EthDenver 2023: A Review of the Global Developer Conference and Insights into New Trends

I just finished a week-long trip to Denver, and it was very rewarding. Here, I would like to share some personal insights and new trends presented at the conference.

Overall, EthDenver leaves a very good impression, far exceeding other similar events.

1. Global Developer Cultural Feast

It is reported that this EthDenver attracted around 35,000 participants, including 7,500 hackers. Even in hotels that are a 15-minute drive from downtown, it is common to encounter participants wearing conference badges in the elevators, and everyone feels familiar with each other. Among the participants, the ratio of project parties to investors is about 5:1. The participating projects show significant international characteristics, with the most concentrated projects coming from China, Canada, the UK, Singapore, and Europe, in addition to the local US projects.

The developer culture at EthDenver infuses the entire event with a crypto-native vibe. Communication with project teams is often direct and efficient, and a 30-minute live demo can provide deep insights into product details. This atmosphere feels welcoming, as if returning to the feeling of just entering the industry in 2017.

2. Efficient Meeting Strategies

As an investment institution, our primary task is to identify high-quality projects. In the face of numerous activities, the most effective way is to participate in small events and conduct targeted searches.

Small events typically include breakfast meetings, seminars, and parties with a scale of 20-100 people. Some high-quality events involved this time include VC breakfast meetings, Fabric/SevenX brunch parties, zkNight parties, and more. These events provide opportunities for efficient dialogue and important networking.

Targeted search is what we believe to be the most effective way of crypto socializing. Before the conference, we spent two days researching the background of various sub-venues such as ZK Day, StarkDenver, etc., and arranged one-on-one meetings. After a week, we filtered out more than 20 promising early-stage projects, and their innovations excited us.

3. Popular Tracks and Emerging Trends

EthDenver covers multiple areas such as infrastructure, DeFi, DAO, NFT, and public goods.

ZK technology

ZK (Zero-Knowledge Proof) is the focus of this conference, and various tracks are actively exploring the application of ZK technology:

1. Infrastructure projects begin to explore ZK technology optimization, such as Succinct Labs and Hyper Oracle.
2. Various ZK networks showcase the latest developments, such as StarkNet, Scroll, Manta Network, and Aleo.
3. There have been some hardware acceleration projects in proof generation, 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 like Sovereign Labs have launched the ZK version Rollup SDK.
6. The application of ZK in the DID field is continuously expanding, including Semaphore under the Ethereum Foundation and the user-oriented Axiom.

Account Abstraction (AA)

Account abstraction remains a hot topic. The core contract of the EIP-4337 proposal has officially supported the Ethereum EVM. Developers frequently discuss concepts such as Bundler, UserOperation, and EntryPoint, exploring functionalities like Gasless transactions and social recovery that go beyond traditional multi-signature wallets. AA infrastructure projects are integrating technologies like MPC-TSS to create products in the form of SDKs.

Traditional EOA wallets are also embracing the AA transformation, continuously optimizing in terms of fund security, user experience, and multi-chain support. The improvement of AA is expected to pave the way for large-scale Web2 users to enter Web3.

Social and AI

There have been some new application breakthroughs in the social domain. After the craze of the past two years, this year's projects are more focused on creating practical social products for Web3 users. Potential breakthrough points may come from DID-based membership systems, the integration of payments and information, and fan economy.

AI projects are also quite eye-catching, with many founded by experienced AI practitioners. Most are based on OpenAI's open-source algorithms, aimed at the integration of on-chain data, AI, and smart fund management, such as implementing complex contract operations like flash loans through natural language and functions to resist MEV. This represents an important breakthrough for the algorithm-dominated field of cryptocurrency.

With the improvement of Layer 2 and other infrastructures, new cyclical opportunities that began in 2023 will increasingly appear at the application layer. We expect significant breakthroughs in the gaming and social sectors, with closer ties to the real world.

4. The Rise of Chinese Entrepreneurs

At this year's EthDenver, Chinese projects accounted for about 20%, far surpassing India, and keeping pace with Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. Overall, the backgrounds of the founders have significantly improved compared to 2020, demonstrating strong capabilities at the application level.

The outstanding Chinese founding teams can be mainly divided into two categories: one is new entrepreneurs with successful product experience in large Web2 companies or startups, and a deep understanding of the crypto field; the other is founders who have studied and worked abroad for a long time, very familiar with the English-speaking world, mainly from New York, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area.

With the significant improvement of Chinese entrepreneurs' backgrounds and the booming development of the application layer, having a positive outlook on Chinese projects will become a necessary course for every practitioner.

In 2022, the market downturn and the pandemic brought immense pressure to the industry. EthDenver served as a pool gathering global strength, with innovators from around the world coming together. Chinese entrepreneurs ventured globally, with new forces continuously emerging, injecting new vitality and hope into the industry.