There is no chance that the cryptocurrency and blockchain space will see “1,000-times growth” again, Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated in an interview with Bloomberg September 8. At an Ethereum and blockchain conference in Hong Kong, Buterin told Bloomberg that the rapid growth of crypto and blockchain industry is now reaching a “ceiling,” and is moving from “just people being interested” to the stage of “real applications of real economic activity.”

Buterin explained that the period of explosive growth in the sphere is likely coming to an end because the level of superficial awareness about the industry has significantly grown, and is likely to plateau:

“If you talk to the average educated person at this point, they probably have heard of blockchain at least once. There isn’t an opportunity for yet another 1,000-times growth in anything in the space anymore.”

According to Buterin, the initial strategy seen over the past six or seven years in the crypto community – based on marketing coins with the goal of widespread adoption – has resulted in massive growth price and market capitalization of many cryptocurrencies, but that it is now “getting close to hitting a dead end.”