Consensys: 5 Insights on the Future of Ethereum from EthCC 2024

Original Title: “Five Insights from EthCC 2024 on the Future of Ethereum”

Author: Consensys

Compiled by: Felix, PANews

The 7th Ethereum technology and community conference, EthCC, was held in Brussels, Belgium, from July 8 to July 11. The event featured 350 speakers. Consensys published a summary of the conference and presented five insights. Below is the full content.

This year's EthCC was special because Brussels hosted thousands of developers from around the world. As the EthCC conference week approached, the SEC's lawsuit continued, and global regulation and how to carve a clear development path for Web3 became the focus of attention. Despite occasional heavy rain, Brussels was still a great host city, with beautiful natural scenery, high urban density, and venues, restaurants, and bars within walking distance.

Since we released the EthCC Recap in 2023, the Ethereum ecosystem has made significant progress. However, there is still more work to be done to realize our vision for the future. While discussions about regulation were not the primary focus of the conference, many exciting topics were discussed, including identity, L2 security, user privacy, better user experiences, and the power and threats of AI.

EthCC 2024 venue, Brussels

Here are the five key points from EthCC 2024. We hope that by this time next year, we will have made sufficient progress in these areas to keep Web3 builders engaged and encourage new adopters.

1. Web3 UX is still not great, but significant progress has been made

At the last EthCC, most discussions focused on improving Web3 UX to better guide users. In fact, Vitalik's talk titled "The History of Account Abstraction" indicated that account abstraction would drive the next wave of mass user adoption for Ethereum. This year's focus was different, as we have made some progress in this area, with various teams launching their own smart contract account products.

A key highlight was Consensys releasing a new toolkit through the Red Balloon Challenge: the alpha version of the MetaMask Delegation Toolkit, allowing users to access Web3 games without needing a wallet extension or app, mnemonic phrases, or paying gas fees.

This shift tells us that we have moved from merely discussing improvements in Web3 UX to major players building innovative solutions to address the issue, with teams like Coinbase, ZeroDev, and Privy developing and launching their own smart contract account products.

2. More consumer dapps are the next key demand driving Web3 adoption

If you read last year's EthCC summary, you will find this is a recurring theme. Unfortunately, unlike the obvious progress in Web3 UX, we have not seen advancements in this area. It is well known that to attract the next billion users to Web3, there must be sufficiently appealing consumer dapps. Many are debating why this issue persists.

Some believe the root of the problem lies in funding primarily flowing to infrastructure builders rather than consumer dapps, as the latter could exit more quickly. Others argue that the lack of regulatory clarity has led dapp developers to pivot towards infrastructure.

Regardless, Consensys is committed to addressing these issues. This is reflected in our lawsuit against the US SEC, aimed at achieving greater regulatory transparency, as well as our Scale program actively seeking and funding builders in the ecosystem.

3. To improve L2 security and transparency, collaboration between teams needs to be strengthened

L2 rollups are no longer news as the future of Ethereum scaling. While we have seen many innovations around L2s, especially in zero-knowledge rollups, discussions on how to make proof systems more transparent were a common theme throughout the week.

The conference also emphasized that Optimistic Rollup teams need to enhance collaboration to improve anti-fraud mechanisms. Developers unanimously agreed that existing solutions have issues, making them vulnerable to Sybil attacks, which undermine the security, settlement speed, and decentralization of anti-fraud systems. This was a significant theme at this year's EthCC, especially among blockchain security experts.

4. AI will unlock new dimensions for blockchain dapps

Another key point is that the combination of AI and blockchain has tremendous potential to unlock new possibilities for dapps. Deep learning models excel at processing large amounts of data to identify patterns, make predictions, and facilitate decision-making through neural networks that mimic human cognitive processes. When combined with the transparent, decentralized, and censorship-resistant economic settlement layer of blockchain networks, this integration will enable immutable data storage and trust-minimized digital interactions.

A widely discussed use case is leveraging AI's data analysis capabilities to detect fraud and scams through the vast amounts of data available on the blockchain, thereby enhancing security. However, we have yet to see widespread adoption of AI in dapps. The integration of blockchain and AI can unlock entirely new business models, improve operational efficiency, help automate repetitive tasks, enable safer and more efficient data exchanges, enhance decision-making through AI-driven smart contracts, and increase overall trust and transparency in critical infrastructure and economic processes.

5. Never underestimate the role of side events in community building

This year, more people discussed the side events they attended rather than the main event. Could it be that one-on-one interactions with speakers and product teams made side events more appealing? Consensys hosted over 12 side events this year, all packed with people eager to meet and chat with the teams.

This can largely be attributed to the central location of Brussels. It is very walkable, allowing attendees to easily step out of one event and walk two minutes to another. I don't think this fragmentation (as some call it) is a bad thing. Ethereum itself is permissionless, and I don't believe it is as negative as some suggest. However, there have been many suggestions on X to improve this and refocus attention on the main events.

Joe Lubin on stage at the Consensys AVS Day event

See you at Cannes EthCC 2025, builders of Web3

EthCC 2024 was a tremendous success. The diversity of panel discussions and the increase in female participants enriched the discourse, reflecting a broader and more inclusive community.

Next year's EthCC will be held in Cannes, France. We look forward to new insights and innovations. As Vitalik hinted, he has outlined a powerful roadmap for Ethereum, emphasizing its unique advantages and the necessity to address its shortcomings.

With ongoing building and innovation, we remain committed to defining high standards for the Ethereum community and believe we are on the right path to achieving a decentralized future.