[Feature] Reflections on Attending ETHDenver

Compiled By: Coinlive
Author: Will

The Ethereum Denver Developer Conference is coming to a close. The conference was unprecedented in scale, with over 40,000 participants and more than 300 projects participating in the hackathon. Crypto researcher Will @FinanceYF shuttled between more than 20 venues, interviewing 75 attendees for their thoughts on the conference and industry trends. Let's take a look at how investors, developers, and crypto enthusiasts view the current state of development in various tracks.

The interviewees were generally satisfied with the quality of the event, which attracted core teams (founders, CTOs) from top projects. However, the downside was that the multiple venues made it difficult for attendees to find their way around, and the organization felt more like a DAO. Sideeven was even more popular among attendees.

In terms of track direction, zk was a hot topic this year, although some interviewed investors felt the valuation was slightly high. Of course, there were also investors who were steadfast in their belief that the valuation was within a reasonable range. In addition, GameFi and SocialFi are two innovative major directions, and "breaking barriers" became the keyword this year. Of course, the Ethereum conference would not be complete without upgrades to Shanghai, and LSD and MEV also attracted the attention of many attendees. However, the storage that was hyped up earlier seems to have potential, but development still needs to be observed, perhaps Binance's Greenfield this year can help bring new development to the storage track. Compared to last year's hot DAO, this year's conference was sadly lacking in that regard.

Coinlive compiled and excerpted Will's interview for everyone to watch and reference.

Investor perspective.
Matt Huang
1.Denver conference experience: As an entrepreneur, I really enjoy the feeling of being a developer. There is a really large community of developers here, and I can see the core blood of the ecosystem. I love sitting next to developers and chatting with them, it's really my thing.

2.Investment direction: There are many middleware solutions, and the industry is returning, evolving, and accelerating. In the past, we focused on vertical integration, but now we're seeing that many industries have matured to the point of specialization, industry value chains, APIs, SDKs, and developer access. The industry is highly mature.

3.But the challenge is still in playing with oneself, it's a 50-50 situation. Without breaking barriers, it's difficult to get in, and everyone likes to play on their own. Self-praise has no impact. Breaking barriers is very important, and it's important to see how we can do that.

Fund investor
1. For individuals, unless they are founders of the project or have a special relationship, information asymmetry is quickly balanced out,it is not profitable to be on the first level.

2.There's nothing particularly new in the narrative, most of what was seen were developer tools, not at the level of Ethereum, but tools on top of Ethereum. So it's difficult to capture value from an economic perspective, what can be captured is mostly old things.

3.The overall quality of the Chinese ecosystem has improved compared to the bear market in 2019. But Chinese people still lack the power of speech. They still need top foreign institutions to lead.

4.The application layer development is still in its early stages.

5.Things that were considered impressive back then, now have more impressive projects emerging, and it's unclear whether they will be successful or not. This includes MEV, LSD, ZK, and middleware, which all give the feeling that the track is crowded. There are 3-4 projects that have gone around doing decentralized execution layers. The same feeling applies to API, security, and other tracks. It's a bit aesthetically tired.

6.The internet is vertical, to reach users. Web3 is horizontal at the bottom, everyone has covered it more or less, and they are competing on the same level. They all know what each other is doing, but it's unclear which is better.

InvestorZhenzhen
1.Many core elements are creators and fans, and the fan economy is on the rise. It is worth thinking about how to better serve fans. Earn has a lot of regulation, making it difficult for many consumers to enter.

2.Chinese entrepreneurs should express their opinions more. They should speak out and share their experiences. For example, creators of games like "Fantasy Westward Journey" could offer guidance for other game or application developers, be more confident, and speak out.

Waterdrip Capital investor Elaine Yang
1.Impressions from attending the Denver conference: The overall quality is much higher than Consensus and Token 2049. Founders and developers can directly connect with each other at the booth, making it efficient for institutions to have a booth.

2.Discussion focus at the conference: The main topics surrounding the Ethereum ecosystem are L2/ZK/wallets/security/storage/DEFI. More developer tools platforms are emerging with APIs and SDK middleware as the focus. Startups focusing on AI and social, discussing SBT and reputation systems, have also emerged after last year's good funding.

