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8 Things You Missed at EthDenver [LITE]

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8 Things You Missed at EthDenver [LITE]

The best things that happened at one of the biggest Ethereum events

David Hoffman
Feb 21, 2022
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8 Things You Missed at EthDenver [LITE]

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Dear Bankless Nation,

ETH Denver just wrapped up.

Over 12,000 people came to Denver to participate in the hackathon, attend the talks, meet other like-minded people, and go to parties.

It was, by far, the biggest ETH Denver ever.

For context:

  • ETH Denver 2018 had 3,000 people (ETH price $600, post-ICO mania)

  • ETH Denver 2019 had 4,500 people ($100 ETH, deep bear market)

  • ETH Denver 2020 had 6,000 people ($300 ETH, right before March Covid crash)

  • ETH Denver 2022 has 12,000 people ($3,000 ETH, after 2 yrs of growth)

After arriving at the venue and seeing how many people had come to check out the conference, I had a small ‘oh shit’ moment with regards to how many new people were at the conference.

Ethereum has grown so large…would the 2018-2020 ETH Denver vibes that I loved so much still be there?

Would so many new entrants and new projects change the culture of ETH Denver to something I wasn’t used to?

Will it still be the same ETH Denver that I knew and loved?

The answer: Absolutely yes. The ETH Denver vibes that I fell in love with back in 2018 had scaled beautifully.

The ETH Denver culture wasn’t diluted; it was amplified.

Twitter avatar for @TrustlessState
mfer DavidHoffman.eth Ξ🦇🔊💰🏴 @TrustlessState
This was, by far, the best week of my life. So grateful and so much love for everyone who was a part of it.
7:11 PM ∙ Feb 20, 2022
358Likes4Retweets

For those of you that missed ETH Denver, have no fear. We’ll get you downloaded on the best talks and the hottest gossip.

We’ve curated a list of talks and panels for you to listen to, as well as a list of my takeaways from the event.

Must Watch ETH Denver Panels

Here’s my curated list of the talks that I thought were some of the best talks at the conference.

You can find ALL of them on the ETH Denver youtube, and there are so many hidden gems in there, it’s worth surfing through.

1. Steps to the Digital State & Open AMA - Vitalik Buterin

I think the ‘Digital State’ is just another word for the metaverse. If we’re building a new world, I’m so grateful Vitalik is helping us understand how to build it in ways that will be long-term sustainable and inclusive.

He also talks about Denver’s increasingly critical role in building out Web3!

2. Web3 in politics and Lobby3 - Andrew Yang

This talk was not a part of the scheduled programming. That’s because Andrew Yang just decided to show up at ETH Denver. Andrew recently announced Lobby3, which is a new political organization that leans into the best properties of Web3 to help coordinate effective pro-crypto lobbying in Washington.

Andrew reveals an incoming executive order out of the Biden administration charging various agencies with producing clarity and legislation to help regulate the Web3 industry.

That sounds scary, but it’s also an opportunity!

Tune into the talk to hear what Andrew has to say!


3. The Off-Chain Internet - Evin McMullen

Evin McMullen has completely Disco-pilled me🕺 💊.

The world of decentralized identity is a tough nut to crack, and I think she’s cracked it. On-chain NFTs are a dead-end for self-sovereign identity in the metaverse. “Who you are” as an identity is not something openly viewable by everyone with an internet connection, like how your Ethereum address is.

Instead, decentralized identity is going to be built by off-chain verifiable credentials.

Get Disco-pilled by watching her talk at ETH Denver🕺 💊


4. The Road to Ethereum 2.0 - Panel

MacKenzie Sigalos, Cayman Nava, Alex Stokes, and Preston Van Loon is an all-star lineup.

MacKenzie is new on the scene to me. I met her at the conference after someone informed me about a new CBNC crypto reporter on the scene who had a deep understanding of this industry who knew how to ask the right questions.

