Netcetera has its origins in the Myosin.xyz DAO, and Myosin.xyz has its origins in ETH Denver 2022. 

‍

Two years after the Denver/Breckenridge trip that led to Myosin.xyz’s founding, we spoke to DAO members to get their takes on one of crypto’s biggest conferences at what feels like a pivotal point in the industry…

‍

…on the 2024 edition of ETH Denver

‍

“This year was exciting because everyone was in a good mood because prices were up and a lot of people seem to be having more fun in crypto with all the excitement around L2s, web3 social, Solana, and account abstraction.  There seems to be a movement of builders who are starting to focus on product rather than just the underlying tech or blockchain.” - Garrett Skrovina

“Some new topics that were the hot buzz were decentralized AI agents, bitcoin L2s, more consumer crypto chat than ever, and more interoperability between EVM chains, IBC, SOL, and beyond.” - Blake Minho Kim

“One thing that stood out to me this year was the popularity of DePIN. It might not sound sexy but I think it's actually a really exciting new area in that physical infrastructure is one of the ripest for disruption. Leveraging web3 to attest to provenance can have a huge impact on supply chains, and can also democratize access to real life resources. Marketing DePIN is tricky though because you're speaking to two audiences: web3 natives as well as enterprise folks. So it'll be interesting to see those narratives build and take root over the next few months!” - Abigail Carlson

“A lot of programming and talks around infra, L2s, and rollups. Points are also everyone’s way to get users which is debatable if it’s sustainable. We need consumer apps to be built. Sentiment is high and the enthusiasm is palpable.” - Nicole Liu

“A lot of energy and positive sentiment on the current bull market, a mix of new builders getting back into the space. Met quite a few web2 developers who were there to see how they could get into the on-chain ecosystem.” - Dan Rodman

“In terms of attendance, ETH Denver felt similar to previous years but people did seem a bit more spread out [and they] attended events that spoke to particular niches within crypto as opposed to everyone going to the same events.” - GS

‍

…on how it compared to prior years

‍

"Only my second ETH Denver, but I would say it’s properly builder-oriented, even with markets reaching new highs. We’re seeing efforts to shift focus from infra/tech to more consumer experiences. We saw Base and IYK try to onboard users with quests for merch experiences, but think the gulf to reach retail or find more consumer usage of blockchain is still pretty wide." - Karen Liu

“There seemed to be less web3 gaming booths at the conference compared to last year. New popular concepts around the Bitcoin network, with new swaps, ordinals, etc.” - DR 

“My first year at ETH Denver and it is indeed one of the better crypto conferences IMHO.” - NL

“Vibes were very high, probably partially due to constant market action and rising every day we were in Denver.” - BMK

“Also new to the conference was the energy and side events around the DePIN world. POKT organized a well-attended LEGO-themed mixer with other DePIN projects. IoTex also ran multiple events, and had nearly 25 members from their team in attendance.” - DR

‍

…on what it means for where crypto is headed

‍
“The builders who stuck around for two years are here, and they will reap their rewards. The froth is coming but still early. The foundations have been laid and 2024 and beyond really looks like we're finally approaching our mainstream moment. The consumer crypto apps of the future are not here yet, but they're coming.” - BMK

“Builders are slowly realizing that they need to become more product-focused in order to attract users — especially users that aren't already crypto-fluent. Solana dapps seems to have more of a product focus but we're starting to see more of this focus on L2s.” - GS

“We are on our way to a bull market. While it’s nice to have token prices pump led by bitcoin ETF approval, I’m a bit cautious as we still need some consumer apps to bring utility for all the infra being built. Otherwise it will be a bumpy and unsustainable path.” - NL

"Pointsmania is ripe — lots of people exchanging farming alpha for token airdrop, esp for berachain, zksync, linea, and blast. Blast was launched at the same time, but their points system were perhaps the most complex for retail to understand.  Consensus is that points is not going away to acquire users and volume conversion." - KL

“Upwards. At least that's the general sentiment and hope! I think all the examples of new innovative useful use cases for the technology give a better foundation for this bull market compared to any other bull in the past.” - DR

“The emergent L1 trade is as alive as ever. We will continue to see new blockchains get funded, launch, and try to obtain users.  Big fundraises from Berachain and Monad showcase that investors are funding builders at increasingly high valuations for new emergent blockchains.

It's nice to see that there's less tribalism in crypto compared to last cycle, which I think shows that most crypto participants aren't purely ideologically driven as the space expands.” - GS

‍

…on the state of marketing and branding in crypto

“There was definitely some great branding and activations. Almost every booth had some sort of quest or request in order to get yourself some merch or swag.” - DR

“Justin's Safary Summit was great, and an excellent confluence of most people in web3 marketing. However, it was a rare island in a sea of more technically oriented talks, and we're still so early. But we are seeing more and more companies hiring for marketing as founders realize the classic tech adage, "If you build it, they DO NOT simply come." - BMK

“Missed the Safary Growth Summit, but heard that one was great. There’s a growing interest in bringing marketing talent to web3 projects in this cycle versus past cycles. Maybe projects and founders are finally realizing they need marketing to drive awareness and bring in users. It’s a good sign that web3 is on its way to growing up as a sector.” - NL

“Also, speaking of the power of naming something, DePIN had always existed in the space, but once the category was given a trendy name and discussion increased around it, it gathered quite a bit of popularity. Great [conference branding] examples included Chainlink’s Camping Store exhibit, Base's blue zone, and Near's very Alice-in-Wonderland explorer-themed booth area. We're seeing web3 brands lean in more to storytelling and lore to connect more with people.” - DR