Insights from ETHDenver: New Trends and Industry Insights

Just returned from Denver, where I attended an impressive blockchain conference last week. Here I would like to share some personal impressions and some new trends presented at the conference.

Overall, the atmosphere of this conference was fantastic, far surpassing that of some other well-known blockchain conferences.

Global Developer Culture

According to statistics, this event attracted about 35,000 participants, including 7,500 hackers. Even in hotels 15 minutes away from the city center, you could encounter other attendees in the elevator every day, and everyone could quickly get to know each other just by looking at their name badges. Among the attendees, the ratio of project teams to investors is about 5:1. The participating project teams come from all over the world, including not only local teams from the United States but also teams from China, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Europe. Many active first- and second-tier investment funds also sent representatives, especially some European capitals that usually have less visibility.

Unlike other conferences, the strong developer culture at this conference created an atmosphere that was filled with a crypto-native vibe. When meeting with project teams, we typically sit down directly, present demos on-site, and can dive deep into product details in just 30 minutes. This approach reminds me of the feelings I had when I first entered the industry in 2017, which is very exciting.

Conference Insights

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

Small events usually range from 20 to 100 people, such as breakfast meetings, seminars, and parties. I attended several good events this time, including a breakfast meeting with investors, a brunch party with certain institutions, an evening party with a ZK theme, a lunch meeting for MIT alumni founders, a community event for a public blockchain, a gathering of old friends, and the launch ceremony of the founders' club. These events provide opportunities for effective dialogue and building important connections.

Targeted search is the most effective crypto social method we have found in the past five years. Before the conference, our team spent two days researching the project backgrounds of various sub-forums (such as ZK Day, StarkDenver, etc.), 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 New Trends

The conference covers multiple fields, including infrastructure, DeFi, DAO, NFT, and public goods.

ZK technology

ZK (Zero-Knowledge Proof) is the focus of this conference, with various tracks developing rapidly:

1. Infrastructure projects are beginning to experiment with ZK technology optimization, such as new cross-chain consensus mechanism transmission projects, and data query and oracle projects that integrate zkWASM technology.

2. Notable zkEVM/zkVM Layer 2 networks and native ZK Layer 1 networks are showcasing their latest advancements and expanding their ecosystems.

3. In terms of ZK core service metrics, several hardware acceleration projects based on various optimization algorithms have emerged.

4. Some blockchain games developed on specific technology stacks have attracted attention.

5. Modular blockchain execution layer service providers are developing ZK versions of Rollup SDK.

6. The ZK application layer is continuously evolving in the DID track, with both underlying technology stacks and user-oriented applications.

Account Abstraction (AA)

Account abstraction is a hot topic despite intense competition. With the advancement of relevant proposals, we have heard a lot of discussions about development terms such as Bundler, UserOperation, EntryPoint, etc. The development of AA is attempting to achieve gasless transactions, social recovery, and an account experience that goes beyond traditional multi-signature wallets.

Traditional EOA wallets are also embracing the evolution of AA, continuously optimizing in terms of fund security, deposits and withdrawals, user experience, and multi-chain support. Overall, the improvement of AA will open the door for a large number of Web2 users to enter Web3, making it an important track in the new cycle.

Social and AI

In the social realm, we have witnessed some new application breakthroughs. After the social craze of the past two years, this year's projects focus more on how to create practical social products for Web3 users. Possible breakthrough points include a membership system based on DID, integration of payment and information, and the fan economy.

Surprisingly, we have come across several projects founded by experienced AI practitioners. These projects are primarily based on open-source AI algorithms, focusing on the combination of on-chain data, AI, and smart fund management, such as implementing complex contract operations through natural language and features like MEV resistance. This is undoubtedly a significant advancement for the algorithm-driven "dark forest" of cryptocurrency.

With the gradual improvement of Layer 2 and other infrastructures, the new cycle opportunities that began in 2023 will more favor the application layer. We expect breakthroughs to emerge in the gaming and social sectors, with a closer connection to the real world.

Performance of Chinese Entrepreneurs

In this conference, 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, demonstrating strong competitiveness at the application level.

The excellent Chinese founding teams can be mainly divided into two categories: one category consists of new entrepreneurs who have successful product experience in large Web2 companies or startups and have an in-depth understanding of the crypto field. This type of entrepreneur began to emerge in large numbers at the end of 2021, possessing an advantage in product development and iteration.

Another category consists of founders who have been studying and working abroad for a long time and are very familiar with the English-speaking world, mainly coming from New York, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area. These entrepreneurs excel in business development and financing and have no disadvantages in obtaining overseas funding.

Overall, with the significant improvement of the background of Chinese entrepreneurs, and the emerging wave of application layers, it is essential for every practitioner to have a good understanding of Chinese teams.

In 2022, the entire industry experienced a market slump and various challenges, and the general sentiment was quite low. However, this conference was like a pool gathering global forces, where waves of innovation from around the world converged. Chinese entrepreneurs traveled all over the globe, and new forces emerged one after another, showcasing the vigorous development of the industry.