6 questions for BlockApps CEO Kieran James-Lubin

You may have heard of Ethereum founder Joseph Lubin, who currently serves as the CEO of Consensus. But don't mistake it for Kieran James-Lubin – the highly successful son of an entrepreneur who founded his own company Block Ups in 2015.

James-Lubin now serves as CEO of BlockApps from his office in Miami Beach – where he was working on a PhD in theoretical physics after a stint at the University of California-Berkeley in New York City. We took a few minutes to talk with him about his thoughts on the future of the cryptocurrency industry. Here is what he had to tell us.

1. If you are currently investing in startup companies, what blockchain-based business opportunity would catch your eye?

I think it's obviously a cyclical industry, and we're in the process. With each cycle, you see more practical, consumer-facing value. Now, I think there is too much emphasis on infrastructure coverage.

We want people to do things they can do without blockchain technology but offer something better, smoother, faster, cheaper, more fluid and/or innovative but simpler. So blockchain offers a lot of innovation, but it's not easy, and there's a bit of an insider culture in terms of making it accessible to regular people. It doesn't seem to be the need. In some ways it became counterproductive.

So that's what I'm looking for. Also if you're looking for a quick flip, I think AI and blockchain are happening right now. There are some real projects. There is also a lot of noise. But I think it's based on tokens or equity, especially since symbols are often driven by emotion.

2. What do you think will be the biggest trend in blockchain in the next 12 months?

The markets will support AI stuff pretty well for a while, although it will be a long time before it finds its way into the way people can use that stuff. So people are really happy, even if the main ingredient is not there, they can do OK.

I would also say that, obviously, real world assets (RWAs) are having a bit of a time. We are part of that. But this road we're talking about is part of that tire assembly. I think it's not just Blackrocks or JPMorgans. That's part of making practical service happen. I think it is difficult, but it is the biggest thing that is needed to bring this to the core.

3. What is the toughest challenge you have ever faced in our industry?

Years ago, we were a pretty B2B-only company, like Microsoft, Google, big enterprise businesses. We have always focused on practical adoption.

To some extent, we've probably lived too far in the future for what people want from technology. And perhaps we would have been better served by focusing on crypto natives in the early days. And so we kind of went in that direction a little bit later. But there is always this needle of time. Like, are people ready for technology for technology's sake? Some were and are early adopters, but we're more focused on people using it just for the heck of it. But still, who is the target? Is crypto native to us? not really.

So we support that audience. We also support more optimistic, early, mainstream audiences. But that's the tricky part. It is the time around value that will be available to the end user and when they are ready for it.

4. What consolidation do you expect to see in the crypto industry next year?

It was much smaller than I thought. I think we're down to three, maybe five layer-1 and two B2B players, but we're not. I think we are finding that blockchain ecosystems are very strong. So as long as the investors are there, the networks may decline in popularity, but if there are two miners left, two people with accounts or assets on their network, they will just continue.

So there are new arrivals coming in all the time. With Layer-1s and Layer-2s etc, it is still very interesting for investors and users. He continues to acquire new projects. I was already expecting to see massive consolidation at this point, but it looks like we're seeing another wave of expansion instead.

Every time, every breast cycle, you lose a lot of ineffective players. With each development, you will see many new arrivals. I've been feeling a little less than Johnny-come-lately in preparation lately, but we'll see.

5. Which countries are doing the most to support blockchain? Do you think America is lagging behind?

Some blockchain folks might say we've been pushed to the beach. We did not take that approach.

Almost no one in the blockchain space wants to condone or commit fraud. But issues are compounding. Technology is a tool. It can make money move faster. Sometimes that's a good thing. Sometimes it makes it easier to move money too quickly to the wrong people. If people get on the same page that we don't all want to have a grandparent get robbed, then I think we can have a productive conversation with regulators. That doesn't seem to be the case now.

But there is a slight inconsistency between how the control device works and the way the technology works. It's not unfixable, but you need to see a more cooperative attitude than we've seen. One regulator took aim at this technology in particular.

I think the industry did a pretty good job with the FTX debacle. People are completely overrated. The justice system worked very quickly. I think law enforcement has been mostly helpful. Still, things are going to go wrong with blockchain. The Ethereum people in particular had the idea that code is law.

6. What five Twitter feeds can't you live without?

I love Jesse Walden, Aaron Wright, Caitlin Long, Chain Yoda, and Balaji Srinivasa.

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Cointelegraph magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.