If there’s one constant in crypto, it’s volatility. Since Bitcoin first emerged in 2009, there have been euphoric upswings and catastrophic declines. Crypto bubbles lead to crypto collapses.
Arjun Sethi, the co-CEO of Kraken, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges last reportedly valued at $15 billion, believes we’re now in the midst of a bubble. When Fortune’s Jeff John Roberts asked the crypto executive whether that was the case during a panel at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Park City, Utah, Sethi responded yes—with some nuance.
“Are we in a bubble or not? If I look at the overall slope over 15 years, I would say no,” said the Kraken executive. “If you look at it quarter by quarter, the answer is yes, we get into those bubbles all the time.”
That even a crypto CEO would say that his industry is headed for a potential crash speaks to the frothiness in the crypto markets over the past year. Since January, Bitcoin has repeatedly notched all-time highs and the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has crossed the $4 trillion for the first time. That’s not to mention blockbuster IPOs from the stablecoin issuer Circle and the crypto exchange Bullish.
While some of that enthusiasm stems from Bitcoin’s correlation with the stock market—the S&P 500 has also set new records since President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January—pro-crypto regulatory changes in the U.S. are also a likely factor for crypto’s recent surge.