NGC investor Rick
1.Conference experience in Denver: Overall satisfied with the event, discovered many innovative and high-quality projects, and had the feeling of actively expressing ideas and being in a different atmosphere compared to online events.

2.From an investment perspective, there were not significant changes in narratives, but there were some developments in wallets and the ecosystem, LSD, the new version of Fast, and ZK gave the impression of being a shining star among the Chinese. Overall, the conference provided great insights and had a culture of inclusivity and a friendly atmosphere.

3.Personally, I feel that there will be opportunities in the social layer and application chains that will bring downstream industry opportunities. The culture and atmosphere in Denver were friendly, and there were also opportunities in NFT liquidity, AMM, and DeFi.

alephcrypto.xyz investor Victor
1.Smart contract applications are very important, both layer one and layer two. Layer one is already complete, and layer two is close to completion. Although there have been some sporadic issues with layer one, such as the second block reorganization on Polygon, which poses a significant threat to bridges, the Ethereum mainnet has not had any major issues in several months. Layer two chains and rollups are waiting, as are many centralized and semi-centralized bridges, waiting for zk technology. Once this is in place, layer two will be completed and there will be a huge explosion in applications based on smart contracts, building infrastructure on top of the dapp layer. Therefore, there is a lot of attention on the value that can be released in this area. The most important thing for blockchain is still usefulness, and there needs to be products oriented towards users.

2.Thoughts on the storage track: Storage is in high demand and needs to be filled. Existing projects can be divided into 3-4 levels. The most basic is storage in Ethereum smart contracts, like dishes on a table. Ethstorage is like hot storage, things on a desktop, while AR is like things in a refrigerator, cold and continuous but not very efficient. IPFS belongs to the warehouse and hard drive tracks, like a garage. Storage is being solved in a layered way, similar to computer theory. Ethereum is solving computational problems, but storage has not been solved well.

Ferris, an anonymous investor in a fund
1.There are two directions that caught my attention: privacy-focused public chains and ecosystems that are doing brave things without caring much about regulations. Another interesting project is Desci, which I feel could be the next big thing after DeFi, but it's still a long shot and I haven't looked into it too deeply. Their vision is great, but implementation is challenging.

2.There are several projects that are making progress, and micro-innovations are also meaningful. It's normal to see micro-innovations in DeFi now that the big problems have been solved and traditional finance has been brought in. Personally, I'm still more interested in DeFi.

Investment Suggestions and Feedback:
1.It is important to find your own positioning and keep track of the changes in both domestic and international markets, as well as the location of the startup and the capital behind it, in order to identify your own strengths.

2.Be cautious of projects that seem forced, such as those transitioning from Web2 to Web3, or those that involve hardware or software. Some failed Web2 projects are attempting to enter the more complex world of Web3, and it may be difficult for them to succeed.

3.After conducting a deep analysis of several projects with large positions, the team's starting point and technical capabilities were found to be impressive. However, implementation may be difficult and the project's success may only last for one round, making it difficult for a second round of investment. Cosmos is one of the better projects besides ETH, with a strong consensus and many builders onboard, which has attracted a lot of projects. Additionally, the two rollups will have new projects, but they are still part of ETH's DeFi ecosystem, which is progressing quickly. BNB has good resources, but it is not considered a public chain, rather an extension of Binance, which may carry Binance's risks. There is not much interest in Sui and Aptos.

4.There is a difference between doing something and making money. While it may be difficult to do something, it is important to strive for the development of the entire ecosystem.

Hackathon participants
Hackathon Mentor Greg
1.Impressions from attending the Denver conference: This is my second time at Denver. There were twice as many people as last year with 35,000 participants and 7,500 hackers. Last year, I was only showcasing, but this year, I was a mentor and hardly went up on stage. Instead, I spent all my time talking to hackers, chatting about technology, rather than promoting my own product. It was a great feeling to be a mentor.

2.View on the zk rollup track: For the narrative, zkSnark has finally arrived after five years of talking about it. L2 is also more accessible, and AA fields finally have standards and are on the mainnet. There is progress every year with zk, L2 becoming cheaper, faster, and more people can interact. AA is very useful, and I taught it in one day to those who had no time to learn. Developers face small, specific issues. This hackathon emphasizes onboarding newbies, with many courses and tutorials available from the start. So, there were many newbies.

