ETHDenver Recap: Modularity, Restaking, and Vibes
It's probably the best conference in crypto right now.
Hello all, and happy Wednesday. I’m sure you’ve been desperately missing Dark Markets, but as I noted last Tuesday, I’ve been at the ETHDenver conference. As a preview for the weekend, I’ll be doing a belated dive into the letters asking for leniency for Sam Bankman-Fried as his sentencing nears.
This was my second time at ETHDenver, and an even more incredible experience than the first. What follows are some very quick and subjective takes on:
Themes and Highlights from the event, including:
Modularity
Restaking
Decentralized Physical Infrastructure
Blockchain Gaming
What is West Ham?
What makes ETHDenver such a good conference – and maybe the best in crypto?
Advice for conference presenters, scattered throughout.
ETHDenver: HQ for Blockchain Techie Weirdos
This was my second ETHDenver. I didn’t go in 2023, because I was neck-deep in creating Crypto Crooks at the time. More generally, I’ve spent the last two years more focused on fraud and regulation than on technology.
ETHDenver was the perfect opportunity to catch up, because it is above all a developer-focused conference, and presentations are maybe the most technical of any public-facing crypto conference. That doesn’t mean they’re all meaty – I was particularly disappointed in a surface-level (though still fine) panel on Farcaster.
Of course, the other thing to know about ETHDenver is that it’s fucking weird, and for weirdos. That’s admittedly somewhat subjective, but I think it’s ultimately hard to argue with. On which note, one of the best events I went to was the PizzaDAO party. Highly recommended.
Presenter Tip: Know Your Audience. If you’re at a more dev-focused event, don’t shy away from depth. Knowing these nuances is one of your PR agency’s least flashy but most important jobs.
Modularity vs. Monoliths
Perhaps the biggest theme I’ve missed over the last two years is the emergence of modularity in EVM (Ethereum-based) blockchains. Very roughly, this involves separating the execution, settlement, data availability, and consensus functions of a blockchain to achieve more efficiency.
Each of those is a lengthy writeup in itself, but there’s a lot to watch here. One of the more interesting narratives is the idea that Celestia, which currently seems to have top mindshare in the “data availability” segment, is competitive with a major Ethereum base chain proposal, EIP 4844, a.k.a. Proto-Danksharding.
That’s interesting in itself, but also a seemingly new dynamic – One potential downside of modularity is that modules or layers will be competitive with what could be functions of the base chain, creating the risk of perverse incentives in reviewing EIPs.
Restaking: I Guess We’ll See
Another bit of tech I’m very much getting caught up on is restaking. Do I still fully understand it? Not really. But it is clearly a major topic of discussion, and Eigenlayer is clearly leading the way. They gave several good presentations and panels, and I at least pushed my technical knowledge forward a bit.
But I have to admit, I still walked away with the big question: What’s the goal of restaking other than collecting more yield? Focus on yield as a selling point has increased volumes in Eigenlayer immensely, but in my (lengthy) experience, any time the emphasis isn’t on utility, you may be looking at a high-risk proposition, for financial rather than security reasons.
Presenter Tip: Technical is Good, but Remember the Big Picture. You should always be answering the question - why does this need to exist? What does it accomplish for the world? For the WORLD, remember - not just your bagholders.
Blockchain Gaming is Happening
I think there’s still a fair amount of skepticism swirling around the idea of blockchain gaming, largely as fallout from the pyramidesque “Play to Earn” schemes that dominated in 2020 and 2021. But I learned a lot this year about the involvement of major players including Square Enix and Sony, suggesting that this isn’t just a flash in the pan.
Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DePIN)
I was truly impressed by this panel put on by ACJR and featuring Jonathan 'Moshe' Schemoul (CEO at Aleph), Chloe Avery (Mathematician at Orchid), Deborah Simpier (Co-founder at Althea), and Mike Orcutt moderating. I was particularly impressed to hear about Althea’s work rolling out internet access to remote areas with a blockchain-based incentive structure.
Presenter Tip: Talk About Actual Accomplishments. This sounds obvious, and it should be. But most members of your audience - including the technical types - are going to be more impressed by what you’ve done than by your tech stack.
Presenter Tip: Wear the T-Shirt. Maybe it’s lame. But you want people to know who you are. And it’s far classier than constantly mentioning and talking about your own project.
“NFTs - The Post-PFP Market”
I chaired a panel on NFTs with Straith Schreder, Chief Creative Officer of Candy Digital; and Andrea Lerdo de Tejada, Executive Director of Palm. I learned a lot, including just how deep DC Comics’ engagement with NFTs has remained all the way through the bear market. The link should eventually lead to video of the panel. I think. Maybe.
Presenter Tip: Communicate With Your Copanelists. Apropos of nothing, this is basic ettiquette. Generally there’s an attempt to convene a pre-panel discussion. Reply to those emails. Things come up, but if you’re not going to be able to make it to the panel, it’s best to let others know of that as soon as you can.
What is West Ham?
For the past eight months or so, I’ve had the genuine privilege of being part of a … thing … called West Ham. I knew it had become a bit of a meme across crypto, partly for its mysteriousness, and partly because its lead organizer Laurence Day has been on an incredible run.
I had no idea how powerful the meme had become.
This year at ETHDenver we hosted a party, which turned out being the happeningest social event of the conference. And it was truly incredible, from the drinks to the pinatas to the vibes. There are rumors that certain very important crypto-boomers were not able to get in, which is extremely on-brand for West Ham.
(I say “we” hosted it, but I had nothing to do with planning it. Credit for that goes to Alicia Katz, Andy Boyan, @bonecondor,
, @thelema, @manoffrogs, and I’m sure others whose work I’m not even aware of.)
One highlight of the party was a series of pinatas made of West Ham members and other crypto figures. Here’s the remains of the Inversebrah Pinata (I think):
But really, what is West Ham? Technically, it’s a group chat. Those are pictures of a party for a group chat.
But West Ham is much more than that - both in terms of what it stands for, and what it might become. Like I said, I was blown away and truly surprised by the apparent influence this little meme has accrued, and part of that shock was talking to a young guy at the party who, and I quote, had “been trying to get into West Ham for years” and felt the group “represented the best of crypto culture.”
That might be taking it a bit far, but I see where he’s coming from. While the group is formally hierarchical, with Laurence taking point and a group of clear leaders, the spirit of it is extremely egalitarian. It includes crypto veterans – among them shockingly high-ranking executives of companies you’ve probably heard of – and people nearly totally new to crypto. It prioritizes, if not exactly *civility,* then fundamental niceness. It’s wildly ‘diverse’ in nearly every sense. And it’s made up of a lot of true unapolagetic degens, which has been a valuable new perspective for me.
You’re not going to get much more than that out of me right now, except that it seems this is only the beginning. It would be too strong to say there are any concrete plans, but West Ham seems poised to make a transition into something more substantive (The name of the party was “No Longer Joking”). If it does, it will have both the attention of the entire EVM/DeFi side of the industry, and an incredibly deep bench of talent already bonded together by the experience of pummeling the shit out of Laurence Day’s papier-mache head.
Stay tuned.