ETHDenver Agenda: 3 Big Themes in 2022

I’m spending this week astatine ETHDenver, an Ethereum-focused league successful … well, Denver. I expect to beryllium publishing regular updates from the Mile High City. First content aft landing past night: Denver, support your bars unfastened later.

I’m excited, partially due to the fact that ETHDenver is an fantabulous conference, but mostly due to the fact that in-person conferences person been fewer and acold betwixt for astir of america implicit the past 2 years. That means crypto arsenic a full has been mostly missing 1 of the astir important parts of its improvement ecosystem.

That value whitethorn beryllium astonishing to immoderate caller entrants. Blockchain and crypto are, aft all, astir being capable to bash things connected the internet, pseudonymously, and without having to spot the radical you’re trading, communicating oregon competing with. But the past fewer weeks person shown that, astatine best, we’re not rather determination yet: Bad contracts, atrocious guys hiding down pseudonyms and NFT rug pulls – Oh my!

These tragedies are atrocious capable erstwhile you’re a yield-farming pleb. But if you’re a businessperson oregon decorator looking to really make thing successful crypto, getting caught successful the blast radius erstwhile idiosyncratic else’s grift, laziness oregon incompetence detonates tin beryllium vocation ending. Hence the value of a adjacent year-round league circuit that creates (or created) a tight-knit assemblage of developers and chap travelers who cognize 1 another’s faces, not conscionable their avatars.

And ETHDenver stands arsenic an lawsuit with beardown – though not bulletproof – hype protection. It’s afloat of builders and techies and rigorous captious minds, not hypebeasts. The ambiance of rigor won’t wholly support you, but it volition definite boost your chances of interacting with non-sociopaths. It’s also, incredibly, FREE, and online subordinate slots are inactive disposable though in-person passes are present being waitlisted.

Equally important, conferences similar ETHDenver volition conscionable plain exposure you to much method accusation than you’re apt to spot anyplace online. The presentations and conversations are mostly betwixt developers, not pointed astatine the public. While non-devs volition find themselves successful the acheronian beauteous frequently, adjacent listeners volition upwind up with a much-enhanced grasp of method nuance. And, ultimately, successful crypto if you don’t grok the tech, you’re conscionable throwing darts blindfolded.

Big crypto conferences thin to enactment a spot similar transaction blocks, consolidating months (or successful this lawsuit years) of inchoate sentiment and sermon connected important topics into a documented and memorialized Big Event. Here are immoderate of the large topics connected the array astatine this year’s ETHDenver.

As I wrote aft the Wormhole attack, it’s inactive unclear whether there’s a way to a aboriginal successful which aggregate furniture 1 blockchains (think Bitcoin, Solana, Avalanche) tin smoothly and safely interact. This question has immense marketplace and improvement implications. It volition beryllium discussed astatine length, onstage and off.

Goes without saying. The monumental task of transitioning the Ethereum web from Bitcoin-like proof-of-work mining to little energy-intensive proof-of-stake mining is expected to scope the decorativeness enactment aboriginal this year, and the process itself is beauteous good mapped out. But determination volition inactive beryllium tons to fig retired astir the impacts, peculiarly however projects that physique connected Ethereum volition request to set to the caller reality. And past determination are the aboriginal upgrades to ETH 2.0 – peculiarly sharding, presently slated for 2023 implementation. How overmuch other throughput volition we get and, astir importantly, whither these crippling transaction fees?

Despite a caller bounce, upcoming U.S. Federal Reserve involvement complaint hikes could truly hammer crypto prices. That volition interaction connected the spot and stableness of a batch of crypto businesses and projects, arsenic good arsenic slowing down idiosyncratic growth. In past crypto cycles these person been shockingly fruitful times due to the fact that teams are capable to crook down the sound of nationalist hype and absorption connected their ain work. There volition surely beryllium strategizing astir a imaginable carnivore market, which for the archetypal clip seems apt to see acquisitions and consolidations, not conscionable betwixt startups but besides betwixt DAOs, a perchance fascinating development.

ETHDenver and different ample crypto conferences are a batch similar South by Southwest – there’s the authoritative lawsuit but besides dozens of unofficial “satellite events.” Here’s a potpourri of highlights from both, courtesy of my eagle-eyed colleagues present astatine CoinDesk.

Schelling Point – Economics, Governance and Society miniconference. Looks incredible – Thursday, 2/17, each day.

Decentralized Social Media – A peculiarly powerhouse sheet connected a important taxable – and notably escaped of immoderate anxious beavers who person mishandled its promise. Thursday, 2/17 4:40 p.m. MT

The Keynote Marathon – Another illustration of the enduring value of names and faces. Friday, 2/18 volition spot Zooko Wilcox, Kimball Musk and Vitalik Buterin code the conference. 7:10 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. MT.