In short
- ETH Denver founder says the market downturn has trimmed hype and sharpened builder focus.
- Convention attendees describe a extra intimate, return-on-investment-driven crowd.
- Past tech, ETH Denver additionally locations a deal with artwork and psychological wellness.
Crypto costs could also be down, however the temper inside ETH Denver on opening day is up.
Regardless of the chilly, a line fashioned exterior the brand new venue, the Nationwide Western Heart, nicely earlier than doorways opened.
For ETH Denver founder John Paller, the occasion displays a yr’s price of labor that started instantly after final yr’s occasion.
“Lots of people assume that is the start, however for our group, we truly didn’t cease from final yr,” he advised Decrypt, describing the primary day as “the crescendo.”
Whereas the cryptocurrency market downturn has dominated headlines, Paller mentioned ETH Denver thrives throughout downturns.
“ETH Denver has at all times benefited from bear markets,” Paller mentioned, noting that sponsors slender their occasion budgets and focus spending.
Paller did, nonetheless, acknowledge that attendance is predicted to fall wanting peak years.
“As a substitute of 25,000, there’s solely going to be 10,000 or 8,000 folks or one thing,” he mentioned, however added that in comparison with earlier editions, the occasion has continued to broaden. “From 2020 we have been at 2,500, so it’s nonetheless grown, the core nucleus, and the sign has grown.”
ETH Denver 2026. Photograph: Decrypt
“The noise to sign ratio goes to be a lot better,” he mentioned. “Only a lot much less noise, so much larger sign. The people who find themselves listed here are critical, they usually care deeply about the way forward for internet three and the person owned Web.”
Russell Castagnaro, founding father of Unicorn.eth, mentioned the change within the vibe is noticeable.
“There are much more people who find themselves significantly ,” Castagnaro advised Decrypt. “It obtained so massive over the past two years that everybody simply needed to be there. Now, once they come, they actually need to get ROI for themselves. They need to ensure they’re assembly folks, constructing, and getting uncovered to all the brand new applied sciences. It’s much more again to its roots in some ways, however in an advanced state.”
For some first-time attendees like Tyler Gentry, founding father of fintech consultancy agency NEED-AID, the enchantment of coming to ETH Denver lies in observing how decentralized communities function.
ETH Denver 2026. Photograph: Decrypt
“I got here to ETH Denver to see how a DAO cooperative neighborhood comes collectively in actual time and to discover how NEED-AID can use that blueprint to democratize giving for nonprofits and unlock the subsequent technology of donors,” he mentioned.
However the vibe round ETH Denver isn’t all concerning the newest tendencies in AI or crypto markets. Within the Zen Zone, situated close to the doorway, facilities on artwork and psychological wellness earlier than panels and networking start.
“The vibes are what saved me coming again,” Shana Douglas, co-founder of blockchain schooling and outreach venture NFT CLT, mentioned. “I have been right here since 4 or 5 years after we’re on the fortress and it was tremendous intimate. So this is not as intimate as that, however it’s positively setting the tone for a robust builder neighborhood and ensuring we’re all vibing properly.”
ETH Denver 2026. Photograph: Decrypt
NFT CLT co-founder Tony Bravado, mentioned this yr’s ETH Denver feels “extra intimate.”
“To ensure that us to construct neighborhood, we’ve obtained to have tight knit locations the place folks can collect, the place folks can share different concepts, in addition to folks can develop wellness,” he mentioned. “You may have AI, you have got wellness, all collectively, and it simply feels good to be right here.”
Whereas costs stay nicely under prior highs, ETFs shed tens of millions, and sentiment on Crypto Twitter has turned decidedly bearish, the attendees of ETH Denver, whereas a smaller gathering than in years previous, seem centered on constructing not solely new applied sciences however a stronger neighborhood going into 2026.
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