She moderates an all-star panel of Ethereum builders who all unpack the nuances of “the road to Ethereum 2.0” (although remember, the ETH 2.0 nomenclature is deprecated; it’s sadly a really sticky meme)


5. Ethereum PoS and Our Solar Punk Future - Danny Ryan

In this talk, Ethereum researcher Danny Ryan focuses on the transition to Proof of Stake.

This talk is split into two halves:

  • A technical explanation of what does and does not change in PoS

  • A comparison on PoS vs PoW security and an illustration of the fundamentals about who PoS is theorized to be so much stronger than PoW

Especially on the heels of Lyn Alden recently tweeting what is, in my information, misinformed about PoS, this part of the talk was a great resource to easily illustrate the strengths of PoS that are a far better justification than what Lyn Alden stated on Twitter and her blog.


6. Transcending Individualism and Collectivism - Erik Voorhees and Kevin Owocki

Kevin Owocki and Erik Voorhees, both Coloradans, sometimes get into Twitter spats about debates over public goods.

We took the crux of their argument to a main-stage conversation (moderated by yours truly 💁‍♂️)


7. Crypto is Here to Set You Free - David Hoffman

Self-shill on this one; this was my talk!

Article coming on Wednesday.

8. How to Contribute to DAOs - Tracheopteryx

Trach is years ahead in his thinking about how DAOs will eventually become organized.

He had an additional talk that I can’t find, but this one is also very good.


Bonus: The top 5 conference conversations

ETH Denver isn’t just talks! It’s also off-stage vibes, gossip, and announcements!

Here we’re the hotly discussed topics at ETH Denver!

1. Vitalik became a Bufficorn

ETH Denver’s mascot is the magical Buffy the Bufficorn. He’s there every year!

Ethereum Bufficorn - Unique One

As you could imagine, being Vitalik at an Ethereum conference is pretty overwhelming. Everyone wants to talk to you, and some people just don’t understand that it’s not👏appropriate👏to👏pitch👏Vitalik Buterin👏your👏project👏👏👏.

So in order to escape the onslaught of attention, he decided to be the mascot!

I actually think this is a great symbol of Vitalik’s migration from being deeply involved with Ethereum protocol development to more higher-level philosophy and soft-touches to Ethereum’s progress.

Vitalik’s new role in Ethereum?

Being a meme-cheerleader 🤣

We’re in the future now. Your wealth is no longer in the hands of people who wear suits and ties. It’s now in the hands of a savant wearing a bufficorn suit.

Twitter avatar for @LilMoonLambo
theweeknd.eth @LilMoonLambo
my entire net worth is in this man's hands
Image
1:28 AM ∙ Feb 21, 2022
18,846Likes2,056Retweets

2. Devcon 7 Announced

Devcon 7 was formally announced—October 11-14th in Bogota, Colombia.

Hype!

Twitter avatar for @HodlDwon
🔰🌿🎲HodlDwon.ΞTH🐬🔥🦇🔊💰 @HodlDwon
DevCon announced at EthDenver
Image
4:10 PM ∙ Feb 18, 2022
31Likes6Retweets

3. MakerDAO became cool again

MakerDAO threw its first party ever.

Image

After years of being constrained by the centralized Maker foundation (which was dissolved last year), the full potential of the DAO side of MakerDAO is slowly rearing its head.

MakerDAO has, hands down, the most committed and brightest builders in the org. They were hamstrung by the legal and compliance side of the centralized Maker Foundation, but no longer!

Maker threw a sick party inside of a Church-nightclub, and everyone was raving about it. People at ETH Denver were in agreement, and I’m calling it here:

Maker is cool again.

3. Alt L1s buying love

Many other L1s had a presence at ETH Denver. I met team members from the Avalanche ecosystem, Solana swag was everywhere, and Algorand had their own venue.

