ETHDenver 2023: Global Developer Conference and Industry Trends

Just returned from Denver, the ETHDenver conference last week left a deep impression. Here I would like to share some personal feelings and the new trends I observed in the industry.

Overall, the experience at ETHDenver was outstanding, far surpassing other blockchain conferences of its kind.

The global developer culture is strong.

According to statistics, this ETHDenver attracted about 35,000 attendees, including 7,500 developers. Although the hotel I stayed at is a 15-minute drive from downtown, I encountered attendees in the elevator every day, and everyone immediately became familiar as soon as they saw each other's badges. Among the attendees, the ratio of project parties to investors is about 5:1. In addition to local teams from the United States, project parties from China, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Europe constitute a significant proportion. This time I finally had the opportunity to meet some portfolio companies from North America and Europe. In the investment field, most active first and second tier funds sent representatives to attend, especially some European capital that rarely appeared in the past also showed up at the venue.

Unlike other conferences, the strong developer culture at ETHDenver fills the entire event with a crypto-native atmosphere. When meeting with project teams, it’s usually a matter of sitting down directly, showcasing demos on-site, and being able to dive deep into product details in just 30 minutes. I really enjoy this atmosphere; it feels like I'm back to the time when I first entered the industry in 2017.

Efficient Conference Strategies

As an investment institution, our main goal is to discover high-quality projects. Due to the numerous activities, the most effective way is to participate in small events and conduct targeted searches.

Small-scale events typically include brunches, seminars, and parties with a participant size of 20 to 100 people. Some notable events attended this time include breakfast with investors, the Fabric/SevenX brunch party, the zkNight party, the MIT alumni founders lunch, the Cosmos cocktail party, the IOSG old friends gathering, and the founder club launch ceremony, among others. These events provide opportunities for effective dialogue and important networking.

Targeted searching has been considered the most effective way of crypto socializing by us over the past 5 years. Before the event, the team spent two days researching the backgrounds of various sub-forums such as ZK Day and StarkDenver, and then arranged one-on-one coffee chats with projects of interest. After a week, we filtered out more than 20 promising early-stage projects, and these new innovations made us very excited.

Popular Tracks and Emerging Trends

ETHDenver has multiple venues covering areas such as infrastructure, DeFi, DAO, NFT, and public goods.

ZK technology

ZK (Zero-Knowledge Proof) is the focus of this conference, and various fields are rapidly developing:

1. Infrastructure projects are beginning to experiment with ZK technology optimization, such as Succinct Labs and Hyper Oracle.
2. Well-known zkEVM/zkVM Layer 2 networks and native ZK Layer 1 networks have made progress, such as StarkNet, Scroll, Manta Network, and Aleo.
3. In terms of ZK core service metrics, some hardware acceleration projects have emerged, such as Cysic and Ingonyama.
4. Full-chain games based on the StarkNet technology stack are beginning to emerge, such as Topology.
5. Modular blockchain execution layer service providers, such as Sovereign Labs.
6. ZK continuously derives DID tracks at the application layer, including Semaphore under the Ethereum Foundation and user-oriented Axiom, among others.

Account Abstraction (AA)

Account abstraction is still a hot topic. With the advancement of the EIP-4337 proposal, we have heard a lot of discussions about development terms such as Bundler, UserOperation, and EntryPoint. The improvement of AA will open the door for large-scale Web2 users to enter Web3, which is an important track in the new cycle.

Social and AI

In the social domain, we have seen some new application breakthroughs. After experiencing the social boom over the past two years, this year's projects focus more on how to create practical social products for Web3 users. Potential breakthrough points may come from DID-based membership systems, integration of payment and information, as well as fan economy.

Surprisingly, we have come into contact with several projects founded by senior AI practitioners. Most are based on OpenAI's open-source algorithms, focusing on on-chain data + AI + smart fund management, such as implementing complex contract operations like flash loans through natural language, as well as features like MEV resistance. This is undoubtedly a significant breakthrough for the "dark forest" of crypto, which is algorithm-based.

Performance of Chinese Entrepreneurs

In this ETHDenver, Chinese projects accounted for about 20%, far exceeding India, and comparable to Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. Overall, the background of the founders has significantly improved compared to 2020, and they have demonstrated impressive strength at the application level.

Excellent Chinese founding teams can be roughly divided into two categories:

1. New entrepreneurs with successful product experience in Web2 large companies or startups, and a deep understanding of the crypto field. These entrepreneurs have a clear advantage in product development and iteration.

2. Founders who have studied and worked abroad for a long time and are familiar with the English-speaking world often come from New York, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area. These entrepreneurs have an advantage in business development and financing.

With the significant improvement of Chinese entrepreneurs' backgrounds and the vigorous development of the application layer, it is believed that understanding Chinese teams will become a necessary course for every industry insider.

In 2022, the industry faced a double blow from market sluggishness and the pandemic, leading to a general sense of despondency. However, ETHDenver seemed like a pool gathering global forces, where waves of innovation from various places converged. Chinese entrepreneurs traveled around the world, and new forces continuously emerged, injecting new vitality into the industry.