What wealth codes have been revealed from DePIN to the Bitcoin ecosystem at ETHDenver 2024?

Author: Mia, ChainCatcher

Editor: Marco, ChainCatcher

With the rapid development of blockchain and Web3 technologies, the ETHDenver conference, as an annual event in the industry, once again attracted global attention. This year, tens of thousands of Web3 enthusiasts and developers gathered at ETHDenver to discuss cutting-edge technologies and development trends in the industry. During the conference, a series of hot topics such as liquidity restaking, Bitcoin Layer 2, points, Crypto+AI, Berachain, DePIN, and modularity became the focus of attendees.

ChainCatcher interviewed several investors, developers, project leaders, and technical experts attending the conference to interpret this year's event from the participants' perspective.

DePIN and Bitcoin Ecosystem Become Hot Topics

With the market warming up, the enthusiasm for ETHDenver 2024 has significantly increased compared to last year. Compared to last year, this year's attendees generally appeared more confident and full of expectations for future development prospects. This year's ETHDenver covered topics ranging from the Ethereum ecosystem to DePIN, alt-Layer 1, Decentralized AI, while the Bitcoin ecosystem also became a hot topic, with different viewpoints and ideas colliding and merging here, sparking endless innovation.

Kathy, Investor at Trustless Labs:

This is my first time attending the ETHDenver conference, and the atmosphere is excellent. Denver is undoubtedly a gathering place for builders, investors, researchers, and blockchain enthusiasts from around the world. The conference topics are broad, covering multiple aspects of the Ethereum ecosystem, including app chains, restaking, ZK infra, as well as hot topics like DePIN, alt-Layer 1, Decentralized AI, and the Bitcoin ecosystem.

KevinY, Co-founder of Artela:

With the market recovering, this year's ETHDenver event is even more vibrant than last year, attracting a large number of participants for Build Week, the main conference, and side events. Compared to last year, when everyone was generally anxious and somewhat confused, this year, people appear to be full of confidence.

Luis, Co-founder of ScaleBit:

Overall, this year's ETHDenver remains one of the major events with a large number of participants and a gathering of blockchain developers. Unlike last year, which focused heavily on zk narratives and earlier topics like NFTs and DAOs, this year's ETHDenver has a relatively broad distribution of topics. Besides popular topics like AI and Restaking, there doesn't seem to be any particularly outstanding new stories. On the contrary, themes like BTC L2 frequently appeared in the main venue of ETHDenver, with some even jokingly calling this year "Bitcoin Denver."

Steve, Partner at DoraHacks:

The most popular narratives are AI, modular blockchains, and restaking, with Appchain Day being exceptionally lively, attracting over 1,500 participants, and star-level projects being highly sought after, with valuations rising rapidly.

Steven, Co-founder of FutureMoney Group:

Last year's ETHDenver hackathon was particularly eye-catching, with a focus on Ethereum's development roadmap, and the ZK Side Event dominated. In contrast, this year's ETHDenver showcased projects looking for market-product fit after Series A funding. The conference content is richer and more diverse, covering multiple fields such as DePIN, AI, Restaking, and social aspects, with VCs and major project parties hosting more pragmatic dinner events. Additionally, this year's Side Events and parties were better prepared, with overall quality significantly improved compared to last year.

At the same time, compared to events in Asia, the business atmosphere at ETHDenver is not as strong. The number of developers and community members clearly exceeds that of exchanges, wallets, and various third-party institutions' business development.

Side Events Outshine the Main Venue

Compared to the bustling scenes of previous years, this year's main venue appeared somewhat quiet. Nevertheless, this did not overshadow the vibrant life in the blockchain and Web3 fields; some attendees still deeply felt the eager pursuit and infinite expectations of industry elites for new technologies and applications. Notably, this year's side events even overshadowed the main venue, becoming a new place for attendees to exchange ideas and share insights.

Kathy, Investor at Trustless Labs:

My first experience at ETHDenver revealed a grand main venue, with ample space reserved for developers and hackathons. I mainly participated in activities related to Bitcoin and Crypto+AI, and the strong Degen culture atmosphere of Berachain also attracted me.