Harmony injected an insane amount of cash into both sponsoring ETH Denver, and flying in deadmau5 to DJ their party, drowning out the other events that happened that night.

This isn’t anything new; we see this every single Ethereum conference. There was significant controversy from Devcon 5 in Osaka after many Ethereum community members expressed frustration that the main stage was always talks about non-Ethereum blockchains (at an Ethereum conference), while the Ethereum talks were pushed out to the side-stages and smaller rooms.

There was definitely some of that at ETH Denver. But as NLW said after Devcon 5: “It’s become clear that Alt L1’s are asking the Ethereum community for legitimacy”. It’s been this way for years, and ETH Denver was no exception.

4. Bankless Merch EVERYWHERE

I’d say about 5% of people wore some sort of Bankless Merch. The Bankless collegiate hoodie was very popular. The ultrasound summer tee-shirt was a hit.

But the real winners were the DAO Punks. The tee shirts were EVERYWHERE and were a hot topic of conversation. They’re all DAO Punk shirts, but none of them are the same ;)

Twitter avatar for @TrustlessState
DavidHoffman.ethᵐᶠᵉʳ Ξ🦇🔊💰🏴 @TrustlessState
The @DAOpunksNFT taking over @EthereumDenver
Image
1:42 AM ∙ Feb 19, 2022
80Likes15Retweets

5. A lot of Bankless listeners think I’m Ryan

Every once in a while, I’d walk by a Bankless listener and they’d shout out to me “Hey Ryan, I love the podcast!”.

I’ve never been more insulted in my life.


ETH Denver 2023

The biggest takeaway from ETH Denver is: we’ve outgrown the Sports Castle venue.

There were 4 additional venues that also hosted talks, and it still wasn’t enough. There were 2+ hour lines to get into the main venue, which left many people very jaded about the event.

Next year, we need a new venue. At this rate, ETH Denver 2023 will be a 20,000 person conference.

Hello Denver Convention Center?

This is what adoption looks like.

I hope to see you all next year.

- David


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MARKET MONDAY:

Scan this section and dig into anything interesting

Market numbers 📊

  • ETH dumps -11% to $2,608 from $2,934 last Monday

  • BTC slumps -12% to $37,270 from $42,630 last Monday

  • BED sinks -10% to $95 from $106 last Monday

  • DPI slips -7% to $163 from $175 last Monday

  • GMI drops -17% to $61 from $74 last Monday

  • DeFi TVL tanks -15% to $71B from $84B last Monday

  • L2 TVL rises +1% to $5.9B from $5.8B last Monday

  • DAI stability fee on ETH holds at 2.00%


Market opportunities 🤑

Alpha Leaks & Yield Farming 🌾

What’s new 🗞️, what’s hot 🔥, & money reads 📚


Governance


WHAT I’M & WHAT YOU’RE DOING


Extra Credit Learning


Some recent tweets…

The banks aren’t ready for us

Twitter avatar for @BanklessHQ
Bankless 🏴 @BanklessHQ
Central banks are the final boss. We’re going bankless and they’re not gonna like it.
2:58 PM ∙ Feb 17, 2022
215Likes38Retweets

Jobs opportunities 🧑‍💼

✨ See all listings on the Bankless Job Board✨

  1. MomentRanks is hiring a Senior Product Engineer

  2. dYdX is hiring a Community Manager (Contractor)

  3. dYdX is hiring a Governance Growth Lead

  4. dYdX is hiring a Business Operations & Finance Associate

  5. dYdX is hiring a Marketing Associate

  6. SmartDeFi is hiring an Accountant

  7. GoldFinch is hiring a Web3 Engineer (Solidity & React)

  8. Syndica is hiring a Senior Engineer (Go & Rust)

Browse more roles (or add your own) at the Bankless Jobs Board


Action Steps

  • Execute any good market opportunities that you saw

  • Listen to How to become a whale with Tetranode


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🙏Thanks to our sponsor

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Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.


Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here.

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