ETHSofia · Oct 6, 2026

Viktor Uzunov, co-founder and CEO of UEB3 Ventures and a former trading-floor banker, argues that blockchain is upgrading traditional finance rather than replacing it. He walks through how tokenisation lowers entry barriers through fractional ownership, simplifies legal claims and transfers, and how on-chain markets, Nasdaq's planned move to 23-hour trading and Hyperliquid's daily volumes point to 24/7 finance. He describes banks moving into stablecoins and DeFi, then shows how AI saves him time on morning briefs and revealed that his weekend trades had a much lower win rate. The talk ends with audience questions on stock tokenisation and on-chain mortgages. Keynote at ETHSofia 2026, 24 September 2026, Sofia Tech Park, Sofia. Part of Blockchain Week Bulgaria 2026. Speaker ▸ Viktor Uzunov, CEO, UEB3 Ventures Viktor Uzunov is the co-founder of digital asset fund UEB3 and UAE-based real estate firm Arreat Capital, which specialises in tokenised real estate. Over the past decade he has focused on building institutional-grade infrastructure at the intersection of capital markets, real assets, and digital finance. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/viktor-uzunov-ueb3 X: https://x.com/viktortrades Chapters 00:00 Opening and thanks 01:36 From Wall Street to blockchain 03:00 Easier, cheaper and more transparent access 04:12 US markets now drive crypto 04:45 Legacy settlement vs on-chain finance 06:13 Nasdaq moves towards 23-hour trading 07:23 Tokenisation and fractional access 09:17 Legal claims and transferability 11:09 On-chain stocks and Hyperliquid 13:26 Users want simpler access 14:27 DeFi as part of institutional finance 16:11 Risk management and knowledge 16:39 How AI changes the investor's day 20:42 Know what you own 22:19 Closing thoughts 22:58 Q&A: Is stock tokenisation a layer two? 23:47 Q&A: On-chain mortgages and RWA lending Blockchain Week Bulgaria: https://www.blockchainweek.bg ETHSofia: https://www.ethsofia.com Future Finance Forum: https://www.blockchainweek.bg/f3 Follow Blockchain Week Bulgaria X: https://x.com/BWBulgaria LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blockchain-week-bulgaria Follow ETHSofia X: https://x.com/EthSofiaBG LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ethsofia Telegram: https://t.me/+b-33LJUpAB5iODNk Nothing in this video is financial advice. About the organiser Blockchain Week Bulgaria, ETHSofia and the Future Finance Forum are organised by the Bithope Foundation, founded in 2014 by Vladislav Dramaliev. Inspired by Andreas Antonopoulos, it is Europe's first non-profit operating exclusively with bitcoin donations. Over more than ten years, it has supported 50+ charitable campaigns, and in January 2016 it co-founded the Sofia Crypto Meetup, now the region's longest-running monthly crypto event. https://bithope.org

ETHSofia · Oct 6, 2026

With Marc Zeller (ACI) and Token Brice (Polaris / Pharos). In this fireside chat, Marc Zeller, joining remotely from Tokyo, and TokenBrice reflect on how DeFi has changed since about 2018. After the Aave governance disputes, they ask who owns a protocol's intellectual property, what a token holder actually owns, and why the market now rewards tokens with a claim on revenue and punishes combined equity and token structures. Zeller says his new lending protocol, ACI, will be token only, with its IP in a foundation and revenue controlled by holders, while TokenBrice describes how Polaris issues new tokens only when users burn the collateral token behind its stablecoin. Both criticise DeFi for giving up privacy to court institutions, which Zeller says hold only about $4 billion of Morpho's $12 billion. Fireside Chat at ETHSofia 2026, 24 September 2026, Sofia Tech Park, Sofia. Part of Blockchain Week Bulgaria 2026. Speakers ▸ Marc Zeller, Co-founder, ACI Marc Zeller is co-founder of ACI, a new DeFi lending product launching this year. He co-founded Ethereum France and helped organise the first EthCC in Paris in 2015, then went on to roles at Consensys and Coinhouse, the first French-regulated CASP. In 2019 he joined EthLend to prepare the launch of Aave V1, and in 2022 founded the Aave Chan Initiative, which drove strategy and growth for the Aave DAO for more than three years. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marczelleraci X: https://x.com/Marczeller ▸ Token Brice, Founder, Polaris / Pharos Liquidity engineer, protocol analyst, and co-founder of The DeFi Collective. TokenBrice has been building in Ethereum DeFi since the early days and now leads Polaris, tackling stablecoin centralisation head-on. X: https://x.com/tokenbrice Chapters 00:00 Introduction 00:18 Setting the scene: two DeFi veterans 02:00 Governance after the death of DAOs 04:37 What does a token holder actually own? 06:26 Equity or token: you cannot play both games 08:29 Marc's next project: token only, no equity 10:46 Polaris: a new token emission mechanism 12:56 Why now: crossing over to the builder side 17:11 Did the institutions deliver? 20:35 Losing the war on privacy 23:13 Audience comment and close 25:01 Closing titles Blockchain Week Bulgaria: https://www.blockchainweek.bg ETHSofia: https://www.ethsofia.com Future Finance Forum: https://www.blockchainweek.bg/f3 Follow Blockchain Week Bulgaria X: https://x.com/BWBulgaria LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blockchain-week-bulgaria Follow ETHSofia X: https://x.com/EthSofiaBG LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ethsofia Telegram: https://t.me/+b-33LJUpAB5iODNk Nothing in this video is financial advice. About the organiser Blockchain Week Bulgaria, ETHSofia and the Future Finance Forum are organised by the Bithope Foundation, founded in 2014 by Vladislav Dramaliev. Inspired by Andreas Antonopoulos, it is Europe's first non-profit operating exclusively with bitcoin donations. Over more than ten years, it has supported 50+ charitable campaigns, and in January 2016 it co-founded the Sofia Crypto Meetup, now the region's longest-running monthly crypto event. https://bithope.org

ETHSofia · Oct 6, 2026

Maximilian Roszko, business development lead at Curve Finance, traces how crypto set out to create a new form of money but found its strongest use case in bringing existing currencies on-chain, with stablecoins now above $300 billion in circulating supply. He argues that a DeFi built almost entirely on dollars leaves users elsewhere exposed to FX risk, and that the many euro, Swiss franc and Brazilian real stablecoins struggle because on-chain liquidity is expensive. Using examples from Gnosis with Monerium and from Frankencoin, he sets out practical ways issuers can bootstrap FX liquidity: tying pools to real conversion demand, yield-bearing assets, CDPs and stable pools alongside established tokens. Keynote at ETHSofia 2026, 24 September 2026, Sofia Tech Park, Sofia. Part of Blockchain Week Bulgaria 2026. Speaker ▸ Maximilian Roszko, Business Development Lead, Curve Finance Maximilian leads business development at Curve Finance. He works with stablecoin issuers, blockchain networks and other DeFi protocols to build liquidity, develop lending markets and make assets useful across DeFi. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxroszko X: https://x.com/MaxRoszko Chapters 00:00 About Curve Finance 00:54 Crypto's original goal: a new form of money 01:56 The rise of stablecoins: from Tether to $300 billion 03:26 Traditional finance copies the model 05:06 A dollar-dominated stablecoin market 05:48 FX risk for users outside the dollar 06:38 Non-dollar stablecoins and the cost of liquidity 09:16 Tying FX liquidity to real demand 10:23 Lending with yield-bearing FX assets 11:24 CDPs as a shortcut to lending use cases 12:57 Piggybacking on existing liquidity with stable pools 13:37 Why FX will be a big part of DeFi 14:24 Closing titles Blockchain Week Bulgaria: https://www.blockchainweek.bg ETHSofia: https://www.ethsofia.com Future Finance Forum: https://www.blockchainweek.bg/f3 Follow Blockchain Week Bulgaria X: https://x.com/BWBulgaria LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blockchain-week-bulgaria Follow ETHSofia X: https://x.com/EthSofiaBG LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ethsofia Telegram: https://t.me/+b-33LJUpAB5iODNk Nothing in this video is financial advice. About the organiser Blockchain Week Bulgaria, ETHSofia and the Future Finance Forum are organised by the Bithope Foundation, founded in 2014 by Vladislav Dramaliev. Inspired by Andreas Antonopoulos, it is Europe's first non-profit operating exclusively with bitcoin donations. Over more than ten years, it has supported 50+ charitable campaigns, and in January 2016 it co-founded the Sofia Crypto Meetup, now the region's longest-running monthly crypto event. https://bithope.org

ETHSofia · Oct 6, 2026

Martin Leinweber of MarketVector Indexes draws on index data back to 2015 and more than 2,300 tokens to argue that crypto rewards size, not speculation. The top ten coins hold roughly 90% of market cap, there is no small-cap premium, and a liquid micro-cap basket lost about 19% a year. He shows which coins held up in both bull and bear markets, why privacy is a strong theme, and why DeFi, at 2% of market cap but 65% of on-chain fees, looks mispriced. He expects stablecoins, tokenisation and AI agents to drive a fundamentals-led altcoin cycle, and explains the fees-and-users methodology behind his Token Terminal index. Keynote at Future Finance Forum 2026, 25 September 2026, Sofia. Part of Blockchain Week Bulgaria 2026. Speaker ▸ Martin Leinweber, CFA, Head of Digital Asset Research and Strategy, MarketVector Indexes Martin Leinweber leads digital asset research at MarketVector Indexes, developing index products and institutional research, and serving as the firm's primary voice on crypto markets globally. He brings nearly two decades of portfolio management experience across equities, fixed income, and alternatives. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-leinweber-cfa-7758b012b Chapters 00:00 Introduction 00:19 Twelve years of data on 2,300 tokens 01:03 Crypto is concentrated: the top 10 hold 90% 02:13 No size premium in crypto 03:21 Micro caps: the pump and dump that works on paper 04:26 The most consistent coins in bull and bear markets 06:54 Screening for relative strength: the privacy theme 09:01 What the leaders share: revenue and users 10:02 On-chain fundamentals: DeFi is 2% of cap, 65% of fees 11:19 Stablecoins, tokenisation and AI agents 13:49 The Token Terminal top 10 index 15:45 Prediction: a fundamentals-driven altcoin cycle 17:30 Q&A: The index methodology 19:46 Closing titles Blockchain Week Bulgaria: https://www.blockchainweek.bg ETHSofia: https://www.ethsofia.com Future Finance Forum: https://www.blockchainweek.bg/f3 Follow Blockchain Week Bulgaria X: https://x.com/BWBulgaria LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blockchain-week-bulgaria Follow ETHSofia X: https://x.com/EthSofiaBG LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ethsofia Telegram: https://t.me/+b-33LJUpAB5iODNk Nothing in this video is financial advice. About the organiser Blockchain Week Bulgaria, ETHSofia and the Future Finance Forum are organised by the Bithope Foundation, founded in 2014 by Vladislav Dramaliev. Inspired by Andreas Antonopoulos, it is Europe's first non-profit operating exclusively with bitcoin donations. Over more than ten years, it has supported 50+ charitable campaigns, and in January 2016 it co-founded the Sofia Crypto Meetup, now the region's longest-running monthly crypto event. https://bithope.org

ETHSofia · Oct 6, 2026

Vasil Golemanski, Chairman of Bulgaria's Financial Supervision Commission, speaking at Blockchain Week Bulgaria for the second time, sets out how the country moves from MiCA transition to a mature regulated market. He calls MiCA a single rulebook under which a licence issued in Bulgaria works across Europe, notes that the transition period ended on 1 July and that the Commission has issued Bulgaria's first MiCA licences, and stresses that licensing is only the start of ongoing supervision. "MiCA is not just an administrative task," he says, "it is a task of business maturity." He outlines four priorities (strong licensed firms, data-driven supervision, European cooperation and trust) and applies the principle of same risk, same rules. Keynote at Future Finance Forum 2026, 25 September 2026, Sofia. Part of Blockchain Week Bulgaria 2026. Speaker ▸ Vasil Golemanski, Chairman, Financial Supervision Commission Vasil Golemanski is Chairman of Bulgaria's Financial Supervision Commission, elected by the National Assembly in March 2025 for a six-year term. He was previously Executive Director of Central Depository from 2012, and his career includes key positions at the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. He graduated in electronics and automation engineering from the Technical University (Plovdiv branch) in 1991 and holds a master's degree in International Business from South-West University "Neofit Rilski" in Blagoevgrad. His priorities include transparency, active dialogue with supervised firms, digitalisation, strict supervision of the capital, insurance and pension markets, a smooth transition to the eurozone, and cybersecurity. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:49 MiCA: one rulebook for European crypto markets 03:28 Transition period ends and the first licences 05:59 Four priorities: licensing and supervision 07:23 European cooperation and trust 08:25 What will you build with your licence? 10:37 From MiCA compliant to MiCA ready 13:04 Closing titles Blockchain Week Bulgaria: https://www.blockchainweek.bg ETHSofia: https://www.ethsofia.com Future Finance Forum: https://www.blockchainweek.bg/f3 Follow Blockchain Week Bulgaria X: https://x.com/BWBulgaria LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blockchain-week-bulgaria Follow ETHSofia X: https://x.com/EthSofiaBG LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ethsofia Telegram: https://t.me/+b-33LJUpAB5iODNk Nothing in this video is financial advice. About the organiser Blockchain Week Bulgaria, ETHSofia and the Future Finance Forum are organised by the Bithope Foundation, founded in 2014 by Vladislav Dramaliev. Inspired by Andreas Antonopoulos, it is Europe's first non-profit operating exclusively with bitcoin donations. Over more than ten years, it has supported 50+ charitable campaigns, and in January 2016 it co-founded the Sofia Crypto Meetup, now the region's longest-running monthly crypto event. https://bithope.org

ETHSofia · Oct 6, 2026

With Bozhena Bozhilova (Bulgarian Fintech Association, moderator), Andrey Sirakov (Commerzbank AG), Bernie Niebsch (BVNK) and Eduardo Morrison (Schuman Financial). Moderated by Bozhena Bozhilova, the panel asks where euro stablecoins are finding real business use. Eduardo Morrison says Schuman Financial grew through B2B flows for fintechs in Africa and Latin America, reaching 150 million euros of payment volume in August, and is testing atomic settlement against tokenised money market funds with banks in Spain. Andrey Sirakov describes corporate demand as pragmatic, expects banks to combine permissioned networks and tokenised deposits, which Commerzbank AG is exploring, with public stablecoins, and lists the custody, audit and wallet-level compliance controls a bank needs first, while Bernie Niebsch argues that SEPA Instant works well and that SWIFT is where the pain lies. Looking five years ahead, the speakers expect stablecoins to run invisibly in the background. Panel at Future Finance Forum 2026, 25 September 2026, Sofia. Part of Blockchain Week Bulgaria 2026. Speakers ▸ Bozhena Bozhilova, Director, Bulgarian Fintech Association (moderator) Bozhena Bozhilova is Director of the Bulgarian Fintech Association, where she has spent three years advancing Bulgaria's fintech ecosystem across 15 verticals, including crypto, payments, and lending. She led an EU-wide digital bond platform project for SMEs and drives regulatory engagement between industry, institutions, and regulators. ▸ Andrey Sirakov, Senior Business Analyst, Commerzbank AG Andrey Sirakov is a Senior Business Analyst at Commerzbank AG, where he contributes to the development of institutional‑grade crypto custody solutions and supports the secure integration of blockchain technology into established banking infrastructure. He brings more than a decade of hands‑on experience in Web3 technologies. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrey-sirakov ▸ Bernie Niebsch, Enterprise Product Specialist, BVNK Bernie has 20 years in IT, with 14 in payments product management. Now based in Sofia, he has lived in Germany, Canada, Australia, and the UK. His extensive payments background spans consumer/business products, operations, risk, mobile, and APIs. LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/bernhard-niebsch ▸ Eduardo Morrison, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, Schuman Financial Eduardo Morrison is Co-Founder & Chief Business Officer at Schuman Financial, where he leads strategic partnerships and the ecosystem around EURØP. Active in digital assets since 2017, he was an early team member at IntoTheBlock and previously led institutional clients for Europe and Latin America at Binance. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eduardomorrison Chapters 00:00 Introduction 00:52 Where the demand for euro stablecoins is 03:08 How corporate clients view stablecoins 06:07 SEPA, SWIFT and the pain points of switching rails 08:36 Private and public rails: the role of banks 11:44 Use case: paying contractors across borders 13:05 Use case: stablecoins and tokenised money market funds 14:47 Security and compliance standards for banks 17:34 Safeguarding reserves, minting and redemption 19:21 Security as culture 20:56 B2B payments five years from now 24:44 Q&A: Is SWIFT being weaponised? Blockchain Week Bulgaria: https://www.blockchainweek.bg ETHSofia: https://www.ethsofia.com Future Finance Forum: https://www.blockchainweek.bg/f3 Follow Blockchain Week Bulgaria X: https://x.com/BWBulgaria LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blockchain-week-bulgaria Follow ETHSofia X: https://x.com/EthSofiaBG LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ethsofia Telegram: https://t.me/+b-33LJUpAB5iODNk Nothing in this video is financial advice. About the organiser Blockchain Week Bulgaria, ETHSofia and the Future Finance Forum are organised by the Bithope Foundation, founded in 2014 by Vladislav Dramaliev. Inspired by Andreas Antonopoulos, it is Europe's first non-profit operating exclusively with bitcoin donations. Over more than ten years, it has supported 50+ charitable campaigns, and in January 2016 it co-founded the Sofia Crypto Meetup, now the region's longest-running monthly crypto event. https://bithope.org