This year in Denver, there were multiple activities related to the Bitcoin ecosystem, including BOB's hacker house Demo Day. I found that not only the BTC OGs and builders from Asia were enthusiastic, but Western capital is also actively positioning itself. For example, Marathon Digital announced the launch of Bitcoin's L2 and mentioned plans for the assetization of RWA. UTXO Management also launched the Taproot Chain. During the Ord Day and Bitcoin Startup Labs events, Domo shared the progress of the OPI Network. With BTC prices continuously rising and traditional financial capital flooding into the crypto market, I look forward to more technological breakthroughs in the Bitcoin ecosystem in the future.

In the past year, Silicon Valley VCs have heavily invested in the AI field, but the iteration of large models poses challenges for small and medium-sized startups, leading many AI talents to return to the crypto track. I believe the role of blockchain in the AI field lies in establishing decentralized networks for computing power, data, and model verification, using crypto as an economic incentive.

KevinY, Co-founder of Artela:

The foot traffic in the main venue is similar to last year, but the number of people listening to the main speeches has noticeably decreased, perhaps due to the increased number of side events this year. Among them, the activities of the new popular public chains Berachain and Monad are particularly eye-catching. Berachain's event was lively, resembling a large party, with its orange bear head logo becoming a street highlight, attracting much attention. The Monad event, on the other hand, provided me with substantial insights through its high-quality guest lineup and in-depth random exchanges.

Luis, Co-founder of ScaleBit:

This year's ETHDenver main venue seems to have slightly lower popularity, possibly due to the lack of new narratives in the Ethereum ecosystem. However, the Bitcoin ecosystem has emerged strongly, attracting the attention of developers worldwide, especially the opportunities in BTC Layer 2, which sparked widespread discussion. The Bitcoin Renaissance and Bitcoin Investor and Founder Mixer events were packed, and many Ethereum ecosystem developers began to pay attention to the BTC ecosystem, particularly the opportunities in BTC Layer 2.

I also attended events like Movecon and Sui Connect, where the Move ecosystem's Aptos and Sui received favor from investment institutions due to their excellent token prices. At the Move-related meetings, projects like Movement, Initia, and Rooch attracted more developers' attention. Additionally, modularity-related meetings were also very popular, with the appearances of projects like Polygon, Movement, and Initia, as well as the practical application of modular technology, adding many highlights to the conference.

Steven, Co-founder of FutureMoney Group:

I feel that the level of excitement this year has decreased compared to last year. Although more friends from Asia attended, they were rarely seen in the main venue. This may be because, with the arrival of the bull market, the traffic of the Ethereum ecosystem and the top 50 projects on CMC has been dispersed by various new narratives, leading to a lack of that exciting FOMO atmosphere in the main venue.

It is worth mentioning that I attended the R3AL WORLD summit's sub-venue for two consecutive years. As a side event specifically organized by the IoTex Foundation for the DePIN track, this year's popularity was noticeably higher, with more teams investing in this field. Last year, I had to explain the concept of DePIN to many VCs, while this year, many VCs proactively mentioned that DePIN is one of their key focus areas during their self-introductions.

Benjamin Sepanski, Vice President of Auditing at Veridise:

For me, seminars and panel discussions are always highly anticipated. For example, Aleo organized several exciting dialogues about its ecosystem use cases. These events are not only practical but also provide insights into how people are using these systems to build projects. For developers, this is an excellent way to learn through examples. For security companies, it's a great opportunity to understand what types of projects exist in the ecosystem and to communicate with developers to gain deeper insights into the pain points of building secure systems in new ecosystems.

VC Focus Shifts to Community, Market Liquidity Becomes an Important Topic

This year's ETHDenver witnessed a surge in VC enthusiasm, with both investment hotspots and market liquidity showing positive trends. As the blockchain industry's ecosystem continues to expand and deepen, some VCs have begun to make corresponding adjustments.

KevinY, Co-founder of Artela:

Currently, both the fundraising and investment environment for VCs are favorable, with ample funds, numerous projects, and high market enthusiasm. Topics like AI, DePIN, Restaking, the BTC ecosystem, and modularity have become hot focuses, replacing last year's dominance of ZK narratives. Meanwhile, the role of VCs is quietly shifting from reflecting the developer community to gradually reflecting the needs and trends of users and communities.

Steve, Partner at DoraHacks:

The primary market is entering a stage where high-quality project parties lead the pricing phase, with institutions competing for allocations in star projects, and high valuations becoming the norm. Top institutions in Europe and the U.S., such as Founders Fund and Blockchain Capital, are actively participating, with some fund GPs initiating fundraising, and mainstream funds expect the best fundraising period to be by the end of this year or next year.

