As Ethereum prepares for the much-awaited Merge, which is expected in August, the distribution of the network’s tokens is once again at the limelight. 

Lubin Declines to Outline the ETH He Holds, Says It is Less than ½ of a Percent

How much does Joseph Lubin, the founder of ConsenSys, a firm that serves as Ethereum incubator, holds? No one has an answer, and Lubin himself remains tight-lipped. “No, I wouldn’t disclose that personally,” Lubin replied to Christine Kim on stage during the Consensus Week 2022. 

Lubin holding at Ethereum has never been more relevant than now as the network nears the closure of its multi-year development shift to a new consensus mechanism. The new protocol, proof of stake (POS), is expected to secure the largest smart contract decentralised ledger, Ethereum, by market cap.

When on stage, Lubin looked uncomfortable trying to explain that his holding has never at any one moment been close to half of a percent. 

This differs from the estimates, which at some point pegged Lubin’s ownership at 5-10% of the total ETH in circulation. Forbes mentioned the figures when he was named the second-richest person in the crypto industry in 2018. 

Lubin Likely Received Part of the Six Million ETH for Early Contributors

In the past, Lubin has served as the Vice President of Technology at Goldman Sachs. He has also been with Ethereum right from inception. Therefore, it is expected he received a significant cut of the approximately six million ethers released to the “early project contributors.” 

However, there are some complicating factors, such as the fact that Lubin has spent about five years funding other projects. Some of the funds are directly from his pocket and channelled to startups via ConsenSys. 

“I’ve done nothing but disseminate the tokens,” Lubin emphasised. “I haven’t acquired any tokens since genesis,” he added.

It is impossible for Lubin to prove his claim unless he shows all his blockchain addresses. This is unlikely because it is akin to sharing bank details in public. Although openness is crucial in blockchain operations, the chances are that this is not likely to happen. 

ETH Holding will Become Crucial Once Ethereum Shifts to POS Protocol

Less equal distribution of capital at the Ethereum blockchain is expected to become a major factor once the network fully adopts the proof of stake (POS) consensus protocol. From a theoretical point of view, POS allows those who help with transaction validation and governance to get a reward. 

Already, third parties have emerged and are capitalising on staking because a total of 32 ETH are required to become a validator. Kraken, Binance, and Coinbase only account for 20% of all the staked ETH.

Now that Ethereum is about to shift to POS after the Merge, the focus has been on greater accumulation. This is based on the fact that more capital will generate more returns when put up for stake. Lubin has indicated that he is working hard to accumulate more ETH through ConsenSys. 

“ConsenSys is a new kind of business; it takes in thousands of different tokens in our work,” Lubin said. “We’re doing our best to accumulate ether tokens…” he added.