that he believes is now set to "ramify in virtually every industry.

Lubin noted the nuanced stance taken by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Bill Hinman, who, in Lubin's words, has crucially recognized that - as distinct from securities - consumer utility tokens may offer "a whole new model for delivering services and products to consumers - a networked business model held together by [digital] tokens.

Lubin added that because "information asymmetry" and the potential for fraud can be exacerbated by the global context of ICOs, "we [do] need regulators to help us clean up the industry.