ETHSofia · Oct 6, 2026

With Vladimir Stratiev (DSK Bank, moderator), Tamara Schmidt (Digital Euro Association), Valentin Marinov, MD (Crédit Agricole CIB) and Bojidar Ibrishimov (WISER). Moderated by Vladimir Stratiev, the panel separates the consumer case for a digital euro, where Tamara Schmidt notes that cards and instant payments already work well, from the systemic case of sovereignty, monetary policy and access to public money. Valentin Marinov says the ECB mainly wants to defend sovereignty against foreign stablecoins, while Bojidar Ibrishimov notes that Visa, Mastercard and PayPal handle 61% of European payments. The speakers contrast online and offline models and explain holding limits as a guard against bank runs, with Schmidt arguing the digital euro would offer more privacy than cards but never cash-level anonymity. Closing pros and cons include Ibrishimov's estimate of 4 to 5 billion in implementation costs for banks and Marinov's worry that it could crowd out private payment providers. Panel at Future Finance Forum 2026, 25 September 2026, Sofia. Part of Blockchain Week Bulgaria 2026. Speakers ▸ Vladimir Stratiev, Engineering Manager, DSK Bank (moderator) Vladimir is a transformational engineering leader, who scales high-performing teams across fintech, aviation, and leading companies in the agri-tech and gaming markets. He specialises in regulated technology delivery, engineering excellence, and bridging technical execution with business impact. ▸ Tamara Schmidt, Executive Director, Digital Euro Association Tamara Ferreira Schmidt is Executive Director of the Digital Euro Association, with 15+ years in financial engineering and capital markets. She focuses on digital finance, CBDCs, and innovation, and speaks at leading international fintech and blockchain conferences. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamara-schmidt ▸ Valentin Marinov, MD, Head of G10 FX research, Crédit Agricole CIB Dr. Valentin Marinov heads G10 FX Research and UK Economics at Crédit Agricole CIB. Previously at Citi, Société Générale, and Dresdner Kleinwort, he is a leading FX strategist with a PhD in Finance and Economics from Goethe University and a Master’s degree in Economics from CEU/State University of New York. LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/valentin-marinov-b9a6b38 ▸ Bojidar Ibrishimov, VP Growth & Innovation, WISER Commercial strategist and transformation leader with deep expertise in AI, finance, and regulated markets. Trusted by business leaders across Europe and the GCC, he combines strategy, technology, and executive leadership to create opportunities, secure strategic partnerships, and move key initiatives from ambition to execution. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bojidar-ibrishimov-cfa-9223721a Chapters 00:00 Introduction 00:14 Opening: how money and payments are changing 02:04 What problem does the digital euro solve? 03:32 Who benefits: consumers, merchants and banks 05:27 Sovereignty and monetary policy 08:05 Europe's dependence on foreign payment networks 09:59 The biggest challenge: coordination 11:49 Can the digital euro offer cash-like privacy? 14:28 How it reaches users: wallets and holding limits 17:19 Anonymity versus privacy 20:07 Political decision or real problem? 22:43 One argument for and one against 27:06 Q&A: Is cash disappearing, and what about privacy? Blockchain Week Bulgaria: https://www.blockchainweek.bg ETHSofia: https://www.ethsofia.com Future Finance Forum: https://www.blockchainweek.bg/f3 Follow Blockchain Week Bulgaria X: https://x.com/BWBulgaria LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blockchain-week-bulgaria Follow ETHSofia X: https://x.com/EthSofiaBG LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ethsofia Telegram: https://t.me/+b-33LJUpAB5iODNk Nothing in this video is financial advice. About the organiser Blockchain Week Bulgaria, ETHSofia and the Future Finance Forum are organised by the Bithope Foundation, founded in 2014 by Vladislav Dramaliev. Inspired by Andreas Antonopoulos, it is Europe's first non-profit operating exclusively with bitcoin donations. Over more than ten years, it has supported 50+ charitable campaigns, and in January 2016 it co-founded the Sofia Crypto Meetup, now the region's longest-running monthly crypto event. https://bithope.org

Pedro Gomes

ETHGlobal · Sep 9, 2026

Pedro Gomes, Founder of WalletConnect, argues that crypto has optimized transactions without fully solving payments. Blockchains can move assets, but a useful payment system must also coordinate authorization, clearing, settlement, merchant acceptance and the exchange of goods or services. He contrasts crypto’s common push-payment model with card and bank systems that pull funds after authorization, explaining why a simple wallet transfer leaves merchants and consumers to manage timing, token, chain, and counterparty complexity themselves. He breaks a payment into distinct stages that crypto applications often collapse into a single transaction. Authorization determines whether a buyer and merchant can complete the exchange, clearing reconciles obligations and handles rules, and settlement moves final value. Card networks and bank payments coordinate these stages before funds are pulled. A blockchain transfer usually pushes funds immediately, which creates problems when the merchant cannot accept the asset, the amount changes, the wrong chain is selected, or goods are delivered before payment is confirmed. Gomes outlines a WalletConnect approach that abstracts those choices behind one integration and a familiar payment request. A universal connection layer can route across wallets, stablecoins, tokens, and chains while supporting authorization before final settlement. For merchants, stablecoin payments can reduce chargeback abuse and integration overhead; for users, they can remove the need to install a special app or understand network mechanics. The larger goal is to move crypto beyond speculation and trading toward products people use because they offer faster, simpler, globally portable money, not because the payment happens on a blockchain. WalletConnect’s distribution gives it a foundation for a neutral payment layer because the same connection standard already reaches many wallets and applications. Gomes describes payment requests that can identify acceptable assets, route value, and abstract settlement without forcing merchants to integrate every token and chain. Stablecoins add global, programmable money, while the payment layer supplies the missing commercial workflow. 00:00 Introduction to WalletConnect Payments 00:25 From Wallet Transactions to Payments 01:14 Crypto Infrastructure and Money Movement 01:36 Bitcoin Started With Payments 01:57 Why Transactions Are Not Payments 02:49 Payments Coordinate Two Parties 03:12 Authorization, Clearing, and Settlement 03:32 Merchant Authorization and Compatibility 03:53 Clearing Rules and Risk Assessment 04:35 Settlement as the Final Stage 04:57 Why Settlement Can Arrive Later 05:18 How Payment Requests Work 05:41 Pull Payments Versus Push Payments 06:21 Preauthorization Reduces Payment Friction 06:49 Merchant Risk and Escrow Problems 07:37 Stablecoins and Merchant Complexity 08:17 Merchants Want Their Local Currency 08:38 One Integration Across Tokens and Chains 09:00 WalletConnect Distribution and QR Codes 09:47 Lower Fees for Global Merchants 10:30 False Disputes and Merchant Losses 10:53 Use Any Wallet Without a New App 11:17 Pay With Preferred Tokens and Chains 11:59 Payments for Mainstream Adoption 12:18 Moving Beyond Trading and Speculation 13:08 SDKs for Wallets and Payment Companies 13:44 Closing the Payments Presentation _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇵🇹 *Pragma Lisbon 2026* Pragma Lisbon 2026 was held on June 25th at the Carlos Lopes Pavillion in Lisbon, Portugal and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Lisbon 2026 YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMxB4xW8JYdk ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Pedro Gomes X: https://x.com/pedrouid ✅ Follow WalletConnect X: https://x.com/WalletConnect ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city

ETHGlobal · Sep 9, 2026

Joao Alves, Co-Founder of Bleap, explains what it takes to build a retail bank onchain and why blockchain infrastructure can improve both product speed and global availability. He highlights permissionless deployment, global reach, direct settlement, and composability with existing DeFi building blocks. Compared with a traditional bank’s web of providers and proprietary APIs, an onchain product can combine wallets, swaps, yield, and payments more quickly, while still choosing carefully between custodial and unhosted architectures. Alves grounds the comparison in product decisions made while building Bleap. An unhosted wallet can reduce intermediary risk and connect to DeFi protocols directly, but the team still must solve account recovery, regulatory controls, card integration, fiat access, and support. Custodial systems can simplify some interactions while creating a different operational and trust model. He argues that builders should choose architecture based on the customer experience they want to deliver rather than treating custody as an ideological decision. Alves also examines the obstacles that determine whether these benefits reach everyday users. Fiat onramps, card top-up fees, fragmented liquidity, poor user experience, regulatory obligations, and thin markets for tokenized assets can erase the advantages of the underlying technology. He points to stablecoins and cross-border transfers as a strong near-term use case: payments that currently cost two to three percent and take a day can settle in seconds. The broader opportunity is to deliver familiar, low-friction banking products while letting users benefit from programmable assets and open financial infrastructure. He evaluates savings, payments, remittances, cards, and tokenized investments through a retail lens. Consumers will not accept paying two percent every time they add money, managing gas across several chains, or understanding bridges and chain mechanics. Stablecoins are valuable when the product hides those mechanics and delivers a clear improvement over existing services. Cross-border transfers between Portugal and Brazil illustrate the opportunity, while weekend pricing for tokenized stocks illustrates what still needs work. 00:00 Introduction to Retail Banking Onchain 00:28 Joao Alves and the Bleap Product 01:27 Global Expansion for Financial Apps 02:01 Noncustodial Deployment Advantages 02:23 Composability With DeFi Building Blocks 02:46 Open Finance Versus Vendor Contracts 03:16 Onchain Network Effects 04:03 Savings, Investing, and Payments Onchain 04:57 Custodial Versus Noncustodial Design 05:48 Regulatory Benefits of Unhosted Wallets 06:05 Efficient Settlement and Treasury Flows 06:28 Connecting Wallets to Swaps and Yield 06:42 Do Not Outsource Complexity to Users 07:05 Keys, Recovery, and Crypto Jargon 07:32 Hiding Chains, Gas, and Slippage 08:00 Account Abstraction and Paymasters 08:23 The Fiat Onramp Experience 08:41 Why Retail Users Reject Top-Up Fees 09:03 Bleap OTC and Stablecoin Conversion 09:23 Moving Beyond Tab-Based Wallet UX 10:10 Retail Banking Opportunities 10:33 DeFi Yield for Bank Deposits 11:17 Retail Demand for Better Savings Rates 12:03 Stablecoin Currency Coverage Gaps 12:41 The Instant Remittance Opportunity 13:09 Portugal and Brazil Transfer Costs 14:17 Tokenized Stocks and Global Markets 15:08 Licensing and Liquidity Barriers 15:50 Instant Merchant Payments 17:02 Blockchain Versus Card Networks 17:29 Closing Vision for Onchain Banking _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇵🇹 *Pragma Lisbon 2026* Pragma Lisbon 2026 was held on June 25th at the Carlos Lopes Pavillion in Lisbon, Portugal and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Lisbon 2026 YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMxB4xW8JYdk ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Joao Alves X: https://x.com/JoaoAlvesDotETH ✅ Follow Bleap X: https://x.com/BleapApp ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city

ETHGlobal · Aug 9, 2026

In this workshop at ETHGlobal New York 2026, Kim Luu and Eric Tesenair from Dynamic set hackers up for the weekend, introducing the team, the product, the prize tracks, hacker resources, and a live demo of the newest product, Fireblocks Flow. Kim, who recently joined Dynamic and Fireblocks in developer relations, explains that Dynamic was acquired by Fireblocks last October, so building with Dynamic means building on infrastructure backed by Fireblocks, through which about 15% of all global crypto and stablecoin transactions are secured and moved, giving projects real security and trust from the start, with customers like Kraken and Flutterwave. At its core, Dynamic provides non-custodial wallet infrastructure that scales, handling login, wallets, signing, and on-chain UX so builders integrate once and go straight to building, covering over 100 chains and 800+ wallets across EVM and non-EVM chains like Solana, Bitcoin, Sui, and Flow. Kim points to dynamic.xyz/docs and a hacker cheat sheet as the home base, stressing the one-click MCP install that drops Dynamic's docs into AI assistants like Cursor, Claude Code, and Codex so they write accurate code. She walks through around $10,000 in prizes across five tracks: best use of Flow ($3,000), best agent build, best on-chain app, best wallet glow up (the continuity track), and a best private nano payments app built jointly with Unlink and Arc using Circle. Eric then demos Fireblocks Flow, whose pitch is accept any crypto, settle in any stablecoin, with one SDK, using DeFi protocols (via LiFi under the hood) rather than acting as liquidity provider. He walks through three nearly identical flows: a merchant checkout (buying a 10-cent backstage pass, paying in ETH on Base settling to USDC), a deposit flow for apps like prediction markets or games, and a more complex withdrawal flow using Dynamic's embedded wallet product, connecting external wallets and exchanges like Kraken via native wallet providers. He shows both the SDK and API integration paths (create checkout, add transaction and buyer source with watchlist checks, get a quote, sign and broadcast, await settlement via webhooks), notes Flow supports most EVM chains plus Solana, Tron, and Bitcoin, and closes with Q&A on testnet limitations and building stablecoin-backed cards with providers like Rain. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Welcome to the Dynamic Workshop 00:39 The Plan for the Session 01:05 Meet the Dynamic Team 01:47 Acquired by Fireblocks 02:12 The Fintechs and Enterprises That Trust Dynamic 02:30 What Is Dynamic 02:42 Before and After Dynamic 03:07 Over 100 Chains and 800 Wallets 03:33 Your Home Base: The Docs and Cheat Sheet 03:54 Why to Install the MCP for Your Agent 04:22 The Prize Tracks and $10,000 in Prizes 04:47 Best Agent Build and On-Chain App 05:08 Best Wallet Glow Up and Nano Payments 05:38 What Fireblocks Flow Is 06:33 Handing Off to Eric for the Demo 06:40 Setting Up the Flow Demo 07:11 Why You Might Want to Use Your Meme Coins 07:33 The Three Flows Explained 08:49 The Checkout Flow 09:12 Connecting Wallets and Exchanges 10:04 How the Conversion Works Under the Hood 10:43 Integrating With the SDK 12:09 Integrating With the API 12:29 Webhooks and Out-of-the-Box Wallet Lists 12:48 The Deposit Flow 14:06 The Withdrawal Flow With Embedded Wallets 14:55 Why You Need an Embedded Wallet 15:35 Q&A: Which Chains Flow Supports 16:10 Q&A: Testing on Testnets 16:38 Q&A: Building Stablecoin-Backed Cards 18:44 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHGlobal New York 2026* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New York 2026, a 3-day hackathon held June 12-14 at the Metropolitan Pavilion, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal New York 2026 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh7MZ8T-ict6YshkFDw9WJCu _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Aug 9, 2026

In this workshop at ETHGlobal New York 2026, Meghna Mehta and Andrew Warner from Privy present updated interfaces for modern money management and movement, plus the hackathon bounties. Meghna, a product manager who came from mining and years at Coinbase, and Andrew, a forward deployed engineer and former Privy customer who started in finance at BlackRock, introduce Privy as secure, scalable wallet infrastructure that lets you spin up embedded wallets in applications or server-side payments infrastructure. Privy has over 2,000 applications and 120 million users and processes around $15 billion a month in stablecoin and native currency transfers. They highlight three recently launched products: deposit addresses, Privy Earn, and an agent CLI. Andrew details the agent CLI and its skill, which gives Claude and Codex agents complete access to Privy's SDKs and APIs to fund wallets, send transactions, and sign messages while the developer stays in the loop controlling funding and access. Agents authenticate into an embedded wallet through a short-lived, per-transaction ephemeral signing key that can be revoked anytime, with policies to prevent malicious behavior or draining. Meghna covers deposit addresses (launched two weeks earlier): persistent per-user EVM addresses that let anyone send any asset on any chain, automatically bridging and swapping to a single canonical token on a canonical chain with no KYC or verification flows and broad asset support. She then covers Privy Earn, a simplified interface to leading on-chain yield providers like Morpho, letting you deposit, withdraw, and track balances via a single API call, with spending out of the balance coming later. She frames Privy as building financial infrastructure where wallets are just a starting point. In a long Q&A, they share exciting builders (Deel's stablecoin accounts paying contractors in Argentina with yield via a Morpho vault, and Ramp's business accounts), discuss potentially integrating ENS for easier send destinations, custom Earn partnerships, and the technical side of their roughly 20-millisecond server-side signing latency (down from 100), achieved by moving from client-side key reconstitution to a secure AWS Nitro Enclave with websocket infrastructure, parallelized pre-checks, and global regional coverage. They also explain Shamir secret sharing (splitting keys into shards reconstituted in memory then destroyed) and a bring-your-own-cloud option for institutional customers, and note Privy supports over 40 EVM and SVM chains. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Meet Meghna and Andrew 00:56 What Is Privy 01:15 Privy by the Numbers 01:37 The Three Newly Launched Products 01:57 Introducing Privy Earn 02:22 The Agent CLI 02:44 How Agent Wallets Work 03:23 Staying in the Loop With Policies 03:47 Ephemeral Per-Transaction Signing Keys 04:06 How the Skill File Empowers Agents 04:26 Deposit Addresses Explained 04:41 Persistent Per-User Addresses 05:02 Automated Bridging and Swapping 05:23 No KYC and Universal Asset Support 05:54 Embedded Yield With Privy Earn 06:17 A Simplified Interface to Yield Providers 06:37 Deposit, Withdraw, and Track Balances 06:54 Why Wallets Are Just the Starting Point 07:17 Q&A: The Most Exciting Projects 08:01 How Deel Powers Global Stablecoin Accounts 09:05 How Ramp Uses Privy for Businesses 09:32 Q&A: Integrating ENS 10:38 Q&A: Custom Earn Integrations 11:19 Q&A: What the 20ms Latency Means 12:00 Moving to Server-Side Signing 12:39 What the 20 Milliseconds Covers 13:23 How Websockets and Enclaves Cut Latency 14:03 Global Regional Coverage 14:23 Q&A: Shamir Secret Sharing 15:42 How Key Shards Are Reconstituted 16:06 Bring Your Own Cloud for Key Storage 16:28 Q&A: How Many Chains Are Supported 17:36 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHGlobal New York 2026* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New York 2026, a 3-day hackathon held June 12-14 at the Metropolitan Pavilion, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal New York 2026 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh7MZ8T-ict6YshkFDw9WJCu _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Kevin Jones