3.Feelings as a developer: Many Web2 developers find it challenging to understand Web3, and it takes time to grasp the differences. It is a huge learning curve. This year is different; last year, VC threw money, but this year there was a tightening of funds. There are hundreds of thousands of Web2 developers and tens of thousands of Web3 developers. Some of the best developers are in Web3 because it is easier to make money. I spoke to several developers who resigned because they could fundraise more easily and build things that could earn money directly. It is possible to build things at low cost. As an investor myself, I would invest in companies I am familiar with, ones whose CEO or CTO I know well. Usually, I look for an experienced CTO, and I handle the business part.

Developer perspective
Ethstorge developer Zhou, Qi
1.View on the event: This event is very good, mostly builders, very global, with Asia, Africa, and many developers. It's a feast, with a very diverse range of projects, and all aspects of the ecosystem are participating. The entire exhibition hall has been greatly optimized, and everyone has enough space to showcase themselves.

2.View on the storage track: With the issuance of BTC NFTs, there is a strong demand for pure on-chain ETH, but native ETH storage is still a big problem. The Ethereum Foundation has just announced its support for Ethstorage, indicating that they are also laying out in this area.

Filecoin developer Jenks
1.ZK is very popular and I believe in its future. Personally, I have high hopes for it.

2.The distributed track is a turning point.

3.The ETH Foundation hasn't done any activities or events.

4.Personally, I think ETH has set a precedent. It's not certain yet whether ETH will succeed, but BTC is a promise. ETH has already been launched, and it will take iteration to solve mainstream problems, so it's not a very good reference. Although BTC solves the trust problem, it's very expensive. ETH, on the other hand, solves many problems at a relatively low cost. What's most frightening is that it's simple and can achieve human coordination without relying on any country, so it's a revolution, just like personal computers, printing and writing tools.

Anonymous developer
1.Opinion on the track: I have no opinion on the track. Web3 is quite good in the bear market. If you don't invest in this cycle, you will regret it. Infrastructure is still good. If you die, you die. Surviving in the next cycle is not bad.

2.Impressions of attending the Denver event: The event was mainly for builders. As someone with a technical background, I think it was great with many opportunities. Everyone there knew what they were talking about, and there was no commercial hype. In terms of storage, FIL is a head project, but there will be new ones in the future. Currently, the Arbitrum ecosystem is not large enough, but I see potential in the BNB Greenfield, which has the capability. However, it may not be able to dominate the ecosystem, and it's hard to say its market recognition. zk investment in early stages is not too hot, and I have high hopes for middleware.

Hexlink developer Shu
1.Regarding the experience of the event: This event focused more on dev and had a diverse range of topics, but there was a greater emphasis on cryptocurrency and influence. There were many diverse projects, with some focused on mining or not requiring dev work, while the main focus was on the web3 topic. Although it was called ETH, non-ETH projects were also present.

2.Regarding the experience of the DID track: I participated in the ID track, which was highly competitive. When AA appeared, everyone was optimistic. Last year, many people did not find it attractive, but this year, the level of attention has increased significantly, and there are now more projects.

3.Regarding other track perspectives: Besides ID, I am also optimistic about NFT utilities (NFTs beyond PFP), wallets with better user experiences, and fan economies. These can drive traffic to web3 very effectively by incentivizing KOLs to bring their followers over.

Defi+NFT Project developer dy
1.How to view your own Defi and NFT track: Defi is relatively mature, but there is still room for growth. NFT is a newer track with only a two-year history, and there is a relatively large potential for development. The industry landscape changes every year, and we believe that everything can be turned into an NFT. In the early stages, most of the industry focused on images and PFP gameplay, but concentration will gradually shift over the next few years. Currently, there are multiple media NFTs emerging, such as sports, music, and Defi applications within NFTs, which are still in the early stages. The market has some brands that provide intuitive services but lack many financial configurations such as derivatives, leverage, and liquidity protocols.