Steven, Co-founder of FutureMoney Group:

The secondary market has entered the early stages of a bull market, with BTC hitting new highs. However, the primary market has not fully synchronized yet, and VC investments have not completely immersed themselves in the bull market atmosphere. Nevertheless, fundraising activities are gradually becoming more frequent and active; we encountered many GPs seeking financing in Denver. Currently, VCs have reached a consensus on the importance of liquidity, and pure primary funds are no longer mainstream; instead, there is a trend toward establishing dedicated Liquid Funds or flexibly allocating liquid positions within main funds.

What Strategic Adjustments Will Projects Make After Denver?

At this year's ETHDenver conference, leaders from various sectors of the crypto industry engaged in brainstorming discussions, exploring topics from DePIN and the Bitcoin ecosystem to restaking protocols, collectively discussing community, users, culture, and technological innovation. As the conference concluded, project parties began to make corresponding strategic adjustments based on the outcomes of the event.

KevinY, Co-founder of Artela:

The importance of community, users, and culture is becoming increasingly prominent. A healthy community is the cornerstone of a project's success, and more project parties will actively integrate and give back to the community, allowing users and participants to look forward to a more colorful bull market. At the same time, as industry narrative hotspots change, project parties continuously adjust their narratives and directions to keep up with trends, which is a matter of life and death for entrepreneurs.

Luis, Co-founder of ScaleBit:

More and more overseas projects are beginning to pay attention to BTC Layer 2 and are trying to build on the BTC ecosystem. Previously, a small number of projects consistently focused on the BTC ecosystem, and developers have easily secured financing, including active investments in Move and DePIN ecosystems. With the market recovering, financing and token issuance have also been put on the agenda.

Steven, Co-founder of FutureMoney Group:

Currently, our fund's investment portfolio is performing excellently, with the valuations of angel round projects successfully raised to the range of $30 million to $50 million during Denver, and the next round of financing for billion-dollar projects is also actively being prepared, with expectations of achieving a 3-5 times increase in valuation.

Given the strong momentum of this round of the "bull market," we recommend that projects in the portfolio accelerate their token issuance and listing pace. Continuing to raise funds through the primary market at this stage may lead to a surge in costs during the bull market, including listing, hiring, public relations, and market cap management. Therefore, for non-large financing, considering a strategy of listing first and then financing may be more appropriate.

Benjamin Sepanski, Vice President of Auditing at Veridise:

ZK-related technologies will greatly enhance network performance, but they remain very difficult to use. We attended several events with teams like Aleo, o1js, =nil;, and Succinct, all of which are working hard to make ZK technology safer and more user-friendly. Such projects provide the much-needed infrastructure for ZK development space, which is an important advancement.

Many people are talking about restaking and seem to be working hard to transfer their staked funds to restaking accounts. We see many projects and vaults trying to leverage this. There are many potential benefits in restaking, but I believe people need to be very cautious about the potential risks and take measures to mitigate them. Since staking has historically been a relatively low-risk investment, I think people tend to map this low-risk concept onto the higher-yield options offered by restaking.

Summary of ETHDenver 2024

Kathy, Investor at Trustless Labs:

In this bull market, I will focus on three tracks in order of priority: the Bitcoin ecosystem, the Crypto + AI track, and the consumer crypto track. These three tracks have some overlaps, but currently, the biggest intersection should be memes.

Luis, Co-founder of ScaleBit:

The annual ETHDenver is increasingly resembling the CES of yesteryear, becoming a barometer for global industry trends. Interestingly, many investors and developers who come to Denver also make a trip to Silicon Valley, just as many internet practitioners used to go to CES and then return to Silicon Valley. The Ethereum ecosystem's innovation has hit a certain bottleneck, while non-EVM ecosystems like BTC Layer 2, Move ecosystem, and Sol ecosystem are gradually growing. I look forward to more innovations in the Ethereum ecosystem and hope more developers pay attention to non-EVM ecosystems.

Steven, Co-founder of FutureMoney Group:

We are more optimistic than ever. Currently, we see that the Bitcoin-dominated bull market is deeply linked to global liquidity levels and macroeconomic conditions. The bull market for blockchain technology and applications is on the way, and this round of the bull market will be larger in scale and broader in themes.

In every bull market, we can see many projects or VCs chasing hot topics. However, those who can deeply cultivate their main tasks and not be disturbed by external factors will truly reap the benefits of the industry.