ETHGlobal · Aug 9, 2026

In this workshop at ETHGlobal New York 2026, Kevin Jones from BuidlGuidl walks hackers through building on Ethereum in the AI era, tying together the tools and best practices that let developers learn and ship faster. Having worked in the Ethereum ecosystem for about six years alongside Austin Griffith and the Ethereum Foundation, he surveys what BuidlGuidl has produced for developer education and tooling. He gives a tour of SpeedRun Ethereum, the challenge-based curriculum that teaches core concepts through hands-on modules: minting an NFT, crowdfunding and staking, ERC-20 tokens and the approve pattern, a dice game on on-chain randomness, building a DEX with liquidity pools, oracles, overcollateralized lending, stablecoins, prediction markets, and zero knowledge, plus capture-the-flag security events and a new AI-guided learning mode. He also covers other BuidlGuidl products including Scaffold-ETH, ABI Ninja, Address Vision, and its full node client. Kevin then dives into AI-era building. He explains x402 (Coinbase's extension of the HTTP 402 status code) as a way to token-gate any API with an onchain payment instead of API keys, noting his work at Edge & Node (creators of The Graph) on a wallet that makes and accepts x402 payments with guardrails. He highlights ETH skills, an open source skill file encoding Ethereum best practices for editors like Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex, and ERC-8004, a registry giving AI agents a long-lived onchain reputation (with Agent0's SDK and a subgraph for querying agents). He shares his AI coding workflow: ideate in Claude Desktop to generate a prompt, bootstrap in Claude Code, then move to Cursor to review diffs. He runs a live Scaffold-ETH demo, spinning up a project with two commands, explaining the Hardhat and Next.js monorepo, burner wallet, auto-generated ABI-driven debug UI, hooks, and components (ENS resolution, balance checkers), then vibe-codes a basketball NFT contract that deploys and mints a LeBron card. He closes on OneClaw, his spotlight secrets-management platform storing keys in a Google Cloud HSM with multi-party computation, an LLM proxy running in a TEE that inspects prompts for injection and redacts secrets, and intent-based signing with guardrails so an agent can use a key that never leaves hardware, followed by Q&A. 00:00 Introduction 00:13 Nostalgia for ETHGlobal New York 00:32 About Kevin and BuidlGuidl 01:00 Why AI Accelerates Learning and Building 02:15 Introducing SpeedRun Ethereum 02:46 Scaffold-ETH as a Starter Kit 03:45 A Walk Through SpeedRun Challenges 04:40 ERC-20 Tokens and the Approve Pattern 05:09 The Dice Game and On-Chain Randomness 05:35 Building a DEX and Liquidity Pools 06:20 Oracles and Overcollateralized Lending 07:13 Stablecoins and Prediction Markets 08:28 Learning Zero Knowledge 08:58 The Tech Tree and Capture the Flag 10:15 The New AI-Guided Learning Mode 11:06 What Is x402 11:31 How x402 Token-Gates APIs 12:56 Building on x402 With Edge & Node 13:44 ETH Skills for Your Editor 15:06 ERC-8004: A Registry for AI Agents 16:05 Building Agent Reputation 16:42 Agent0 and the Subgraph 18:28 Kevin's AI Coding Workflow 19:12 Starting Ideation in Claude Desktop 21:18 Generating a Prompt for Claude Code 23:36 Moving to Cursor to Review Diffs 24:39 Starting a Scaffold-ETH Project 26:22 Choosing Hardhat or Foundry 29:18 Agent, Plan, and Ask Modes 30:45 Inside the Scaffold-ETH Monorepo 31:36 The AI-Friendly Files and MCP Server 34:00 The Burner Wallet and Debug UI 35:00 How the ABI Powers the Front End 35:58 Vibe-Coding a Basketball NFT Contract 40:19 Minting a LeBron NFT 41:27 The BuidlGuidl Full Node Client 42:20 Introducing OneClaw Secrets Management 43:18 The LLM Proxy in a TEE 44:36 Intent-Based Signing With Guardrails 45:39 Embedded Wallets, MCP, and SDK 46:30 Q&A: Signing Latency 47:49 Q&A: Git Integration for Agents 49:12 Q&A: How ERC-8004 Reputation Works 52:44 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHGlobal New York 2026* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New York 2026, a 3-day hackathon held June 12-14 at the Metropolitan Pavilion, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal New York 2026 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh7MZ8T-ict6YshkFDw9WJCu _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Kevin Jones

ETHGlobal · Aug 9, 2026

In this workshop at ETHGlobal Lisbon 2026, Kevin Jones from BuidlGuidl (who also works at Edge & Node on The Graph protocol and supports the Ethereum Foundation) walks through building apps on Ethereum in the AI era, covering the key tools and then live-building an app. He introduces BuidlGuidl, created by Austin Griffith, and its flagship learning product SpeedRun Ethereum, a set of challenges that validate your understanding of the protocol across NFTs, crowdfunding, the token vendor and ERC-20 patterns, on-chain randomness and oracles, building a DEX with liquidity pools, oracles, over-collateralized lending (like Aave) and liquidations, stablecoins, and newer guides on prediction markets and ZK voting, plus capture-the-flag events and the ETH tech tree. He then covers Scaffold-ETH, the starter kit that was his own introduction to Ethereum, now launchable with a single command (npx create-eth) that bootstraps a full dApp: smart contract, local chain, and a Next.js front end with pre-written components and hooks, all wired together and made AI-friendly by default. Kevin highlights ETH skills (at ethskills.com), an open source collection of Ethereum best-practice skill files (for smart contracts, code reviews, censorship resistance, privacy, and more) that you add to your coding agent so it builds the best app it can. He live-demos scaffolding a project called Lisbon, explaining the choice between Foundry and Hardhat, splitting the terminal into windows for the chain, front end, and deploys, and how the yarn commands and pre-written scripts simplify setup. He shows how Scaffold-ETH parses the deployed contract's ABI into front-end types and an auto-generated debug UI, plus a built-in burner wallet and faucet that avoid MetaMask nonce issues on a local chain. He debugs a dependency error live (recommending copying the error to the AI and using Opus 4.6 for prototyping), then vibe-codes the starter contract into a basic lottery, showing how the bundled .agents, .claude, and .cursor skill folders automatically load BuidlGuidl's best practices (contributed by members like Carlos) so the agent adds ownable, a reentrancy guard, buy-ticket and pick-winner functions, and updates the front end. He tours reusable components (ENS resolution, address inputs, balance and ether inputs) and read and write hooks, and closes with Q&A on ETH skills folders, simulating time on a local chain, and testing in Foundry versus Hardhat. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Meet Kevin and His Workshops 00:30 Building on Ethereum in the AI Era 00:48 Who Has Used Scaffold-ETH 01:07 Introducing BuidlGuidl and SpeedRun Ethereum 01:56 The Token Vendor and ERC-20 Patterns 02:18 Randomness and Oracles 02:31 Building a DEX and Liquidity Pools 02:48 Over-Collateralized Lending and Liquidations 03:30 Stablecoins, Prediction Markets, and ZK Voting 03:50 Capture the Flag and the ETH Tech Tree 04:14 What Scaffold-ETH Is 04:44 One Command to Bootstrap a dApp 05:24 Introducing ETH Skills 06:17 A Tour of Scaffold-ETH and the Docs 07:12 Why the Pre-Written Front End Helps 07:44 Starting the Project With create-eth 08:29 Choosing Foundry or Hardhat 09:27 Splitting Your Terminal Into Windows 10:09 Why Kevin Uses Cursor 10:33 The Commands to Get Set Up 10:58 Starting the Local Chain 12:04 Deploying the Starter Contract 12:54 How the ABI Powers the Front End 13:47 Loading Up Scaffold-ETH 14:14 Debugging an Error With AI 15:40 The Built-In Burner Wallet and Faucet 16:13 The Debug Contracts Tab 17:05 The Chain Folder and Skill Files 17:57 How the Bundled Skills Work 18:40 Best Practices From the BuidlGuidl Team 19:24 Vibe-Coding a Lottery Contract 20:13 Deploying the AI-Written Changes 20:37 Updating the Front End 20:55 Q&A: Where to Find ETH Skills 21:49 A Tour of the Reusable Components 22:38 The Read and Write Hooks 23:58 Testing the Lottery Page 24:52 Q&A: Testing in Foundry vs Hardhat 25:34 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇵🇹 *ETHGlobal Lisbon 2026* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal Lisbon 2026, a 3-day hackathon held July 24-26 at the Carlos Lopes Pavillion, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal Lisbon 2026 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWgAODGnD_is _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Matt Sheffield, CIO of SharpLink, sits down with Robbie Mitchnick, Global Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock, to discuss institutional Ethereum adoption, ETFs, tokenization, and the future of finance. Matt opens by describing SharpLink's strategy of putting roughly $3 billion of Ethereum onto a public company balance sheet last year and progressively moving it onchain. Robbie explains BlackRock's deliberate approach to crypto ETFs, with IBIT for Bitcoin and ETHA for Ethereum, noting the high bar that includes asset maturity, market cap, liquidity, product market fit, and the conviction that an asset belongs in client portfolios on a long term fundamental basis. He emphasizes that Bitcoin sits in category one, Bitcoin plus ETH sits in category two, and there is a meaningful breakpoint after that. The conversation digs into why TradFi firms prefer Ethereum over newer programmable L1s, citing time tested maturity, network effects, and Ethereum's incumbency. Matt argues that Ethereum gets chosen on merit rather than economic incentives, which builds trust with the community. Robbie details BlackRock's launch of ETHB as a staking focused product alongside ETHA for liquidity sensitive investors, reaching half a billion in AUM out of the gate. They discuss why tokenized money market funds have been the breakthrough tokenization category at over 10 billion dollars (including BUIDL), since they break the historical tradeoff between full US Treasury yield and perfect liquidity when paired with stablecoins. Matt outlines SharpLink's onchain allocations including a $200 million LRT deployment, bridging to Linea, and a $125 million private fund with Galaxy. Robbie shares BlackRock's four pillar tokenization framework around asset class focus, custody, regulation, and exchange listing. They close by discussing agentic finance and the intersection of AI and digital assets as the most exciting theme for the next 5 to 10 years. 00:00 Introductions 01:21 Why BlackRock Launched IBIT and ETHA but Paused After 02:23 The High Bar for an iShares Crypto Product 02:57 Bitcoin Category One, Bitcoin and ETH Category Two 03:22 Why TradFi Prefers Mature, Battle Tested Assets 04:24 Network Effects and Ethereum's Incumbency Advantage 05:12 SharpLink's Inflection Point: Stability Over Headline Chasing 06:25 Picking Ethereum on Merit, Not Economics 07:02 Utilization Without Economic Incentive as a Signal 07:42 Why BlackRock Created ETHB Separately for Staking 08:49 Catering to Liquidity Sensitive vs Yield Focused Investors 09:32 No Switching Between ETHA and ETHB 09:53 The Impact of Crypto ETFs on Industry Access 10:14 Why Tokenized Money Market Funds Came First 11:02 Breaking the Yield vs Liquidity Tradeoff 12:00 BUIDL and the 10 Billion Dollar Tokenized MMF Category 13:06 What Needs to Happen for Ethereum to Stay the Tokenization Hub 13:50 Liquidity Begets Liquidity: Ethereum's Pole Position 14:10 RWAs Need to Become More Valuable Onchain Than Off 14:55 Tokenized Stock Loans and the GameStop Example 15:35 Only 0.1% of Global Assets Are Tokenized 15:57 SharpLink's Onchain Deployments and Regulatory Process 17:02 Building Infrastructure While Pioneering Each Deployment 17:51 BlackRock's Four Pillar Tokenization Framework 18:46 Why Money Market Funds Became the Coalescence Point 19:14 The Race Between TradFi and Crypto Exchanges 20:04 Custody Hurdles for Institutional Adoption 20:58 Regulatory Clarity vs Tokenization Specific Rules 21:23 The iShares Tokenization Opportunity 21:46 Looking Ahead: Agentic Finance That Adds Value 22:16 The AI as Guardian Angel for Onchain Transactions 23:31 Ethereum's Immutability and Agentic Payments 23:58 AI Plus Digital Assets as the Defining Intersection 24:22 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Elizabeth Peng, COO of Celo Corp (the merged entity of Celo Labs and the Celo Foundation), positions Celo as the number one blockchain for stablecoin payments, built since its Earth Day 2020 launch to create conditions of prosperity for all. She walks through Celo's journey of being EVM compatible L1 to becoming an Ethereum L2 while preserving full network state, and highlights its early differentiators that are now table stakes elsewhere: paying gas with multiple ERC-20 tokens including native USDC and USDT, ultra low gas fees, mobile first design, and multicurrency support. The chain has processed over 1.3 billion transactions, has 600,000 daily active users with verifiable phone numbers, $263 million in TVS, and just hit a peak $6.2 billion in monthly stablecoin trading volume. Liz details Celo's emerging markets product market fit, supporting 25+ stablecoins ranging from US dollar denominations to local currencies like Kenyan shilling, Nigerian Naira, Philippine peso, and Colombian peso. Celo is the number one chain for Tether's USDT with 5 million weekly active users (ahead of Tron's 3 million), and leads tokenized gold with 100,000+ XAUT holders, with over 90% of XAUT's growth coming from Celo. She previews USAT, Tether's new Genius Act compliant stablecoin issued by Anchorage, coming to Celo as the second chain after Ethereum. The Opera Mini Pay partnership has activated 15 million wallets across 60+ countries with 430 million lifetime transactions and 80 million more users coming online to redeem browser points onchain. Liz also covers the Self privacy protocol using biometric IDs and ZK proofs (recently acquired Linum, now led by former Uber AI head Burju Shaw), the Updown perps DEX targeting the $7.5 trillion FX market, and Celo's tokenomics overhaul driving record chain revenue of $18,000 in a single day. She closes with the regional DAO network spanning Latin America, Europe, Arabia, Africa, Thailand, Korea, Philippines, and India that keeps the ecosystem decentralized and accountable. 00:00 Introduction 00:31 Building the Future, Not Just Prototyping It 01:17 What Is Celo 01:38 Celo's Mission and Origins 01:59 Early Innovations: Multi Token Gas, Mobile First, Multicurrency 02:41 Partners: Tether, Circle, Opera 03:01 Network Stats: 1.3 Billion Transactions 03:27 $6.2 Billion in Monthly Stablecoin Volume 03:56 The Vision: Global Venmo for Crypto 04:00 25+ Stablecoins in Local Currencies 04:30 #1 Chain for USDT with 5 Million Weekly Active Users 05:32 Leading Tether Gold and Tokenized Commodities 06:21 USAT Coming to Celo Second After Ethereum 06:53 Mini Pay Gold Use Cases and Cashback 07:14 Opera Mini Pay: 15 Million Activated Wallets 07:59 Regional Road Shows and Opera Partnership Extension 08:49 Updown: Onchain FX Targeting $7.5 Trillion Opportunity 09:23 Self: Privacy Protocol with Biometric ZK Proofs 10:20 Google Cloud Partnership and Boosted Yields 10:49 Self Acquires Linum, Burju Shaw From Uber AI 11:23 Mind Share and Industry Recognition 12:17 Top 5 Chain for Agent Activity on ERC-7804 Registry 12:41 Industry Praise: Vitalik, Bankless, Super Chain 13:06 The L2 Migration Playbook 13:38 Record $18,000 Chain Revenue Day 14:04 Block Space Business Is Alive 14:04 Regional DAO Network Around the World 14:47 Full Ecosystem of 1,000+ Projects in 150+ Countries 15:24 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Kartik Talwar