The entire industry is still exploring diversification, and in the coming years, there will be multiple types and dimensions of NFTs. For example, in the second half of 2022, many web2 companies will release their NFTs to incentivize their users and reward their communities. This is also a way for the industry to gain confidence and endorsement. The NFT market is gradually becoming rationalized and functional, although speculation still exists. However, the market will gradually develop towards a healthier direction. At the same time, NFT is a good entry point for people who are unfamiliar with coins but like the visual impact of NFTs to enter this circle. This also provides a good starting point for Web3 to break into the circle. This is also one of the reasons why the NFT community is relatively resistant to bearish trends during a bear market.

2.Event: The event is good, with enough people and a wide range of projects. Due to the pandemic, everyone flew over, and there are people trying out every track. Success or failure does not matter. Zk is very popular and intense, while CEX has relatively high pressure and fewer attendees. The venture capital scene seems to be warming up, and there are many Chinese participants.

Developer Nick
Denver event participation experience: The event was held for the Hackerhouse, and the standards were high. East Asia was slightly worse off, but there were many good developers in mainland China. The audit started halfway through and couldn't be rewritten after it ended, so it was better to start early. The only opportunity to get in early was to talk with the CTO, who had good knowledge of machine learning. The Hacker event was great, especially the GitHub event, which had 100 rooms and was better than the main venue. Overall, the companies participating were good.

Views on the zk track: The best one to participate in, it focuses on developers and is better than the 2049 and NYC cons, which have too many investors and not enough projects, making it unbalanced. Looking for developers and trends, last year was all about DAO, which all failed. ZK is the biggest one, with everyone being involved in things like zkevm and public chains. From a security perspective, zk and upgrades are a big theme. There were many security audit issues this year, and looking back at these two areas, it is possible to achieve them from a technical perspective, so there will be many development opportunities.

Alex, institutional developer at GameFi
1.Opinion on the track: Gamefi track is a decentralized protocol for game assets, which can be used to mortgage game assets and release loans. The business essence is Defi, but it involves NFTfi, Nft, gamefi, and Infra. The industry is in the early stages of a big explosion, just like the reason why the mass of the Internet is games, web3 is the same. From Cryptokitties in 2017 to Axie in 2021, Gamefi is now in the early stages of the third wave, with the first two waves being pixel-level games with poor experience but significant influence.

Starting from 2017, many talented teams began to develop 3A games that balance economic models and playability, with the characteristics of free-to-play. The games are very playable but require money to become advanced or senior players. Therefore, a part of the incremental value is presented in the form of NFT. This is deduced from the business logic. In addition, from first principles, why games are the next big explosion, people play games to escape real life, not because they like reality.

In the future, the metaverse will become a mirror or parallel existence, and the property rights system of the real world will be rebuilt in the virtual world, including no rights, property rights, mortgages, loans, derivatives, etc. Therefore, we can see that most personal assets will exist in the form of virtual assets, and providing lending and mortgage solutions for virtual assets will become one of the applications. According to research, many 3A games will be launched in the next 3-12 months, and as long as 1-2 games are sought after, games may even lead the next bull market.

2.Opinion on the event: The feeling given by the Denver event is similar to that of Columbia Devcon, which is a truly developer-oriented event that respects ideas. Whether it is Bogota or Denver, the environment is a bit rudimentary, the food is also average, and the venue is also a big factory, but it is full of sparks of innovation and decentralization ideas. The level of the speakers is very high, and both investors and project parties can express many insights representing the development direction. Moreover, the hackerthon period of the Denver gathering is very long, which brews a good atmosphere for developers.

Student
Tsinghua Association students Luna Lau
1.Impressions from attending the Denver conference: Coming from Tsinghua to Denver, I feel that there is a big difference in the industry information that Chinese and overseas students can access, as well as the level of participation in the industry. For example, Chinese students may face more resistance in starting Web3 ventures and have a harder time obtaining the most cutting-edge resources in the industry. Therefore, we need to constantly motivate ourselves to step out of the comfort zone of Chinese-language Web3 communities and actively participate in English-language events.

2.Rich resources from Tsinghua alumni: On the other hand, the richness of Tsinghua's alumni resources in Web3 actually far exceeded my previous expectations. Tsinghua itself has a strong tradition of senior-junior mentoring in many traditional fields, and I can feel that this valuable spirit has been carried over to the crypto industry. Personally, I sincerely hope that the Tsinghua Blockchain Association can do a good job of inheritance and go further on a global scale.