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- Food trucks took buffigwei tokens (BGT) instead of fiat money, which were apparently worth $10 each at the time (as of yet there is no secondary market for the tokens to my knowledge, but wonders never cease).
- ETHDenver is one of the most important crypto events, attracting around 12,000 attendees this year, according to one estimate.
- And, in a roundabout way, this was fitting, because crypto enthusiasts are often strong believers in the idea of an indefinitely verifiable digital future that eliminates the need for trust.
The world’s premier Web3 conference took place in the midst of tumultuous global events. This year’s ETHDenver, one of the world’s most renowned Web3 conferences, took place from February 11 to February 20. The purpose of Crypto Briefing’s attendance was to meet with creators, learn about new businesses, and assess the state of Web3.
Getting Back To Gathering
ETHDenver is one of the most important crypto events, attracting around 12,000 attendees this year, according to one estimate. This year’s event was far from an Ethereum-only affair, with participation from a number of Ethereum-friendly protocols like as Harmony, NEAR, Polygon, and Arbitrum, among others, as well as several famous speakers. Former Democratic Presidential candidate Andrew Yang made a surprise appearance to argue that Web3 might cure poverty, while Vitalik Buterin himself made an appearance to deliver the keynote presentation wearing a very casual pair of shiba inu pyjama pants. Since the pandemic uprooted most parts of our everyday lives in early 2020, this was the first ETHDenver to take place in person. The event took place virtually in those gloomy days, but 2022 commemorates the year that at least this aspect of our social lives returned to normal, despite required COVID testing at the gate.
ETHDenver is a more organically community-driven and serious affair than conferences such as DCentral Miami or Solana Breakpoint (though the ubiquitous presence of the bufficorn might suggest otherwise). Hackathons attract teams from all over the world; founders scout talent and poach potential individuals left and right; and lucky companies even get sponsors here and there.
I went into the event with an open mind and a healthy dose of journalistic scepticism, as I do with so many other blockchain events—part it’s of my job, after all, not to take everything I hear at face value. Of course, the conference shills were out in force, and everyone was working an angle, but some of those angles turned out to be relatively solid, or at the very least showed that someone had thought them through. We talked with Karl Jacob, the CEO of BaconCoin, whose proposal for a blockchain-based platform for borrowing and lending against the value of home mortgages makes sense if you’re ready to make a few concessions to traditional systems like banks and loan originators.
Yanni Giannaros, CEO of fiat onramp Wyre, had plenty of experience dealing with regulators and their quirks—he’d lost track of how many subpoenas his company had received, but they’d complied with each one because that’s what you do if you want to be in the game. Parallel Finance’s CEO and founder, Yubo Ruan, has been a serious thinker since he was six years old, starting as an innovator in elementary school and recently guiding Parallel to win Polkadot’s fourth parachain auction.
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Pedicab Drivers Accepted Cryptocurrency
And, like any good cryptocurrency conference, ETHDenver is a semi-religious affair, with one of the numerous afterparties taking place in a gutted church with a stack of club speakers placed inside. The stained glass windows glowing green, purple, yellow, and red from within its stone façade were visible from the street at night, leading the unknown out-of-towner to wonder what the Holy Ghost was up to tonight. And, in a roundabout way, this was fitting, because crypto enthusiasts are often strong believers in the idea of an indefinitely verifiable digital future that eliminates the need for trust. It seemed only natural to co-opt the traditional home of our oldest blind faith religion and all the devout individuals who lived there.
But, in addition to being a religious and serious event, ETHDenver is also a lot of fun, and its most passionate supporters wouldn’t have it any other way. Vitalik Buterin posed as the bufficorn in order to blend in with the throng for an unknown number of days before revealing his true identity at the closing ceremony on Sunday. Wizards were present. Food trucks took buffigwei tokens (BGT) instead of fiat money, which were apparently worth $10 each at the time (as of yet there is no secondary market for the tokens to my knowledge, but wonders never cease). Even pedicab drivers accepted cryptocurrency, but one privately claimed that no one was paying with it.
Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.