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Kartik Talwar sits down with Nemil Dalal, visiting partner at Y Combinator and former head of Coinbase's developer platform, to discuss the early days of USDC, the current state of crypto startups, and what YC is looking for from founders. Nemil walks through how he spent seven years at Coinbase leading USDC from launch in 2018, when many in crypto circles thought stablecoins were the wrong vision and Bitcoin should replace everything. He pushed against two early strategies that didn't fit Coinbase's positioning as a US based regulated company: chasing high yield Asian markets where Tether dominated, and selling to banks that only knew about Bitcoin and saw stablecoins as a beta dollar. The breakthrough insight was bootstrapping DeFi adoption through the USDC Bootstrap Fund, deploying capital into Uniswap, Aave (then EthLend), DyDx, and other early protocols. Nemil shares how YC funds about 100 crypto startups today and expects to 10x that in the next decade, since crypto is moving from a niche DGen product to something most Americans will use without realizing. He outlines what YC is excited about: stablecoins and the businesses built on top, tokenized assets including equities and debt, and AI plus crypto including X2X (which Nemil's team launched at Coinbase). He shares his controversial view that founders should launch fewer tokens, since most are incentive tokens that act like marketing schemes attracting mercenary users and worsening UX, while reserving tokens for L1s, L2s, and DeFi protocols where decentralization is genuinely core to the product. On regulation, he tells the story of Coshi spending three years suing the CFTC and winning, framing regulation as either go regulation forward and specialize per country, or follow the Binance playbook offshore first. He closes urging founders to combine crypto with AI thoughtfully and pointing to the rolling YC application deadline. 00:00 Introduction 00:08 Nemil's Background and Homecoming to Ethereum 01:08 Launching USDC at Coinbase in 2018 02:26 Why Stablecoins Were Controversial in Crypto Circles 02:41 Two Bad Early Strategies: Asia Yield and Banks 03:41 The Breakthrough: Bootstrapping DeFi 03:58 Maker DAO, Compound, and Early DeFi Signals 04:23 Launching the USDC Bootstrap Fund 05:10 Nemil's Role as Visiting Partner at Y Combinator 05:38 What YC Offers Founders 06:20 Funding 100+ Crypto Startups and 10x'ing the Pace 07:00 Why Bear Markets Are the Best Time to Build 07:32 Tourists vs Real Builders 07:50 Why ETH Global Hackathon Attendance Correlates Inversely with Price 08:46 What YC Is Looking to Fund in 2026 09:04 Stablecoins and Stablecoin Neo Banks 09:51 Tokenized Stocks, Debt, Equity, and Emerging Markets 10:12 X2X and the AI Plus Crypto Opportunity 10:50 Agentic Finance May Be Agnostic to Crypto vs Credit Cards 11:33 YC's Mindset: Make Something People Want 12:14 Where Is the Saturated Space in Crypto Startups 12:38 Common Patterns: Dev Tools, On Off Ramps, Wallets 13:08 Prediction Markets and Crypto as Core Stack 13:25 Should Founders Launch a Token 14:10 Incentive Tokens as a Marketing Scheme 14:48 Tokens Often Hurt User Experience 15:19 Where Tokens Genuinely Make Sense: L1s, L2s, DeFi 16:05 Solving Pain Points, Not Decentralizing for Its Own Sake 16:36 How Founders Should Think About Regulation 17:01 The Coshi Story: Suing the CFTC and Winning 17:39 Regulation Forward vs Binance Playbook 18:43 Onshore vs Offshore Based on Product Type 19:00 How to Apply to YC and Reach Nemil 19:35 The Magic of Crypto and AI Coming Together 20:33 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Camila Russo from The Defiant sits down with Hayden Adams, founder of Uniswap, to discuss the current state of DeFi, the recent Unification proposal, regulation, RWAs, perps, and what's next for Uniswap V4. Hayden frames the current moment as a pivotal one where DeFi is being integrated into mainstream finance through Coinbase, Robinhood, Deel, and traditional fintechs, while simultaneously facing a wave of security exploits driven by smarter AI tooling like Claude finding vulnerabilities in poorly written contracts. He sleeps well at night because Uniswap V3 underwent nine consecutive audits with a $15 million bounty, processes over a trillion dollars per year, and has never been exploited. He argues AI tooling will ultimately harden DeFi contracts to a far greater extent, and the projects that survive will be the ones that removed off chain dependencies and single points of failure. Hayden discusses the Unification proposal approved in December that consolidated foundation work into Labs and gradually rolled out fee switches, including a recent all time high single day burn of 186,000 UNI (about $500K) with V4 fees still not yet activated. He acknowledges the UNI token price disconnect from the burn but attributes this to general crypto market correlation, expecting fundamental value to assert itself over time. On regulation, Hayden explains how the shift from the Gensler era of regulation by enforcement has already done much of the work by removing the chilling effect, and the BRCA software developer protections are the key piece he'd want enshrined in any market structure bill. He outlines how Uniswap fits into RWAs and tokenization through the internet analogy (existing assets going onchain plus crypto native assets), differentiates Uniswap's neutral spot infrastructure approach from Hyperliquid's exchange as a product approach, and previews V4 hooks being built internally to optimize for stablecoins (where Uniswap has overtaken Curve as the dominant venue), yield bearing assets, RWAs, and volatile assets, plus a focus on issuer side tools and developer API integrations. 00:00 Introduction 00:08 DeFi at a Pivotal Mainstream Adoption Moment 01:35 Why Exploits Are Surging: AI Tooling Finds Bugs 02:22 Test in Production Mentality Doesn't Work Anymore 02:46 How V3 Survived: Nine Audits and a $15M Bounty 03:31 Launching a New Version Like Launching a Rocket 03:53 DeFi Ultimately Enables Safer Applications 04:24 Off Twitter, Adoption Is the Best It's Ever Been 05:15 DeFi Will Come Out Stronger From This Stress Test 06:29 The Unification Proposal Six Months In 07:38 Gradual Fee Switch Rollout and Sensitivity Testing 08:18 All Time High Single Day Burn of 186,000 UNI 09:00 The UNI Token Price Disconnect From Burn 10:39 Fundamental Value Will Assert Itself Over Time 10:56 Regulation: From Gensler Era to New Posture 11:53 The Chilling Effect That Held Back Integration 13:14 BRCA and Software Developer _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Ansgar Dietrichs

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Ansgar Dietrichs from the Ethereum Foundation, who has been in Ethereum core research for seven years, currently leads scaling work and co-leads the Okodas governance process, shares personal reflections on Ethereum's role in what he calls the decade of adoption. He frames the first 10 years of blockchains (2014 to 2024) as the infrastructure era requiring countless zero to ones across wallets, transaction supply chains, and the entire tech stack. He argues 2024 marked the ChatGPT equivalent moment for crypto, but unlike AI's single inflection point, it was a perfect storm of the tech stack reaching maturity, the US regulatory environment shifting from open hostility to a friendly stance, and stablecoins finally hitting product market fit beyond crypto native use cases. Ansgar contrasts two possible futures for crypto. The bad outcome is a fragmented world of independent chains (general purpose, app chains, privacy chains, permissioned chains) all linked by brittle custom bridges that have repeatedly failed and require each user to reason about every chain's security model independently. Ethereum's answer is a singular foundational framework that embraces all that customization but routes everything back to a shared settlement layer, enabling trustless interoperability between any pair of chains or assets, propagated security guarantees from Ethereum L1, full customizability at each layer, a single entry point for users, and ETH as the one native asset across the onchain economy. He explains the EF's pivot toward being one node among many ecosystem stewards rather than the center of Ethereum, then defends Ethereum's values as deeply practical rather than overly ideological. He cites security through redundancy across 10+ Ethereum clients being especially crucial during the coming AI driven cyber security arms race, Ethereum's principled postquantum planning while other chains scramble, and neutrality and strategic reliability under what he calls the Amazon test: would a big tech company comfortable trust putting its business flows on Ethereum knowing it could never be rugged. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Ansgar's Background at the Ethereum Foundation 00:52 Why ETHCom Is Emblematic of a New Time Period 01:16 The First Decade of Blockchains: 2014 to 2024 02:11 The ChatGPT Moment for Crypto 02:41 Three Forces: Tech, Regulation, and Stablecoins 03:24 Entering the Decade of Adoption 03:48 The Bad Outcome: A Fragmented Future 04:51 Why Brittle Bridges Are the Bigger Problem 05:41 Ethereum's Answer: A Singular Foundational Framework 06:18 Why a Shared Settlement Layer Wins 06:47 Trustless Interoperability Across All Chains 07:35 Aspirational Today, Priority for Adoption Era 07:57 Propagating Ethereum's Security Guarantees 08:31 Full Customizability with Ethereum as Entry Point 09:12 ETH as the Native Asset of the Onchain Economy 09:43 The EF as One Node Among Many Stewards 10:48 Embracing the Ethereum Way of Decentralization 11:52 Why Ethereum's Values Are Misunderstood 12:11 Why Principled Equals Practical 12:34 Security: 10 Clients and 100% Uptime 13:03 The Coming AI Cybersecurity Arms Race 13:52 Quantum Resistance and the Beam Chain 14:54 Neutrality and Credible Neutrality 15:23 Why Censorship Resistance Matters for Institutions 16:31 Strategic Reliability and the Amazon Test 17:58 Useful Across the Spectrum 18:29 The Four Step Plan for Ethereum 19:51 Closing: Ethereum's Best Time Is Yet to Come _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Shannon Corless, former Treasury Department official, interviews Ruben Amenyogbo, founder and CEO of Architect, a Swiss regulated global investment firm active in digital assets since 2017 with backings including Kiki, Privy, Worldcoin, and Zama. Ruben opens by explaining why Architect made the deliberate choice to be licensed rather than unregulated, framing it as both strategic and economic. Strategically, most of the world's capital sits behind regulated walls (large pension funds, endowments, insurance companies), and those institutions can only face regulated counterparties. Economically, an institutional grade setup commands a higher price point and management fees than offshore prop shops can charge. Ruben walks through the reality of billion dollar institutional due diligence, describing the structured progression from informal team conversations through deep diligence on business continuity planning, deputization, reserves, and insurance against long tail risks. On AML and compliance, he distinguishes firms that structure around compliance from those that structure within it, advocating for KYC at both capital formation level (knowing who is investing in the vault) and market level (ensuring capital isn't commingled with illicit assets when flowing into the market). On the geopolitical question of whether dollar backed stablecoins extend or erode US dominance, Ruben notes that while 95% plus of stablecoin flows are USD denominated, the fact that assets are dollar pegged does not mean the rails serve US interests, which is why figures like Jamie Dimon have publicly called out Brian Armstrong. He explains Architect's relocation to Switzerland during the Gensler era due to hostile regulatory conditions in the US. He closes with his three wave thesis: continued education and proof of concepts now, competitive dynamics among asset managers next, and osmosis bringing the largest balance sheets last, urging builders to avoid shortcuts that would compromise their reputations with institutional diligence teams. 00:00 Introduction 00:31 About Ruben and Architect 01:19 Why Architect Chose to Be Regulated 02:27 Strategic Reasoning: Capital Behind Regulated Walls 03:23 Economic Reasoning: Institutional Cost Base and Fees 03:50 What a Billion Dollar Due Diligence Process Looks Like 04:52 The Shift From Foreplay to Deep Diligence 05:20 Questions Cryptonative Founders Don't See Coming 06:24 AML, Sanctions, and Source of Funds as the Real Objection 06:47 The Two Levels of KYC 07:14 Structuring Around vs Within Compliance 08:02 KYC at the Capital Formation Level 08:22 KYC at the Market Level and Commingling Risk 09:16 Risk Management as a Risk Adjusted Returns Function 09:41 Mapping the Universe of Risk 10:14 Tools, Policies, and Screening Partners 10:51 Does Crypto Extend or Erode US Dollar Dominance 11:49 Stablecoin Flows Are 95% Plus USD Denominated 12:18 Who Controls the Rails Is the Contested Question 13:00 Capital Pools and the Politicization of Asset Management 14:00 Why Architect Incorporated in Switzerland 14:48 Operating Out of Palo Alto During the Gensler Era 15:19 The Global Mandate and Distributed Team 15:51 What Grown Up Looks Like for Digital Assets 16:26 The First Wave: Continued Education 17:02 BlackRock Bitcoin ETF and Securitize as Proof Points 17:33 Competitive Dynamics Among Large Asset Managers 18:07 Osmosis at the Allocator Level 18:54 What Five Year Winners Will Have Built 19:32 Avoiding Shortcuts That Get You on Treasury's Radar 20:00 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Tim Beiko

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Tim Beiko, who spent eight years on Ethereum core protocol R&D coordinating major network upgrades like EIP-1559 and The Merge, presents his thesis on how Ethereum can evolve from being "unreasonably sufficient" to becoming "reasonably necessary" infrastructure for the world. He explains that the question keeping him up at night for years was whether Ethereum could scale to planetary infrastructure without compromising its core properties, and with zero knowledge proofs and data availability sampling now in production, that question has been answered. The harder question now is what Ethereum should actually be used for. Tim argues that for Ethereum to truly succeed, it must provide things the world genuinely needs that cannot be obtained elsewhere, and those things must depend on Ethereum's unique properties of permissionlessness, immutability, censorship resistance, and decentralization. He contrasts two possible outcomes: The Pirate Bay as a cautionary tale of useful technology that became niche versus TSMC as the level of strategic importance to aim for. He identifies three core affordances that Ethereum uniquely provides: durable commitments across jurisdictions and time, canonical uniqueness through globally consistent state, and programmable trust as a dial rather than binary gate. He uses flash loans as a proof point of financial primitives impossible elsewhere, and suggests prediction markets becoming composable risk infrastructure as one possible frontier. He closes by announcing his focus is shifting from protocol work to finding the applications that deserve to run on Ethereum at planetary scale. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Background and Ethereum's Special Properties 00:54 Unreasonable Sufficiency: Simple Protocols, Complex Results 01:19 The New Question: What Should Ethereum Be Used For 02:24 Why Ethereum Must Provide What the World Needs 03:28 Cautionary Tale: The Pirate Bay vs Strategic Goal: TSMC 04:34 Why Apps Must Depend on Ethereum, Not Just Run on It 05:33 Why DeFi and L2s Are Foundations, Not Final Answers 06:55 The Bar for Reasonably Necessary Territory 07:49 Three Core Affordances Ethereum Uniquely Provides 08:32 Durable Commitments Across Time and Context 09:13 Canonical Uniqueness and Double Spend Prevention 10:04 Programmable Trust as a Dial, Not a Binary Gate 10:54 Settlement Physics and Flash Loans as Proof 12:18 Prediction Markets as Composable Risk Infrastructure 13:18 AI Agents and Onchain Trust at Machine Speed 13:52 The Foundation Is Already in Place 14:31 Tim's Next Chapter: From Protocol to Applications 15:08 Closing: Becoming Reasonably Necessary _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Stani Kulechov

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave, frames credit as the last great frontier of the internet revolution and explains why Ethereum is uniquely positioned to solve it. Drawing on his pre-Aave experience running a fintech startup focused on receivables, Stani argues that while the internet transformed information, commerce, and communications into global systems, credit remains stubbornly local due to coordination problems across lenders, borrowers, intermediaries, localized regulation, and siloed capital. This fragmentation creates capital inefficiencies, regional interest rate discrepancies, and lost opportunities, particularly relevant today as credit historically backed industrial revolutions and will fund the next wave of AI, data centers, and infrastructure. Stani positions Ethereum as the connecting tissue and operating system that replaces manual, layered cost structures with programmable, automated infrastructure offering full transparency and execution certainty. He shares Aave's traction: over 1 trillion in cumulative loans, 3.5 trillion in cumulative deposits, and a peak of 75 billion in net deposits, proving Ethereum can support institutional scale. He explains how Aave V4's modular architecture solves the central tension between capital efficiency and risk isolation, allowing shared liquidity across pools while maintaining risk controls per market. He highlights tokenization unlocking utility for real world assets through DeFi, the bootstrapping advantages of shared pools, and the Wabi e-commerce integration as proof that fintechs and asset issuers are already moving onchain. Stani closes by predicting that the lowest cost of capital will increasingly come from DeFi as a global liquidity aggregator. 00:00 Introduction 00:08 From Fintech Receivables to Building on Ethereum 01:07 How the Internet Transformed Everything Except Credit 02:22 The Coordination Problem in Credit Markets 03:22 Regional Interest Rate Discrepancies and Capital Inefficiencies 04:41 Ethereum as the Connecting Tissue for Finance 05:21 Credit as the Backbone of Industrial Revolutions 06:40 Replacing Manual Cost Structures with Programmable Infrastructure 08:15 Pricing Risk and Reward Across End to End Markets 09:15 Aave by the Numbers: 1 Trillion in Cumulative Loans 10:27 What Works for Crypto Assets Will Work for All Finance 10:54 The Pool Model and Network Effects 11:26 Capital Efficiency vs Risk Isolation Tradeoff 12:25 Aave V4: Shared Liquidity with Isolated Risk 13:24 Solving the Bootstrapping Problem for RWAs 14:34 Tokenization Plus DeFi Utility 15:40 Why DeFi Will Offer the Lowest Cost of Capital 16:44 Wabi E-commerce Integration Case Study 17:21 Modular Infrastructure for All Asset Types 17:45 Borrowing Against Securities and Stocks Onchain 18:16 Funding the Future: AI, Data Centers, Solar Energy 19:19 Closing Remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Young Kim from BitMine presents the case for why Ethereum is positioned at the center of finance and agentic AI. Drawing on his background as an MIT-trained engineer turned institutional investor managing emerging markets capital for over two decades, Young frames his analysis around two questions: does the technology work, and does it make money? He argues Ethereum's answer to both is now yes, pointing to factors that could break ETH out of its four to five year price consolidation range, including the winding down of the Iran war and falling oil prices, the pending Clarity Act with 56% odds on Polymarket, a crypto friendly administration with positive implications for US dollar policy, and favorable US demographics. Young explains how the impossible trinity in international finance is forcing countries that watch their citizens flee inflation through USD stablecoins (Argentina at 74% annual inflation, Turkey at 94% deposit deflation) to either ban crypto or launch their own stablecoins, extending US dollar dominance into the digital realm. He outlines three structural drivers of ETH demand: agentic AI and robots that will need money on rails better suited than traditional ones (citing Xiaomi's dark factory producing one smartphone per second), Wall Street tokenization of 300 trillion in assets, and Ethereum as a monetary unit for compute and energy. He covers the Ethereum Foundation's evolving role, noting EF holdings dropped from 17% to 0.1% while Ethereum treasury companies including BitMine now hold around 7% collectively generating roughly 500 million in annual yield. He closes with BitMine updates: investments in Tools for Humanity behind Worldcoin, the launch of Maven as the world's largest single staking operation with 154 billion staked, the MrBeast investment positioning for Gen Z and Gen Alpha financial services, the NYSE big board uplisting, and pending inclusion in the Russell index. 00:00 Introduction and Background 00:38 Two Questions: Does the Tech Work and Does It Make Money 01:33 ETH Price Consolidation and the Coming Breakout 02:02 The Iran War Ending and Oil Price Tailwind 02:47 The Clarity Act and Global Policy Direction 04:13 Crypto Friendly Administration and USD Policy 04:46 The Impossible Trinity and Stablecoin Adoption 06:22 New Fed Chair and US Demographics 06:49 Future of Money: Mass, Energy, and Compute 07:15 Agentic AI and Robots: A Half Century in the Making 08:17 Smarter AI, Dark Factories, and Onchain Agents 09:53 Wall Street Tokenizing 300 Trillion in Assets 10:43 Ethereum as Monetary Unit and the Amazon Analogy 11:32 Ethereum Foundation's Evolving Role 12:26 Treasury Companies Holding 7% of Supply 13:00 Pre-2024 Foundation Activities 13:27 The 2026 Evolution of the Foundation 14:00 Ethereum's Scale: 11K Nodes, 15K Developers 14:41 Lessons from Telecom, Semis, and Broadcasting Consortiums 15:37 BitMine Building During the Mini Crypto Winter 16:00 Investment in Tools for Humanity and Worldcoin 16:24 Launching Maven: The World's Largest Single Staking Operation 16:50 MrBeast Investment and Gen Z Financial Services 17:15 Uplisting to NYSE and Russell Index Inclusion 18:08 4.6% Ethereum Holdings and Outperformance vs Underlying 18:47 Closing Remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Jakob Drzazga, founder of Frontier Tower, opens with the story of why he chose to build on Ethereum back in 2017: not for the price action or hype, but because of the test nets that let developers safely change the engine mid flight while ensuring everything remained solid. He uses this as a frame to ask what societies and governments would look like if they had test nets to validate policy implementations before rolling them out nationwide. He argues we currently implement things mid flight without testing, leading to uncoordinated outcomes. His mission is to build a physical test net for new governance and monetary systems. Jakob walks through Frontier Tower's progress since launching in April 2024: a 16 floor vertical village in San Francisco with capacity for 7,000 builders, organized into floors for AI, longevity, biotech, crypto (which he calls the Ethereum floor), robotics, and neurotech. In the last 12 months, 70,000 people visited, 800 became full time citizens, and they're growing 25% quarter over quarter. They've since acquired Superhero Hotel for 150 builders to co-live, and plan to scale from 1,000 to 10,000 to 100,000 to 1 million citizens. He references Ray Dalio's thesis that societies survive on average 250 years, then shares observations from his China trip including Mu Shanghai's pop-up city showcasing record breaking drone shows, autonomous coffee shops, robots on the street, and China surpassing the US in blockbuster pharma deals in 2025. He attributes China's edge to its 80 year old governance system being younger and to experimentation in special economic zones like Shenzhen, Dubai, and Singapore. He advocates for startup cities and freedom cities in America. He previews two near term experiments his community will run: Frontier OS launching this year with their own stablecoin to test programmable, restricted subsidies that solve the 2021 stimulus problem where many recipients invested in crypto rather than supporting small businesses, and an AI agent based DAO experiment with Protocol Labs where each tower resident's agent reads proposals, knows their preferences and physical activity patterns, and votes accordingly. He closes with the Frontier Residency program that just ran badge zero with six startups, with one accepted to YC. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Why Test Nets Made Jakob Choose Ethereum in 2017 01:13 What If Societies Had Test Nets 01:52 Frontier Tower: A 16 Floor Vertical Village 02:19 Floors for AI, Longevity, Biotech, Crypto, Robotics 02:50 70,000 Visitors and 800 Citizens in 12 Months 03:19 Superhero Hotel and Co-Living Expansion 03:48 Scaling From 1,000 to 1 Million Citizens 04:18 Rethinking Governance From First Principles 04:18 Ray Dalio's 250 Year Society Thesis 05:06 What China Got Right 06:26 Why Younger Systems Have an Advantage 06:57 Special Economic Zones: Shenzhen, Dubai, Singapore 07:25 The Case for Startup and Freedom Cities in America 08:05 Building a City of Physical and Digital Automation 08:45 The Genius Act and Launching a Frontier Stablecoin 09:10 The 2021 Stimulus Problem 09:38 Programmable Subsidies for Local Economies 10:43 Reimagining Tax Allocation and DAOs 11:24 Why DAOs Failed When Crypto Was Only Digital 12:01 Agent Powered DAO Experiment With Protocol Labs 13:03 How Agents Solve the Proposal Fatigue Problem 13:35 Call to Action: Build a Society Test Net 14:01 RWA Real Estate Over $30 Million 14:24 IRL DAO Co-Design Opportunity 14:59 Frontier Residency Badge Zero Recap 15:40 Open Floors at the Tower 16:15 Robotizing the Building 16:30 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Yoseph Ayele

