Ethereum Co-Founder Predicts ETH Will Lead in Value in Two Years

Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and CEO of MetaMask, believes demand for ETH will exceed available supply as financial firms migrate to the Ethereum network. However, he acknowledges that mainstream adoption has not yet materialized.

The discussion unfolded on X after Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer at crypto fund Arca, challenged ETH proponents to articulate the token's worth.

Lubin: Ethereum's Demand Set to Surpass Supply

Lubin responded that Dorman was "working with a snapshot of the current state" and overlooking what Lubin regards as the unavoidable path ahead.

Financial institutions and the supporting market infrastructure have already begun using Ethereum, with more expected to join, Lubin stated. Consensys, he noted, is collaborating with several of them. The software company recently separated MetaMask into an independent firm.

Lubin described multiple factors that could reduce supply. Users will vie for premium block space, staking will lock away additional ETH, and corporate digital asset treasuries will keep accumulating — similar to BitMine's efforts to amass 5% of all ether. Additionally, increased on-chain activity burns more ETH.

@jdorman81, you are working with a snapshot of the current state and ignoring what I believe is the inevitable trajectory.

The FIs and FMIs are here and more are coming. @Consensys is working with some of them.

As more of the economy moves onchain — on Ethereum tech –…

— Joseph Lubin (@ethereumJoseph) November 11, 2026

The Ethereum co-founder described these dynamics as ETH's monetary premium.

"In perhaps 2 years no platform will have anywhere close to the monetary premium of ETH," Joseph Lubin said.

Market data presents a contrasting picture so far. ETH has declined by more than a third over the previous year and is trading below half of its August 2025 record high.

Still, certain market participants see a different pattern in the price action. One trader pointed out that ETH fell roughly 26% in each of the mid-2025 period and the current downturn. In 2025, that decline preceded a strong upward move, and the trader anticipates a repeat.

ETH looking very good here.

The most hated rally is coming.

And most will miss it. pic.twitter.com/yNP6BEeIrH

— Gordon 🐂 (@GordonGekko) November 12, 2026

Mainstream Usage Still Absent After a Decade

In another message, Lubin admitted that crypto has yet to produce truly attractive applications for the general public. Most individuals buy ETH and Bitcoin primarily as speculative holdings, he noted.

Nevertheless, Lubin attributed much of the recent regulatory progress to SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Chair Michael Selig. Moreover, in his role as MetaMask CEO, he highlighted the wallet he manages, which is developing into a self-custody financial super app.

We haven't seen real mainstream usage yet.

We've seen people buying ETH and BTC to hold it speculatively. We've seen protocol and cryptography nerds build and evolve the protocol and continuously kick the tires on it. We've seen finance nerds build and kick the tires on DeFi.… https://t.co/smRZTdaHMr

— Joseph Lubin (@ethereumJoseph) November 11, 2026

Dorman remains skeptical. After a decade, the best justifications for holding a layer-1 token remain "a bunch of gobbledygook rationales," he argued.

Lubin has made optimistic predictions about Ethereum before. He also supports Ethlabs, a nonprofit aimed at preparing Ethereum for institutional use. In October, he stated the crypto bear market had ended some time ago. However, ETH has declined further since then.