Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin said that he does not view the decline in the value of cryptocurrency as a constraint on the growth of the industry. In his recent interview with Bloomberg, Lubin said that the drop in prices is not a new phenomenon. It was present in the "ecosystem of the blockchain since 2009 - from the moment Bitcoin was invented."

He also noted that, despite the declining value of the cryptocurrency, price bubbles will appear to be "small bumps on the chart", because "growth was exponential".

The Australian currency exchange exchanger Bitcoin.com.au made it possible to purchase Bitcoin and Ethereum for Fiat in more than 1200 newsstands throughout the country. "The fact that you can now buy Bitcoin and Ethereum from the same place you purchase soft drinks and stationery really speaks to how institutionalised cryptocurrency has become [...] For anyone who has hesitated about buying Bitcoin because it all seemed too complicated, this is the perfect setup that takes the fear factor out of investing in digital currencies", said Bitcoin.com.au CEO Rupert Hackett.

According to the Google Trends portal, the number of search queries "Bitcoin" and "Ethereum" in Google has recently decreased significantly - by 75% (from 100 points to 25). The number of requests for Bitcoin, in particular, began to decline from December, and now are at the same level as in October-November. A similar story with the Ethereum. While he managed to restore a high level of interest in January, after falling in December, it fell to about 25 points and stopped at the same level as in November.

Two exchanges from Chicago, CBOE and CME, which are the first in the world of regulated areas to start working with Bitcoin derivatives, are also considering the possibility of launching futures for Ethereum and Litecoin. This information, while not officially confirmed, appeared last night in the US media. The launch of the Bitcoin futures theoretically should consolidate the value of the cryptocurrencies as a new asset class. Successful trading in futures and options for Bitcoin virtually makes the emergence of similar contracts for other major cryptocurrencies, and primarily on the air and Litecoin.

London financial expert, CEO of NEX Group, Michael Spencer, was among those financiers who consider Bitcoin a bubble. Nevertheless, he believes that the price of Bitcoin will reach $ 20,000, and only after that, it will sharply go down. In an interview with Guy Johnson on Bloomberg TV in London, Spencer said he had no idea if the Bitcoin price would double before it halved, but noted that the $ 20,000 level could be reached "damn fast." Johnson called the growth of Bitcoin, which exceeded the $ 11,000 mark last Wednesday, "irrational."

Bob Summerwill, one of the founders of the Ethereum and a well-known figure in the cryptocurrency community, published in his blog a text entitled "Statement of Conflict of Interest" revealing his incomes and current assets. The preamble of the document says that its purpose is to prevent any future conflicts of interest and accusations of unethical behavior. Bob Summerwill plans to constantly maintain the relevance of the information provided, and put the hash of the current version in the Ethereum blockchain, just as it is done in the digital notary Factum.

Bitcoin enthusiasts and financial experts are beginning to listen to the opinion of the former manager of the Fortress investment fund and the longtime supporter of the crypto currency, Michael Novogratz, which predicts an even higher price for Bitcoins. 

"The killer of the Ethereum is the Ethereum itself; the Chinese Ethereum, this is also the Ethereum, and the Taiwanese Ethereum is the Ethereum ... 2.0. » 

While the price of Bitcoin beats the record for the record, many prominent figures of the financial world are in a hurry to express their opinion on what is happening. 

Investor and founder of crypto-currency hedge funds Mike Novogratz said that the Ethereum is ready to reach new record highs in the short term.