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Yoseph Ayele from LAVA presents a ground level view of how stablecoins actually function in African markets, challenging the assumption that the continent is too small, too risky, or too distant to matter for global stablecoin adoption. He frames Africa as an early signal for what's coming everywhere, with stablecoins already embedded into how money moves, how finance operates, and how value gets created. The fundamental insight is that while Western stablecoin builders are trying to take market share from traditional finance, African builders are filling gaps banks left entirely, which creates fundamentally different building pace and defensible moats. Yoseph walks through real use cases that go beyond the dominant remittance and software developer payment narratives. Trade finance is the deepest volume, where businesses importing and exporting everything from t-shirts to oil and gas need to move money fast. He notes that African banks lend to governments and large corporations representing only 10% of the economy, leaving the other 90% (SMEs and mid market players) without bank credit while still asking them to use the same banks to move money across borders. This traps cash flow and exposes businesses to FX risk on volatile currencies, while stablecoins offer instant settlement at a fraction of the cost. He covers unified treasury management replacing the fragmented multi currency float requirement, and FX market coordination where stablecoins aggregate liquidity onchain so someone with $1 and someone with $1 billion can participate in the same market. He breaks down three prices for the Nigerian Naira: the central bank's "wish price," banks' "do you qualify price" with premiums for license preservation, and the open market stablecoin price, with margins ranging from 2 to 25% in Nigeria and up to 120% in his native Ethiopia. He closes by previewing how onchain FX options markets for local currency stablecoins enable transparent risk pricing, arguing that emerging markets are building both TradFi rails and fully onchain permissionless marketplaces in parallel, with everything ultimately moving toward open onchain economic structures. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Show of Hands: Stablecoin Cross Border Payments 00:40 Why Africa Matters Despite Being a Flyover Region 01:10 Africa as an Early Signal for Global Adoption 02:20 Western Builders Take Share, African Builders Fill Gaps 03:05 Use Case: Trade Finance Is the Deepest Volume 03:51 Banks Only Lend to 10% of the Economy 04:20 How Banks Trap Cash Flow With Float 04:37 Stablecoins as Instant Settlement at Lower Cost 05:30 Use Case: Unified Treasury Management 06:20 Use Case: FX Market Coordination 06:42 Aggregating Liquidity From $1 to $1 Billion 07:19 Why Shell and Chevron Already Use Stablecoin Rails 07:43 How Money Actually Flows: The Flow Diagram 08:58 Settlement Times: Minutes to 24 Hours 09:26 Crypto Thriving Despite Regulation, Not Because of It 09:46 The Three Naira Prices 10:10 The Wish Price From the Central Bank 10:35 The Do You Qualify Price From Regulated Banks 10:35 The Open Market Stablecoin Price 11:06 Margins From 2% to 120% in Ethiopia 11:28 Speed of Execution as the Real Variable 11:52 Good Governance Follows Good Markets 12:36 Price Discovery for Local Currency Oracles 13:02 Pricing FX Risk a Year Out 13:44 Onchain Options Markets for Local Currency 14:16 Why Transparent Pricing Unlocks Capital 14:38 Building TradFi Rails and Onchain Markets in Parallel 15:21 Closing: Toward Fully Onchain Permissionless Marketplaces _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Meredith Pitkoff, CEO of Stork, walks through the explosive growth of RWA perpetual futures markets and explains what traders are actually buying when they trade commodity, equity, or pre IPO perps. Stork builds oracle infrastructure that powers more than half the volume in onchain perpetuals trading. She traces three waves of RWA perps growth in 2026. First, oil and commodities: WTI oil perps went from $76 million in January volume to $488 million in February, then $21.5 billion in March after war broke out in the Middle East on a Saturday and weekend events kept hitting, then $60.2 billion in April. Second, indexes: TradeXYZ on Hyperliquid built proxy indexes and secured a licensing deal with S&P Dow Jones for an officially sanctioned S&P 500 perp. Third, equities: AI adjacent names like Micron, SanDisk, and Nvidia drove equity perps volume from $25.6 billion to $62.8 billion in May alone, with listings nearly doubling from 196 to 391. There are now 569 different RWA perp markets across roughly a dozen tracked exchanges, and on May 29th the CFTC approved Bitcoin perpetuals for Kalshi, authorized Coinbase to serve foreign derivatives markets, and issued an advisory on 24/7 trading. Meredith digs into the mechanics. For commodities and indexes, traders are usually trading a proxy because CME and S&P Dow Jones data is expensive and not licensed broadly, so exchanges pull from secondary sources or construct their own facsimile indexes. Stork is tracking four NASDAQ 100 proxy perps and seven S&P 500 proxy perps, each printing slightly different prices. Perps are quoted in stablecoins which introduces basis risk and implicit currency exposure on foreign equities. When TradFi markets close on Friday at 4 PM Central, perp exchanges switch to internal oracles using impact prices, exponential moving averages, and hard caps, and TradeXYZ's WTI market moved with directional accuracy toward the CME Sunday open 90.5% of the time across 19 of 21 weekends in 2026. She covers pre IPO perps with both wins (Cerebras' perp predicted the IPO opening minute within 0.5%) and losses (Quantinuum's frothy perp price was double the actual opening). She closes by identifying the real barrier to the next volume unlock: professional traders wind down positions Fridays because they cannot hedge weekend RWA perps without liquid spot markets, leaving the market retail dominated and thin. 00:00 Introduction 00:35 Stork's Three Products and Today's Coverage 01:05 The RWA Perps Growth Story Begins 01:28 Oil Perps Explode After Middle East Events 02:09 The Index Wave and TradeXYZ's S&P 500 License 02:25 The Equity Wave Driven by the AI Trade 03:10 569 RWA Perp Markets Across Top Exchanges 03:29 The CFTC Steps In on May 29 03:55 What You're Actually Trading: Proxies 04:23 Multiple Index Proxies Printing Different Prices 04:54 Basis Risk From Stablecoin Denomination 05:20 Implicit Currency Exposure on Foreign Equities 05:48 How a WTI Perp Prices on Saturday Afternoon 06:25 Internal Oracles, Impact Prices, and Hard Caps 06:55 90.5% Directional Accuracy Across Weekends 07:25 How Smaller Exchanges Inherit TradeXYZ Pricing 07:54 Pre IPO Perps: SpaceX, Cerebras, Quantinuum 07:54 Cerebras: The Perp Predicted the Opening Minute 08:46 Quantinuum: When Pre IPO Perps Got It Wrong 09:47 Thin Liquidity and Manipulation Risk 10:15 Pre IPO Price Discovery Is Remarkable, Not Guaranteed 10:44 Why Oracles Matter for Perps 11:08 Stork's Sub Millisecond Latency 11:36 Why RWA Pricing Is Harder Outside Market Hours 12:02 Blue Ocean ATS and Overnight Equity Sessions 12:28 The Real Barrier: Professional Traders Cannot Hedge 12:59 The Path Forward: Tokenized Stocks and Deeper Markets 13:26 Where Stork Is Focused _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Ishan Singh from Google Cloud's digital asset team sits down with Christian Crowley, partner on the A16Z crypto go to market team, to discuss the pending Clarity Act, the future of tokenization, agentic commerce, and lessons for crypto founders selling into institutions. Christian draws on his background as a former founder who built DeFi and AI startups and the first Ethereum analytics company under the Consensys umbrella, plus his time at AWS, to explain that good go to market advice often sounds great in theory but is much less compelling in execution. His central principle for the founders he advises is reducing user friction at every step. The conversation digs into the parallel tracks of stablecoins and tokenized deposits. Christian explains that banks want the 24/7 interoperability and composability benefits but want to maintain deposit relationships and fit into existing compliance frameworks, which is why tokenized deposits will persist alongside stablecoins. Ishan previews Google Cloud's Universal Ledger product built at the protocol level for interoperability between onchain money assets. On RWAs, Christian argues tokenization itself is not the product since what matters is what the asset gains (24/7 trading, collateral mobility, interoperability), with money markets and treasuries leading early. Ishan emphasizes collateral mobility as the real killer use case for eliminating reconciliation across TradFi books and records. They debate the rails for agentic commerce, with virtual cards up 6x year over year offering an easier behavior shift while X2X and direct stablecoin payments make more sense for net new behaviors like real time compute adjustments. On the AI security tension, Christian notes that until frontier models have comprehensively reviewed existing code bases there is an unknowable set of risks in production, and the same tools attackers use are available to defenders. Ishan covers Google Cloud's MPC wallet using key shares with sub second signing across Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, and Universal Ledger. Christian closes with the most consistent founder mistake: assuming Web2 go to market lessons don't apply to Web3, when enterprises buy for clear measurable benefits, not decentralization. 00:00 Introductions 01:22 What Christian Brings to Founder Conversations 02:15 Reducing Friction as a Core Mental Model 03:14 The Clarity Act and Tokenized Deposits vs Stablecoins 04:00 Why Banks Want Tokenized Deposits 05:14 From Bank Issued Stablecoins to Integration Focus 05:56 Google Cloud Universal Ledger and Interoperability 06:26 The Trouble with the Term RWA 07:12 Tokenization Itself Is Not the Product 07:53 Why Collateral Mobility Is the Real Killer App 08:39 Eliminating Reconciliation Across TradFi 08:57 Money as Internet Packets 09:50 Legacy Distribution vs Better Technology 10:34 Rails for Agentic Commerce 11:00 Virtual Cards vs X2X and Stablecoins 11:36 Why Virtual Cards Are Easier Behavior Shifts 12:26 When Net New Behaviors Call for Open Rails 13:05 The Dark Side of AI for Web3 14:00 Founders Have Always Cared About Security 14:21 The Race Between Frontier Models and Attackers 15:14 Google Cloud MPC Wallet 15:59 Sub Second Signing Across Multiple Chains 16:41 Common Mistakes Founders Make Selling to Institutions 17:54 Why Best Technology Doesn't Always Win 18:11 The Champion's Asymmetric Risk Inside Enterprises 18:40 TradFi Budget Constraints and Quantifiable ROI 19:24 Knicks or Spurs Tonight 19:43 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Paul Henry Kajfasz, founder and CEO of Unlink, makes the case that public blockchains have created better financial rails but cannot become the world's money without solving privacy. He frames the opportunity: onchain rails moved roughly $9 trillion in real volume last year (about 5x PayPal's volume), proving these are fundamentally better rails than traditional finance with instant settlement, near free transactions, 24/7 global availability, and full programmability, translating to millions in saved fees or new revenue for companies. Yet when he asks the room how many people use blockchain in their daily lives, only one or two hands go up, and worldwide penetration sits below 1%. Something is wrong. Paul argues the root cause is that we built better rails but did not build better money. For 5,000 years from cowrie shells to cash to bank transfers, money has been private by default with selective disclosure to your bank or the taxman. Public blockchains broke this fundamental model by making every transaction leak all information. With AI, an internet connection, and a few tokens, anyone can know everything about a company's flows in an afternoon. He illustrates with a CFO running payroll onchain (employees seeing each other's salaries makes raises politically impossible), public treasuries, public B2B payments, and every trade being visible. He cites 72 physical attacks worldwide in 2025 including kidnappings and torture targeting people known to hold money onchain. He explains why privacy solutions have stayed niche: companies were forced to choose between non compliant cypherpunk mixers or new private L1s and L2s that break network effects, liquidity, and Lindy. The missing piece, and what Unlink is building, combines three things: privacy, compliance (AML, anti terrorism financing, KYC, KYB) as first class citizens, and integration through APIs, SDKs, and dashboards on the chains companies actually want to use like Ethereum and Solana. He closes by previewing partnerships with Monad, Euler, and others. 00:00 Introduction 00:08 Better Rails But Not Better Money 00:40 $9 Trillion Moved Onchain, 5x PayPal 01:22 Why Onchain Rails Are Fundamentally Better 02:27 Why Aren't Companies Rushing In 02:49 Show of Hands: Daily Blockchain Usage 03:34 Less Than 1% of Humanity Uses These Rails 04:11 The Missing Piece: Better Money 04:38 5,000 Years of Money Being Private by Default 05:05 How Public Blockchains Broke the Model 05:30 AI Makes Every Transaction Readable 06:18 The CFO Payroll Problem 07:13 72 Physical Attacks in 2025 07:57 Why Adoption Stalls 08:25 What Companies Actually Need 09:04 Why Privacy Stayed Niche 09:26 The Rock and Hard Place: Mixers vs New Chains 10:12 Losing Network Effects and Lindy 10:37 The Three Missing Pieces 10:59 Compliance as a First Class Citizen 11:24 Integrating with the Chains Companies Already Want 11:50 Unlink and the Vision Ahead 12:18 Closing: Bringing Trillions Onchain _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Sam Jain, founder of Fluid, walks through how his team has been building DeFi infrastructure since 2018 and how Fluid is now positioned to scale tokenized assets through unified liquidity, utility, and distribution. He frames the team's origin story from an ETH Global hackathon when total DeFi TVL was below $100 million, building Instadapp which invented smart wallets, was the first user of flash loans, did extensive composability work on money Legos, and pioneered the looping strategy that now powers roughly 50% of DeFi. Constrained by being middleware on top of other protocols, the team launched Fluid in February 2024 to own the protocol layer and drive deeper algorithmic innovation. Fluid became the second largest DEX on Ethereum within 3 months of launch and the fastest DEX to reach $100 billion in volumes (in 326 days), with a peak market size of $6.5 billion. Sam positions Fluid not as just a lending market but as a capital efficient meta protocol that is already a DEX, vault, and money market and will host anything finance has to offer over the next 5 to 10 years. Every dollar on Fluid works extra mile because the total borrow to total deposits ratio has been the highest in DeFi since launch. For asset issuers facing the bootstrapping challenge of tokenizing, securing DEX liquidity, dealing with liquidity providers, and integrating with lending protocols, Fluid offers all of these at once including liquidity as a service where Fluid itself provides hundreds of millions in DEX liquidity at minimal cost without counterparty risk for the issuer. He explains how Fluid is 4 to 5x more capital efficient than competitors for liquidity depth. He shares two major partnerships: Jupiter Lend on Solana (powered by Fluid, leveraging Jupiter's distribution while Fluid provides the tech), Etherealize and Bitwise Jupiter integration that grew to half a billion within a week, and Venus Flux on BNB Chain. Sam closes by explaining that institutions can use Fluid to own their own lending protocol, DEX, and users with bespoke solutions including KYC, permissioned access, fixed rates, and credit markets, with announcements coming for both crypto centralized and TradFi onboarding partnerships. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 From 2018 Hackathon to Instadapp Origins 00:57 Inventing Smart Wallets, Flash Loans, and Looping 01:26 Why the Team Built Fluid to Own the Protocol Layer 01:55 Launching Fluid in February 2024 02:26 What Fluid Is Today and Tomorrow 02:52 Fastest DEX to $100 Billion in Volume 03:22 Highest Borrow to Deposit Ratio in DeFi 03:52 The Trillion Dollar Tokenization Opportunity 04:28 Eight Years From One Stablecoin to Thousands 05:06 The RWA Bootstrapping Challenge 05:27 Why Fluid Offers Everything at Once 05:54 Asset Issuers Already on Fluid 06:31 Liquidity as a Service for Asset Issuers 07:03 No Counterparty Risk for Issuers 07:26 Building Toward Credit Markets, Fixed Rates, Forex, Perps 08:22 What Fluid Provides Institutions 08:45 Helping TradFi Institutions Navigate DeFi 09:51 Why an Eight Year DeFi Team Matters 10:18 Partnership: Jupiter Lend on Solana 11:13 What Fluid Asks From Partners: Distribution 11:38 Partnership: Etherealize and Bitwise Jupiter 11:38 Partnership: Venus Flux on BNB Chain 12:12 Institutions Owning Their Own Lending Protocols 12:41 Bespoke Solutions: KYC, Permissioned, Fixed Rate 13:01 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Professor Ari Juels, co-director of the Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts (IC3), presents a lightning tour of a newly released 150 page survey on the intersection of crypto and AI, written with a long roster of co-authors. He opens by arguing that crypto and AI are not natural bedfellows. Crypto is hard: strictly programmatic and unforgiving, as shown by the Kelp DAO attack where a single poisoned message let the North Korean Lazarus group steal hundreds of millions. AI is soft: frontier models are unpredictable and error prone, like ChatGPT confidently saying raspberry has two Rs or drawing a rabbit with too many ears. Yet they can serve as middleware for each other, with Worldcoin (now World) as a proof point where crypto identity becomes essential to distinguish humans from bots in an AI saturated world. Ari walks through Crypto x AI applications where AI enhances crypto. He shows how a typical parametric flight insurance smart contract, while elegant, suffers from moral hazard and can't document actual harms, which is why AXA's Fizzy product was discontinued. By adding an LLM enhanced oracle, the same contract can ingest receipts and assess damages like real world insurance while preserving privacy. He covers AI powered investment funds, which IC3 calls coinouts (collective investment algorithms), and presents the fundamental coinout bind: either the strategy is transparent and gets front run publicly, or it's opaque and gets front run privately through covert channels. In the other direction (AI x Crypto), he addresses DePIN GPU networks with healthy skepticism, noting industry proofs of concept don't report communication or compute costs, and the largest decentralized trained model has only 40 billion parameters versus frontier models' trillions. He shows the same TEE plus LLM oracle pattern enabling confidential lending, whistleblower credentials, anonymous reviewer proofs, and code audits without revealing source. He closes with a warning about rogue agents (UAAS, unstoppable autonomous agents) that could use stablecoins to rent servers, establish censorship resistant command and control, conceal their code, and even rent humans through services like rentahuman.ai to influence the physical world. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 IC3 and the New Crypto AI Survey 00:37 Why Crypto and AI Are Not Natural Bedfellows 01:00 Crypto Is Hard: Programmatic and Unforgiving 01:52 The Kelp DAO Attack as Proof of Unforgivingness 02:41 Security Tools the Crypto Industry Has Pioneered 03:11 AI Is Soft: Unpredictable and Error Prone 04:24 World as a Proof Point of the Intersection 05:39 The Middleware Model for AI and Crypto 06:04 Crypto x AI: How AI Enhances Crypto 06:29 The Flight Insurance Smart Contract Example 07:07 Why Parametric Insurance Has Limitations 07:58 AXA's Fizzy Product and Why It Was Discontinued 07:58 Enhancing Oracles with LLMs 09:19 Hard Crypto Meets Soft AI Productively 10:02 AI Powered Investment Funds 10:36 Why First Wave AI Funds Were Mostly Hype 11:05 Coinouts: Collective Investment Algorithms 11:39 The Coinout Bind: Transparency vs Opacity 12:27 AI x Crypto: How Crypto Enhances AI 12:59 DePIN and Decentralized GPU Networks 13:50 Why DePIN Training Claims Need More Evidence 14:33 Confidential Lending with TEEs and LLMs 15:59 Other Use Cases: Whistleblowers and Anonymous Reviews 16:16 Pyred: Code Credentials Without Revealing Source 16:38 The Warning About Rogue Agents 17:05 How Stablecoins Enable Persistent Autonomous Agents 17:34 Renting Humans with Crypto 17:59 Other Topics Covered in the Survey 18:25 Five Myths and Misconceptions Debunked 18:57 Where to Read the Paper 18:57 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, William Mougayar from TRUSTSHIFT, who has been in the blockchain space for 14 years, presents a new framework for valuing Ethereum comprehensively as public goods infrastructure rather than just another crypto token. He opens by addressing a vexing problem: crypto valuations are not driven by fundamentals but by external factors like Middle East wars, inflation, US dollar strength, Nvidia earnings, and liquidity availability. His thesis is that misvaluation persists because there is no one size fits all, and Ethereum specifically requires a different framework than DeFi protocols (which use TVL, fees, treasury), revenue chains like Tempo and Solana (which use discounted cash flow), or Bitcoin (which positions as digital gold). William argues a critical mistake people make is trying to separate ETH the asset from Ethereum the platform. The reality is four E's: Ethereum the platform, ETH the asset, the Ethereum Foundation, and the ecosystem, all working synergistically. He draws an extended analogy to the early internet, recalling his 1995 internet book Opening Digital Markets when eyeballs were the primary metric. Just as internet valuation evolved over decades, Ethereum is still early in its valuation maturity. Applying internet valuation methodology, he breaks Ethereum value into three buckets: captured value (fees), economic flow (ETH as a currency, like digital oil), and the trust surplus (the unpriced value users would have paid minus what they actually pay), estimated at $50 to $150 per user across 20 to 30 million meaningful users, plus systemic value from fraud reduction, less counterparty risk, and settlement efficiencies. The math lands Ethereum's fair value at minimum $1 trillion, implying an ETH price around $8,000, roughly four times current levels. He highlights that Ethereum already settles $3 trillion in stablecoin transfers per month without being the fastest chain, proving valuation is about economic settlement not TPS. He closes by arguing Ethereum's value should be measured like the US dollar's role in oil and trade, not by short term revenue, since just as no one values the internet by packet fees, no one should value Ethereum purely by transaction fees. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Reframing How to Value Ethereum 01:13 Why Crypto Valuations Are Not Driven by Fundamentals 02:29 Segmenting the Crypto Space 02:57 Why DeFi Is the Most Advanced in Quantifying Fundamentals 03:21 Revenue Chains: Tempo and Solana 03:49 Bitcoin as a Special Snowflake 04:09 Why Separating ETH from Ethereum Is Wrong 04:48 The Four E's of Ethereum 05:18 The Internet Analogy: From Eyeballs to Platforms 06:45 Structural Similarities Between Ethereum and the Internet 07:41 Why More Value Is Created at the Application Layer 08:20 Why Tether Overtaking ETH Wouldn't Be Bad 09:10 The Three Buckets of Internet Value 10:04 Search and Email Consumer Surplus 11:07 Three Properties of Public Goods 12:01 Applying the Framework to Ethereum 12:27 ETH as Digital Oil 12:49 Estimating the Trust Surplus per User 13:28 Systemic Value: Settlement, Fraud Reduction, Counterparty Risk 14:00 The Math: $1 Trillion Valuation, $8,000 ETH 14:38 Why the Internet Was Also Doubted Before 2000 15:26 Why Markets Continue to Mispric Ethereum 15:48 Why L2 L1 Relationships Aren't Value Extractive 15:48 Ethereum Settles $3 Trillion in Stablecoins Monthly 16:23 The Paradigm Shift: Flow Based vs Fee Based 16:45 Why ETH Is Like the US Dollar 17:33 You Don't Value the Internet by Packet Fees 17:53 Closing: It's All About Trust _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Philipp Zentner, founder of LI.FI, tackles Ethereum's multi chain fragmentation and how a single API can solve it. He opens by celebrating that finance is finally coming on chain after 10 years of building smart contract and distributed ledger technology, citing around $31 billion in RWAs and $400 billion including stablecoins. But the core problem is that all this value is spread across dozens of chains, and it grows more complex as banks like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton build their own permissioned systems. He notes 95% of stablecoin movement happens on Ethereum L2s with 30% on Base, all representing the same dollar, and warns that as more countries adopt frameworks like the Genius Act and MiCA, the world could see thousands of stablecoins, making fragmentation exponentially worse. Philipp explains the cost of this fragmentation tax. Builders must bet on one ecosystem while mercenary liquidity rotates between hyped chains, leaving projects stranded, and they burn time on user onboarding instead of product. Users pay with time, money, and dust, often distrusting bridges so much that liquidity sits stuck in silos, leading to the verdict that crypto is not ready. Institutions will not deploy billions across 40 islands and will pick or build their own chains to retain customer relationships, so fragmentation must be solved from the user's perspective. Drawing the internet analogy where you type an address without caring about DNS or data centers, he argues the future is multi chain and outcome oriented, shifting to intent based flows where users simply express what they want. He positions this as critical for the next wave of AI agent users communicating in natural language. He describes how LI.FI spent five years aggregating bridges, DEXs, and trading venues into one modular system serving over 1,200 partners (including MetaMask, Phantom, Binance, Coinbase, Circle, and Fireblocks) and now serving TradFi with compliance and custom liquidity. He introduces Composer, an on-chain virtual machine expressing a TypeScript domain specific language that compiles end to end user journeys into byte code executed atomically, abstracting away chains, gas tokens, and wrapping. Having processed over $80 billion across 90 million transactions, he closes by urging the industry to stop reinventing the wheel and build on LI.FI's marketplace to stop paying the fragmentation tax. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Finance Is Coming On Chain 00:36 RWAs and Stablecoins by the Numbers 01:00 Why Fragmentation Is the Big Problem 01:19 Being Grateful for the Progress 01:44 95% of Stablecoin Movement on L2s 02:05 Hundreds of Stablecoins and Counting 02:31 The Cost of Fragmentation for Builders 02:55 Mercenary Liquidity and Capital Rotation 03:17 Time Lost on User Onboarding 03:38 How Users Pay With Time, Money, and Dust 04:16 Why Whales Keep Liquidity Stuck on L1 04:39 Jumper and the Dust Problem 04:57 Why Institutions Will Pick Their Own Chain 05:34 The Internet Analogy: Outcome Oriented 06:00 Why It Will Be Multi-Chain 06:24 Intent Based Flows for the Next Wave 06:51 What LI.FI Has Built Over Five Years 07:20 Abstracting Away Complex Systems 07:54 Serving TradFi With a Modular System 08:20 Why We Need to Talk to the Chain 08:46 Introducing Composer 09:14 Typing User Journeys in TypeScript 09:51 Seamless Journeys for Vaults and Cards 10:20 Infrastructure That Scales: $80 Billion Processed 10:44 The 1,200 Partners Using LI.FI 11:06 Back to the Fragmentation Tax 11:33 Why the Tax Grows Exponentially 11:57 Stop Reinventing the Wheel 12:17 Why Edge Cases and Data Matter 12:36 Focus on Building Great Applications 13:03 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Haseeb Qureshi from Dragonfly sits down with Shan Aggarwal, Chief Business Officer of Coinbase, who oversees strategy, operations, commercial deals, and investor relations, and started Coinbase Ventures in 2018. Shan explains that Coinbase Ventures invests off Coinbase's balance sheet without outside LPs, giving it flexibility to take 20 year horizons, flex across any stage or sector, and serve as a conduit to the rest of Coinbase for partnerships and eventual M&A. On conflicts of interest, he says information is firewalled within the Ventures team and no investment is tied to a listing. Referencing the crypto VC apocalypse and Jensen Huang's Anthropic regret, he notes that with late stage capital scarce, Coinbase can extend its balance sheet to support Series B through D companies. On Hyperliquid, Shan argues nearly every crypto company views Coinbase as a competitor, but Hyperliquid's self custodial traders differ from Coinbase's regulated customers, and Coinbase also runs infrastructure where partnering makes sense. On M&A, with over 40 acquisitions done, he says success comes down to integration: a consistent champion, a clear operational thesis, and cultural fit (joking that being on Teams is a red flag). He names Tagomi (2020) as his masterpiece, which became the foundation of Coinbase Prime just as corporate Bitcoin treasury demand exploded. As head of IR, he says institutions see Coinbase as the mature, compliant, diversified scale player, with roughly 50% of revenue from non-trading fees and agentic payments like X2X viewed as call options. On Base's missing token, he says decentralization will happen but a public company token is a one way door. He addresses the vibe shift against decentralization, favoring progressive decentralization that preserves execution speed. He places Clarity Act odds at 60 to 70%, notes Coinbase already operates compliantly without legislation, and closes by pitching Coinbase as full stack financial infrastructure for a tokenized future, citing strong fundamentals in stablecoins, RWAs, and payments uncorrelated with crypto prices. 00:00 Introduction 00:07 What a Chief Business Officer Does 00:48 Coinbase Ventures and Investing Without LPs 01:27 What Coinbase Can Do That Traditional VCs Cannot 02:35 Coinbase Ventures as a Conduit to Coinbase 02:55 How Coinbase Thinks About Conflicts of Interest 03:47 Information Firewalls Within Ventures 04:28 The Jensen Huang and Anthropic Story 04:49 The Crypto VC Apocalypse 05:44 Coinbase Writing Bigger Checks Than Others 06:05 The 2018 Origins of Coinbase Ventures 06:35 Filling the Late Stage Capital Gap 07:11 The Hyperliquid Relationship 07:42 Why Nearly Everyone Competes With Coinbase 08:37 Different Customer Segments and Infrastructure 09:24 The M&A Track Record: Over 40 Acquisitions 10:04 Why Integration Determines Success 10:20 Having a Consistent Champion for the Deal 11:02 A Clear Thesis and Operational Plan 11:43 Assessing Team and Cultural Fit 11:58 Why Being on Teams Is a Red Flag 12:34 The Tagomi Masterpiece Deal 13:36 Impeccable Timing and the Bitcoin Treasury Wave 14:19 The Foundation of Coinbase Prime 14:34 Becoming the Everything Exchange 14:55 What Institutional Investors See in Coinbase 15:41 Diversifying Beyond Volatile Trading Revenue 16:21 Agentic Payments and X2X as Call Options 16:53 Base and the Missing Token Question 17:39 Why a Public Company Token Is a One Way Door 18:20 The Vibe Shift Against Decentralization 19:21 The Downsides and Trade-offs of Decentralization 19:56 Why Users Choose Great Products 20:14 Progressive Decentralization as the Path 20:51 Positioning for a Possible Regulatory Reversal 21:38 Why Coinbase Is Optimistic on Clarity 21:58 Placing the Odds at 60 to 70% 22:31 How Coinbase Operates Without Legislation 23:13 The Malaise in Crypto and Why Buy Coinbase 23:40 Full Stack Financial Infrastructure for the Future 24:17 Why Strong Fundamentals Outlast Price Swings 24:52 Payments Uncorrelated With Crypto Prices 25:12 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Aryan Sheikhalian from CMT Digital sits down with Tom Zschach, who recently finished over six years as Chief Innovation Officer at SWIFT, to discuss settlement, trust, tokenization, and neutral governance. Aryan opens on crypto's pitch that it is faster and cheaper, and asks whether speed was ever what held institutions back. Tom explains that while speed and cost matter, the institutional space above all needs certainty: a treasurer sending millions or billions wants security and recourse, and will accept a transaction taking a few seconds longer if the outcome is guaranteed. He addresses what crypto misunderstands about SWIFT, clarifying that SWIFT is a messaging and coordination network that does not issue value, settle, or custody. It coordinates trust through standards, a rule book, and bilateral agreements, and he calls it the original DAO with human governance. Tom explains the SWIFT ledger, a blockchain layered on top of the existing network with no mandates, whose first use case is banks making cross border payments between themselves using deposit tokens as an alternative to nostro vostra accounts. On trust, he frames the hard problem as a boundary issue: blockchains work well for things fully inside the network like swaps and staking, but get complicated when relying on external data or representing off-chain assets like stablecoin reserves. He predicts the most liquid, well understood markets like tokenized bonds and treasuries (DTCC targeting up to $100 trillion) will be tokenized first, while dispute prone assets like real estate come later. He warns against replicating incumbency and single chain control in Web3, favoring a multi-chain world with real competition even as Ethereum sits in pole position. Drawing on his time at CLS (which settles around $10 trillion daily across 18 currencies), he argues scaling institutional adoption requires regulatory clarity and credentials like KYC and wallet eligibility traveling with the asset across chains. He closes bullish that cross border value will move on public blockchains, citing Citi's $5.5 trillion projection. 00:00 Introduction 00:28 Meet CMT Digital and Tom Zschach 01:08 Was Speed Ever What Held Institutions Back 01:28 Why Institutions Need Certainty Above All 02:22 What the Crypto Crowd Misunderstands About SWIFT 03:06 SWIFT as a Messaging Network 03:26 What SWIFT Is Not: No Value, Settlement, or Custody 03:49 Adding Density and Endpoints With the SWIFT Ledger 04:05 SWIFT as a Coordination Network for Trust 04:41 What Blockchains Need to Replicate SWIFT 05:03 Why SWIFT and Blockchains Do Different Things 05:30 SWIFT as the Original DAO 05:56 How the SWIFT Ledger Works 06:25 Cross Border Payments With Deposit Tokens 06:51 What Trust Means Across TradFi and Crypto 07:33 Why External Dependencies Are the Hard Part 08:11 Stablecoins and the Boundary Issue 08:32 What Gets Tokenized First 09:02 Why Demand for Digital Money Is Clear 09:20 Liquid Markets: Bonds and Treasuries First 10:02 Why Dispute Prone Assets Come Later 10:45 SWIFT as the First DAO Revisited 11:22 Incumbency on Blockchain Rails 11:43 Why a Single Chain Undermines Neutrality 12:14 Why a Multi-Chain World Is Better 12:49 Room for More Open Governance 13:10 Leveling the Playing Field With DeFi 13:39 Tokenization Primitives Like Transferable KYC 14:31 Why He Calls It Finance, Not TradFi 14:49 Tokenization Transforming Capital Formation 15:18 Why Transformation Takes Time 15:45 What Convinced Him From Inside the Incumbent 16:07 CLS and $10 Trillion Daily FX Settlement 16:32 Why FX Settlement Was an Early Blockchain Use Case 17:25 Getting Banks Hooked Into Digital Assets 17:47 The Missing Pieces for Institutional Scale 18:21 Why Scale Breaks Across Venue and Chain 18:51 Why Credentials Must Travel With the Asset 19:12 ZK and Solving 19:35 Five Years Out: Value on Public Blockchains 20:09 Citi's $5.5 Trillion Projection 20:42 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Ashley Stanhope from Hardfork Media sits down with Vivek Raman, founder of Etherealize, to discuss the institutional case for Ethereum, the Ethereum versus permissioned chain debate, and his firm's ambitious ETH price thesis. Vivek frames the current moment as the strongest blockchain bull market he's seen even amid a token bear market, arguing that the value proposition of public blockchains has never been stronger. When he launched Etherealize in 2025, Ethereum was still in proof of concept mode on Wall Street with a missing narrative, but adoption, regulation, and institutional readiness have since converged. He points to the legacy architecture of the financial system (COBOL, Excel, faxes, wires) as ripe for an upgrade, and identifies three unlocks that made institutions comfortable: Ethereum's 10 year track record with no downtime, institutional proof points like BlackRock's BUIDL and 60% of stablecoins living on Ethereum, and a favorable regulatory environment marked by the Genius Act becoming the starting line. Vivek explains Etherealize's dual mandate of educating Wall Street on why Ethereum's neutrality and decentralization matter while building the missing building blocks (bespoke tokenization reaching back offices, privacy infrastructure layered on top rather than embedded, and applications). He reframes decentralization for institutions as security, resilience, and the absence of single points of failure, noting the irony that institutions are the biggest customers of decentralization because centralized chains carry counterparty risk and lower profitability. He argues Solana never comes up in institutional conversations, and that the real debate is public permissionless versus permissioned consortium chains, where Ethereum's modularity lets institutions have their cake and eat it too through specialized L2s and app chains. He walks through his Productive Money report and its $250,000 ETH target, explaining that markets misprice blockchains by valuing them on fees like companies rather than recognizing ETH as the monetary asset securing the network, with the real repricing coming when ETH is valued alongside gold and Bitcoin. He closes noting you don't have to hold ETH to use Ethereum, and that while the Clarity Act would be welcome, Ethereum already transcends the political cycle thanks to the Genius Act being law. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 A Token Bear Market but a Blockchain Bull Market 00:29 Why Etherealize Launched in 2025 00:55 The Value Proposition Is Stronger Than Ever 01:45 What Banks Are Saying About Ethereum 01:52 Upgrading Legacy Financial Architecture 02:52 Why Regulation Gave Institutions Confidence 03:14 Three Unlocks: Track Record, Pilots, Regulation 03:51 The Genius Act as the Starting Line 04:31 Etherealize's Dual Mandate 04:54 Why a Neutral Platform Wins 05:32 Educating Wall Street on Decentralization 05:56 Building the Missing Building Blocks 06:27 Bespoke Tokenization for Back Offices 06:54 Privacy as a Layer on Top 07:13 Applications and Use Cases 07:45 Does Decentralization Resonate With Wall Street 08:10 Why Institutions Are the Biggest Customers of Decentralization 08:55 Why Not Just Use AWS 09:11 Supporting the EF's CROPS Focus 09:48 Ethereum vs Solana in Institutional Conversations 10:44 Permissionless vs Permissioned Consortium Chains 11:12 Can You Have a Hybrid Approach 11:37 Ethereum's Modularity and the Internet Analogy 12:12 Why the Layer 2 Model Is Not Dead 12:32 Institutions Choosing Layer 2s vs Their Own Chains 13:26 Abstracting Away the L1 vs L2 Distinction 13:54 One Hop to Liquidity on the Base Layer 14:13 The Productive Money Report 14:39 Why People Value Blockchains Incorrectly 15:31 Why Every Blockchain Needs a Core Asset 15:49 ETH as the Best Money in the Ecosystem 16:28 Repricing ETH Alongside Gold and Bitcoin 16:47 A Call Option on Money 17:10 Do You Have to Hold ETH to Support Ethereum 17:42 Something in It for Everyone 18:17 Clarity Act Predictions 18:38 Why Ethereum Transcends the Political Cycle 18:59 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Nick Stoev

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Nick Stoev from Mellow addresses what he calls the idle trillion: the gap between how much capital sits on chain and how little of it is actually working. Drawing on 10 years building in the space, he traces the industry's evolution from an isolated world with few on-ramps and off-ramps and almost no real world use cases, through DeFi summer as the kickstarter, to today's landscape of on-chain settlement, tokenized products, and real world assets. He cites over $300 billion in stablecoins on chain now with BCG projecting more than $18 trillion by 2033, then polls the audience on how much of that capital is truly working. The answer is only around 10%, and he argues two forces are changing that: shifting regulations that, while limiting some asset classes, enable banks and institutions to hold stablecoins on their balance sheets, and the rise of payments and settlement as the main driver since on-chain settlement is atomic, cross border, and 24/7. Nick frames the opportunity in two parts: settlement, which is already solved with custodians, stablecoin settlement, and bridging infrastructure live today, and management, which is still being built and involves not just technology but business processes, strategy construction, compliance, NAV reporting, and strategy isolation. As sophisticated asset managers arrive from TradFi and fintech, the industry needs more guardrails and tech stack pieces to route capital between assets (stablecoins, money market funds, commodities) and distribution channels (wallets, exchanges, brokers, issuers). He stresses that yield is a liability with very different risk characteristics for retail versus institutions, where APY is the last question asked after transparency, risk, and structure. He covers the same yield stack serving AI agents that need guardrails since models hallucinate, DeFi products being baked invisibly into fintechs like Deel and Stripe, and Mellow's vault stack that deploys strategies on chain in hours without smart contract development. He emphasizes on-chain enforced risk management removing the need to trust asset managers, and the faster pace of updating strategies as RWAs make the market more dynamic, closing that the coming year will bring far more capital on chain and deeper DeFi and TradFi convergence. 00:00 Introduction 00:12 The Idle Trillion and an Invisible Industry 00:51 How the Industry Has Changed in 10 Years 01:17 The Numbers: 300 Billion in Stablecoins 01:57 Audience Poll: How Much Capital Is Working 02:26 Why Only 10% of Capital Is Active 02:26 First Driver: Changing Regulations 02:53 Second Driver: Payments and Settlement 03:16 Why Settlement Is Naturally On-Chain 03:44 The CFO Question About Treasury Stablecoins 04:17 Two Parts: Settlement and Management 04:42 Why Management Is More Than Technology 05:16 How the Asset Manager Landscape Is Changing 05:47 Assets and Distribution Already Solved 06:16 The Missing Middle: Strategies and Routing 06:48 Why Yield Is a Liability, Not Just a Number 07:25 Why Institutions Ask About Risk First 07:55 The Yield Stack for AI Agents 08:20 Why Agents Need Guardrails 08:20 DeFi Products Baked Into Fintechs 09:08 Invisible Deposit Buttons for End Users 09:39 Mellow's Vault Stack 10:08 On-Chain Enforced Risk Management 10:37 Transparency and Trust Without Trusting Managers 10:59 Why Speed of Updates Matters 11:29 Reallocating Capital Almost Instantly 12:03 Summing Up: DeFi and TradFi Convergence 12:32 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Pedro Gomes

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Francesco Andreoli, who leads developer relations at Consensys, sits down with Pedro Gomes, founder of WalletConnect, to discuss payments, agentic commerce, and the evolution of wallets. Pedro explains that WalletConnect created the WalletCon network, the largest interoperability network across digital wallets known for its QR code standard, and has now launched WalletConnect Pay for merchants accepting crypto. Francesco notes Consensys just launched an Agentic Wallet. Pedro describes a shift where wallet features are consolidating inside wallets like MetaMask, making the key question what users interface with when connecting to the outside world, and payments emerged as the number one pain point. WalletConnect narrowed from a general purpose tool to focus on payments, helping existing payment providers accept crypto rather than forcing merchants onto a new platform. Pedro breaks down the payments landscape (peer to peer, remittance, consumer to business, and business to business) and shares a lesson from the payin versus payout distinction: consumers find paying with crypto attractive, but businesses want stablecoin payouts to simplify paying creators globally, where WalletConnect's 700 plus wallet network gave an edge. Francesco covers how UX improves by meeting users where they are, and the range from invisible embedded wallets (Amazon), to wallet as a service behind a bank (Revolut), to crypto native super apps (MetaMask card and MetaMask USD). On agentic payments, Pedro argues the missing piece is authorization: stablecoins succeeded through pull payments pioneered by USDC, which agentic payments lack, making yolo beast mode fine for a mini app but dangerous for buying flights. Francesco explains the MetaMask agent wallet was built to add currently non-existent guardrails like transaction simulation and security checks before signing. Pedro's biggest lesson is that Web3 needs TradFi's distribution more than the reverse, since their only real gap is self custody, and closes with the vision that wallet payments will become as safe as card payments through native guardrails. 00:00 Introduction 00:29 Meet WalletConnect and Consensys 01:18 How WalletConnect Is Evolving Toward Payments 01:42 Why Wallet Actions Are Consolidating 02:11 Payments as the Number One Pain Point 02:42 From DeFi QR Code to Payments QR Code 03:12 The Main Categories of Payments 03:53 Consumer, Business, and Cross Border Types 04:13 Why Past Crypto Payments Failed Merchants 04:30 Meeting Users Where They Are 04:59 Embedding Prediction Markets Into MetaMask 05:34 Why Users Pay a Premium to De-Risk 06:05 Is the UX Improving Enough 06:35 Embedded Wallets: Amazon, Revolut, MetaMask 07:12 MetaMask as a Crypto Native Super App 07:32 Breaking Fragmentation With a Unified Standard 08:02 Lessons Learned: Payins vs Payouts 08:44 Why Businesses Want Stablecoin Payouts 09:14 How Payout Demand Surprised the Team 09:30 Why the Wallet Network Was a Competitive Edge 09:49 Why Distribution Is What Matters 10:12 Distribution to Agents and Guardrails 10:31 Where Agentic Commerce Stands Today 10:53 Beast Modes and Trader CLIs 11:15 Stablecoins and Agents at Money 20/20 11:34 The Missing Authorization Piece 12:06 How USDC Pull Payments Made Stablecoins Work 12:34 Why Yolo Mode Is Dangerous for Real Purchases 13:07 Why the MetaMask Agent Wallet Added Guardrails 14:03 Why Agentic PMF Is Still Early 14:23 Misconceptions Web3 Has About TradFi 14:46 Why They Need Us Less Than We Need Them 15:14 Why Self Custody Is the Real Differentiator 15:46 How Wallet Verification Predated the Travel Rule 16:37 Decentralized Identity and Agent Reputation 16:56 Why Self Custody Changes Identity Control 17:30 How DIDs Bridge Server and Wallet Infrastructure 17:52 What Pedro Wants in the Next Six Months 18:20 Learning From Visa and Mastercard's Guardrails 18:40 The Vision of Wallet and Card Payments Merging 18:59 Permissioned Infrastructure by Design 19:29 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sam Kazemian

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Spencer Noon from OurNetwork sits down with Sam Kazemian, founder of Frax, to discuss how a stablecoin becomes core infrastructure in the post Genius Act world. Sam winds back to March 2025 when he, co-founder Travis Moore, and US industry figures including the Blockchain Association and Coinbase's Brian Armstrong were negotiating the wording of the Genius Act, which legalized payment stablecoins as federally regulated digital dollars. He breaks down what he sees as the most important part of the act: a stablecoin issuer backed by narrow collateral types (Fed reverse repos, money market fund securities, Treasury bills, and FDIC insured bank deposits, or RWAs representing those) can become a Genius compliant issuer through the OCC or a state regulator, issuing what amounts to legal tender that banks, companies, and fintechs can accept. He explains that while Frax was an Ethereum DeFi OG with an original hybrid algorithmic stablecoin (now deprecated but not shut down, like DAI and Sky), the flagship product is now FraxUSD, a Genius compliant stablecoin that launched right when the act passed in July 2025. Sam details FraxUSD's core differentiator: unlike USDC or USDT where users and venues have no relationship with the issuer and receive none of the underlying risk free yield, FraxUSD streams the risk free rate directly on chain. He walks through the concrete mechanism built with Aave V4, where a reserve link smart contract checks the average FraxUSD balance in partner protocols like Aave and Curve pools daily, mints new FraxUSD against the growing reserves, and streams it into those venues, making FraxUSD the highest TVL lent digital dollar on Aave V4. Users can view the underlying RWAs (money market fund securities and Treasury bills custodied by BlackRock, BNY, and WisdomTree). Sam frames base money stablecoins as the biggest network effect product in crypto, distinct from yield bearing 4626 vaults, and explains Frax's forward looking strategy of not fighting USDC on established venues but instead becoming the aligned default digital dollar for the infrastructure of tomorrow like Aave V4, Morpho, and new RWA pools. Spencer connects this to DeFi's promise of financial empowerment and Vitalik's critique of unnecessary rent seeking, noting the current disconnect between $300 billion in stablecoins and only $16 billion on lending protocols. Sam closes with a prediction that the stablecoin supply will double from $300 billion to over $600 billion within a year, with banks moving balance sheets into compliant stablecoins and companies running stablecoin treasuries becoming routine daily headlines. 00:00 Introduction 00:07 Winding Back to March 2025 and the Genius Act 00:51 What the Genius Act Legalized 01:17 Deconstructing the Parts That Matter 01:51 The Narrow Collateral Requirements 02:25 Why Frax Built the New Version This Way 02:58 From Algorithmic Stablecoin to FraxUSD 03:48 Being First to Build to the Act 04:31 The User Journey vs a Neo Bank or Coinbase 05:03 Why Most Venues Get No Yield From Issuers 05:32 The Aave V4 Risk Free Rate Mechanism 05:58 Highest TVL Digital Dollar on Aave V4 06:24 Looking Forward, Not Winding Back the Clock 06:58 The Aligned, Regulated, Redeemable Digital Dollar 07:32 Why the Current Lending Rate Falls Short 08:38 Viewing the Underlying RWAs on Frax's Website 09:08 Which Institutions Custody the Reserves 09:37 How the Reserve Link Smart Contract Works 09:59 A Programmable Version of Coinbase USDC Earn 10:33 Why Base Money Is the Biggest Network Effect 11:32 Network Effects vs Yield Bearing Vaults 12:06 FraxUSD as Direct Spend Across Venues 12:34 DeFi as Financial Empowerment 13:10 The $300 Billion vs $16 Billion Gap 13:39 Efficiency, Alignment, and Composability 14:04 Sustainable Infrastructure, Not a Campaign 14:37 Not Fighting USDC on Established Pairs 15:03 Targeting the Infrastructure of Tomorrow 15:37 The Two Year Vision for FraxUSD Dominance 16:32 What KPIs Frax Aligns Around 16:53 Why Eventually There Will Just Be Dollars 17:59 Banks and Companies Moving to Stablecoin Treasuries 18:51 When Billion Dollar Mints Become Daily Headlines 19:07 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Chris Yin

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Chris Yin, co-founder and CEO of Plume, cuts through the hype around tokenization and RWAs to reveal what he calls the "digital assets mirage." He acknowledges the dominant narrative right now with Visa and Mastercard talking about stablecoins, BlackRock pushing tokenization for two years, DTCC planning to tokenize everything, and NASDAQ recently discussing tokenizing all equities. RWA charts are ripping up and to the right with the sector at $30 billion in assets, up 4x since February and growing 30% just last quarter. But when you peel back the onion, the picture changes dramatically. Chris shows individual assets driving the growth: $2.8 billion with only 43 holders, $1.5 billion with 29 holders, $250 million with just 1 holder. One of the biggest assets had 6 monthly transfers last month, down from before. The RWA space looks huge in headlines but is almost entirely contained to a tiny number of actual users, with very few of these assets actually being used in DeFi lending or borrowing today. Chris argues the answer is understanding the user, not just the asset. He uses stablecoins as the model since they took an American asset (US dollars), packaged and distributed it differently, and reached users globally who otherwise had no access. He extends the analogy through McDonald's international expansion: burgers didn't work in Japan until they moved them into fancy Ginza malls and eventually created the teriyaki burger (Japan is now 70% of international sales), and India required them to shift meals from indoor family cooking to outdoor consumption. Same product, different packaging and delivery for each user community. Chris introduces Plume's approach: focus equally on tokenization and distribution, wrapped in regulation and compliance. He walks through Plume's traction including raising from Haun and Galaxy, then Apollo and Brevan Howard, launching mainnet with $150M in assets, becoming the top network by RWA holder count, securing US transfer agent and Bermuda licenses, and announcing the Ether.fi partnership. Distribution wins include $50M through Grove and Apollo into the Acred fund, $40M through OKX integration, $100M in deposits from the Ether.fi community, and 33,000% APY plays for the degen audience through Pendle. He identifies three primary buckets where stablecoin money actually sits (exchanges, neobanks, and onchain users), each requiring differently designed products. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Why Tokenization Is the Dominant Narrative 00:50 Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, DTCC, NASDAQ Headlines 01:10 Why Bags Still Aren't Pumping 01:33 $30 Billion in RWAs and Q1 Growth 02:13 30% Quarter Over Quarter Growth 02:38 Feels Contained to Headlines 02:55 Peeling Back the Onion: 43 Holders on $2.8B 03:32 Why Holders Matter More Than Volume 03:45 Monthly Transfers Are Shockingly Low 04:19 Very Little RWA Actually Uses DeFi Today 04:56 Plume Leads by RWA Holder Count 05:16 The Stablecoin Playbook: Package and Distribute 05:50 Access Is the Answer 06:17 The McDonald's International Expansion Analogy 06:38 Same American Burger, Different Countries 07:04 Why Japan Needed a Different Approach 07:57 The Teriyaki Burger Success Story 08:12 India: Rethinking the Product and Delivery 08:56 Global Now 60% of McDonald's Sales 09:26 Understanding the Crypto User Base 09:53 Crypto Isn't a Monolith: Traders, HODLers, Farmers 10:46 Different Audiences, Different Product Design 11:04 Introducing Plume: The Company Journey 11:56 Partnership With Ether.fi 12:18 Billions in Volume and Global Licenses 12:45 Weaving Together Tokenization, Compliance, Distribution 13:30 Real Deployments: Grove, Apollo, OKX, Ether.fi 14:12 Three Places Stablecoin Money Sits 14:56 Regulation and Compliance as the Underpinning 15:36 The Plume Product Suite 16:24 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Camila Russo from The Defiant sits down with Carlos Domingo, co-founder and CEO of Securitize, just days after the SEC approved their S-4 filing, clearing the path for Securitize to go public through a SPAC merger with Cantor Equity Partners II. Carlos explains that after 8 years building the company and landing major partnerships with BlackRock, Apollo, and VanEck, the successful Circle IPO signaled that if there's investor demand for tokenized dollars (stablecoins), there should be demand for tokenizing everything else too. The SPAC merger gets shareholder approval June 29th and Securitize begins trading on the NYSE around July 2nd under the ticker SCC ("sexy"), with roughly half a billion dollars in cash from the trust and PIPE for acquisitions and expansion. Beyond capital, going public gives the credibility large financial institutions need to work with Securitize. Carlos explains why Ethereum has emerged as the leading blockchain for tokenization: Securitize has been an EVM shop since 2017 when Ethereum was the only credible option, they now have around 30% of assets on Ethereum making it their largest chain, and BlackRock specifically chose Ethereum for BUIDL. Gas fees aren't a problem for their use cases, and Ethereum wins on decentralization, security, ecosystem, and liquidity. On permissioning, Carlos explains they use permissionless infrastructure but issue permissioned assets by whitelisting KYC'd wallets in smart contracts, allowing peer to peer transfers to still happen decentrally. He distinguishes between real privacy (layers on top of Ethereum transactions) versus "database privacy" that just restricts access. On DeFi composability, Securitize built vault technology that lets permissioned assets serve as collateral in permissionless lending protocols (integrated with Aave Horizon, Euler, and others) while controlling liquidation. He addresses the Citi $5.5 trillion RWA projection by 2030, arguing tokenized equities and ETFs are the asset class that will move the needle since only 2-3% of that $150 trillion market moving onchain would nearly get there. He announces Securitize partnerships with the NYSE for 24/7 equity trading with instant settlement and Computershare for onchain equity movement. Carlos strongly criticizes competitors offering derivative wrappers instead of actual equity, praising Superstate, Centrifuge, and Bullish for doing it correctly. He points to BlackRock's BUIDL being the only cash product that pays daily dividends (making it the best performing) as proof that tokenization creates net new utility. He closes by predicting traditional and onchain markets will coexist and consolidate, with Ethereum remaining the multi-purpose leader. 00:00 Introduction 00:07 The SEC Approved Securitize's S-4 00:40 Why Securitize Decided to Go Public 01:28 Why a SPAC With Cantor 01:51 What the S-4 Filing Involves 02:17 The Path to Listing on the NYSE 02:35 The New Ticker: SEC 02:59 What Going Public Enables for Securitize 03:43 Why Ethereum Leads for Tokenization 05:12 Why Gas Fees Are Not a Problem Here 05:28 Why BlackRock Chose Ethereum First 05:48 Permissioned Assets on Permissionless Rails 06:51 Two Types of Privacy 08:01 Making RWAs Composable With DeFi 08:46 Integrations With Aave, Euler, and Horizon 09:05 Trading RWAs via Uniswap X 10:02 What It Takes to Reach $5 Trillion by 2030 10:35 Why Tokenized Equities and ETFs Matter 11:27 Partnerships With NYSE and Computershare 11:44 The Right Way to Do Tokenized Equities 12:31 Why Most Are Just Derivatives 13:44 Why the Token Must Be the Real Share 14:36 What Still Needs Solving: Utility 15:22 The BlackRock BUIDL Example 15:44 Why Tokenized BUIDL Pays Daily Dividends 17:06 Where the Demand Comes From Today 18:15 Are Institutions Waiting on Regulation 18:55 Why There Is Already Clarity 19:45 The Dial-Up Internet Analogy 20:37 When Blockchains Become Invisible 21:14 Financial Markets in Five Years 21:51 A New Parallel Market on Blockchain Rails 22:30 Securitize as the Conduit for TradFi 22:52 Where Ethereum Sits in That Future 23:56 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Yuga Cohler, head of engineering at Coinbase Developer Platform, sits down with Erik Repp, founder of the X2X protocol and his former boss, to discuss the state of agentic payments. Yuga frames agentic payments as a buzzword that Coinbase thinks about constantly, and after polling the audience finds most have heard of X2X but far fewer have actually done a transaction or had an agent do one. Erik's core takeaway is that agentic commerce is not theoretical: it already happens tens or hundreds of thousands of times a day and is genuinely useful right now, urging everyone to give their agent a wallet and five dollars and try it. With Anthropic's Fable launching that day and models accelerating, they note agentic payments are still nascent at roughly $15 million annualized volume, while X2X recently hit its 100 millionth transaction and around 50 million annualized. Erik explains that the original sin of the internet was having no standard way to declare a payment regardless of the underlying rails, since Stripe, Adyen, and Checkout.com all differ. X2X provides a well typed schema and standard way of declaring how to receive payment, which creates easy programmable interfaces for agents. Because agents are probabilistic and every credit card form field is another chance to fail, deterministic programmatic tools let an agent simply express intent to pay rather than filling 14 fields. X2X is agnostic to the underlying rail, operating across roughly 15 blockchains including Solana, Base, and Ethereum, plus card rails. They discuss why stablecoins fit agentic payments (microtransactions charging fractions of a cent, programmability, instant settlement), and Yuga positions CDP as Coinbase's version of AWS providing settlement, custody, API and MCP infrastructure, and enterprise controls, where enabling agent payments is just a config on an existing stack. Erik draws an analogy to the open web built on HTML and HTTP, arguing crypto's open standards let companies compete on a level playing field while handling custody, KYC, and compliance. They close with hot takes: Yuga predicts 2026 as the year of agentic "vibe trading" where agents pay for data autonomously via X2X, and Erik argues payments make AI less mundane by giving agents access to valuable proprietary information rather than the same public corpus everyone else has. 00:00 Introduction 00:31 Agentic Payments and the X2X OG 00:52 Audience Poll: Who Has Done an X2X Transaction 01:20 Go Try Agentic Commerce Yourself 01:48 Volume Stats and Anthropic Fable Launch 02:30 Why AI Agents Need to Make Payments 02:36 The Original Sin of Internet Payments 03:22 How X2X Standardizes Payment Declaration 03:46 Why Agents Need Deterministic Tools 04:44 X2X Across 15 Blockchains and Card Rails 05:04 Why Stablecoins for Agentic Payments 05:42 CDP as Coinbase's Version of AWS 06:19 The Infrastructure Stack: Settlement to Custody 07:22 The Edge Determines Human, Agent, or Business 07:46 Shopify and Merchant Acceptance Examples 08:11 Agentic Payments as a Config on Existing Infrastructure 08:32 The Pivot to Agents Like the Open Web 09:30 Why Businesses Need Custody and Compliance 09:53 Competing on a Level Playing Field 10:23 AWS Agent Core Adopts X2X 10:43 Marketing and Research Agents Using X2X 11:57 The Number One Enterprise Question: Compliance 12:27 How the Facilitator Lowers the Barrier 13:20 CDP's Facilitator With KYT and OFAC Screening 13:53 Safe Defaults That Drop Barriers to Entry 14:25 Why Conservative Enterprises Are Coming Around 14:59 The Magic Moment for Agentic Payments 15:21 Hot Take: 2026 as the Year of Vibe Trading 15:50 Agents Trading Autonomously via X2X 16:30 Why Delegating to Trading Agents Is Fun 16:57 Hot Take: How Mundane AI Is Right Now 17:22 The Share Research Papers Era of AI 18:02 Why Capabilities Made the Internet Interesting 18:38 Why Payments Make AI Less Mundane 18:55 Giving Agents Access to Valuable Secrets 19:17 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, William Mougayar from TRUSTSHIFT sits down with Chris Giancarlo, former chairman of the CFTC and current member of Patomak Global Partners, known as "Crypto Dad" for his early advocacy that let Bitcoin futures list on regulated US exchanges in 2017. Chris shares his origin story of coming out of the financial crisis at a swaps trading platform, working through Dodd-Frank rules for five years, then being nominated by President Obama to the CFTC where he served with Sharon Bowen. He recounts how in 2017 Bitcoin was trading around $1,000 and the CME approached him wanting to list Bitcoin futures. Despite intense opposition from the entire financial establishment (JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and others calling to shut it down), Chris famously testified to the Senate that "my son is interested in Bitcoin, and I owe it to him to try to understand it," which became a viral moment that gave him the nickname Crypto Dad. The conversation moves to the current regulatory landscape and Chris's vision for what he calls "regulation 2.0." He argues the previous era of regulation was built for an analog world of intermediaries and paper based settlement, but the digital age requires principles based, technology neutral frameworks that can adapt to programmable money, tokenized assets, and 24/7 markets. He praises the current administration's approach with the Genius Act, the Clarity Act working its way through Congress, and the SEC's Crypto Task Force under Chairman Atkins moving away from regulation by enforcement. Chris emphasizes that the US is finally embracing its role as the global leader in digital finance rather than pushing innovation offshore. He shares his optimism about tokenized real world assets, stablecoins as an extension of US dollar dominance, and the convergence of TradFi and DeFi. He closes with advice for builders: engage with regulators early, be transparent about your business model, and focus on solving real problems for real users rather than chasing regulatory arbitrage. 00:00 Introduction 00:15 The Crypto Dad Origin Story 01:24 From Financial Crisis to CFTC Nomination 02:38 The 2017 Bitcoin Futures Decision 03:52 CME Approaches the CFTC 05:04 Wall Street Opposition to Bitcoin Futures 06:17 The Senate Testimony That Went Viral 07:31 My Son Is Interested in Bitcoin 08:44 Becoming Known as Crypto Dad 09:58 The Analog Era of Financial Regulation 11:12 Why the Digital Age Needs Regulation 2.0 12:26 Principles Based and Technology Neutral Frameworks 13:41 The Genius Act and Clarity Act Progress 14:55 The SEC Crypto Task Force Under Chairman Atkins 16:09 Moving Away From Regulation by Enforcement 17:24 US Embracing Global Leadership in Digital Finance 18:38 Tokenized Real World Assets 19:51 Stablecoins Extending US Dollar Dominance 21:04 The Convergence of TradFi and DeFi 22:18 Advice for Builders 23:32 Engaging With Regulators Early 24:45 Focus on Real Problems for Real Users 25:59 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Peter Watts from Relay makes the case that interoperability and exchange are the biggest barriers standing between onchain payments and true "payments grade" quality that can compete with traditional money rails. He opens by framing why onchain payments are compelling: permissionless global access, instant settlement without reconciliation across ledgers, a single shared ledger, and the programmability of open rails that make money as open as the internet. But the bar is high, since credit cards and emerging instant transfer rails already work simply, quickly, and reliably every time. Payments grade means an experience where you just tap, it's fast, it's a synchronous confirmation, and it works every time regardless of which bank a merchant uses or which country you're in. He acknowledges that onchain rails have come a long way with fast low cost blockchains, a mix of regulated and yield bearing stablecoins, and improved on-ramps. Peter argues the core unsolved problem is that there will never be a single chain or single stablecoin. Even within USD there are multiple prominent stablecoins (people use Tron USDT whether you like it or not), foreign currency stablecoins are emerging as people want to be paid locally, and USDC alone exists on around 50 chains. Once you introduce exchange between all these assets, keeping payments simple, fast, and reliable gets much harder, and existing infrastructure doesn't fit. Bridges are deliberately slow and expensive and shouldn't be rushed, while traditional DEXs and AMMs are built for trading, introducing slippage and lacking exact output support that payments require. He outlines what a new payments liquidity layer needs: broad asset support without fragmenting liquidity across pairs and chains, instant cross chain movement via a fast layer of solvers taking finality risk on top of the slow secure base layer, and always available liquidity that works every time even under market stress (unlike mercenary prop AMMs). He explains that liquidity alone isn't enough and an orchestration layer is needed for routing, gas and nonce handling, and rethought UX like universal deposit addresses instead of wallet connections. He closes on pricing guarantees, noting stablecoins don't actually trade at exactly a dollar (USDT recently traded 10 bps below USDC), and predicting applications will subsidize one to one experiences the way merchants subsidize credit card fees, revealing that solving exchange and interop is exactly what Relay is building. 00:00 Introduction 00:12 Why Onchain Payments Are Interesting 00:37 Instant Settlement and a Single Shared Ledger 01:00 Making Money as Open as the Internet 01:22 Why the Bar for Payments Is High 01:44 What Payments Grade UX Means 02:06 Reliability and Working Every Time 02:28 How Far Onchain Rails Have Come 02:53 Why Interop Is the Biggest Barrier 03:22 The Reality of Tron USDT and Local Currencies 03:44 USDC Across 50 Different Chains 04:08 Why Businesses Choose Different Chains 04:32 Why Exchange Makes Everything Harder 04:59 The Need for a New Liquidity Layer 05:25 Why Bridges Aren't Built for Payments 05:58 Why DEXs and Slippage Don't Fit Payments 06:22 The Problem of Broad Asset Support 06:47 How Pairs and Pools Fragment Liquidity 07:17 Moving Across Chains Instantly 07:51 Designing Liquidity That Is Always Available 08:37 The Orchestration Layer on Top 09:05 Routing, Gas, and Nonce Handling at Scale 09:30 Rethinking Payments UX Beyond Wallet Connect 09:53 Universal Deposit Addresses on Any Chain 10:18 Pricing Guarantees and the Dollar Myth 10:44 How Applications Will Subsidize One to One Rates 11:18 The Credit Card Subsidy Analogy 11:49 Summary: We Are Close 12:17 What Relay Is Building 12:17 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Jacob Willemsma from ETHGlobal sits down with Henri Stern, founder of Privy, to discuss Privy's first year inside Stripe and how stablecoin infrastructure is being woven into mainstream finance. Henri explains that Privy builds embedded wallets, key management systems that developers drop directly into their products to give users simple access to crypto, stablecoins, and any digital asset without needing to think about what happens under the hood. Privy serves several thousand customers ranging from crypto native companies like Jupiter, Hyperliquid, and Uniswap to much more mainstream businesses like Deel, Ramp, and Klarna. Henri shares that his biggest fear joining Stripe was the stack being co-opted and verticalized into captive infrastructure, but conversations with Stripe leadership affirmed a shared commitment to an open stack where developers pick their chains, orchestration, and rails, and where Privy can still serve Stripe, Bridge, and Tempo competitors. He describes the pragmatic balance between decentralization purism and usable infrastructure, citing wallet connectors and day one key export as escape hatches that preserve self custody. He walks through lessons absorbed from Stripe (decade long ambition exemplified by Atlas now powering 25% of Delaware incorporations, kinetic short term execution, and a deep commitment to never deprecating interfaces), the Treasury product giving businesses stablecoin backed accounts now used across 50 countries, and recent launches like MoneyGram's MGUSD and Deel's hold, earn, spend contractor wallets. He closes on the remaining bottlenecks of financial tooling, regulatory clarity, and accounting integration, along with his belief that these rails ultimately lay the groundwork for genuine self sovereignty. 00:00 Introduction 00:28 The Fear and Excitement of Joining Stripe 00:45 What Privy Builds: Embedded Wallets 01:04 From Crypto Native to Mainstream Customers 01:27 Privy Needs Friends: Why Wallets Need Ecosystems 02:11 The Fear of the Stack Being Co-Opted 02:33 Conversations With Stripe on an Open Stack 02:57 Working With Stripe, Bridge, and Tempo Competitors 03:37 Pragmatism Over Decentralization Maximalism 04:00 Where Are the Lines on Open vs Closed 04:40 Privy Earn Built on Morpho and Aave 04:57 Embedded Wallets and Abstraction From the Metal 06:06 Wallet Connectors and Escape Hatches 07:21 What Privy Learned Inside Stripe 07:40 Decade Long Ambition and the Atlas Example 08:40 Balancing Long Term Vision With Short Term Shipping 09:36 Never Deprecating Interfaces 09:50 Stripe Sessions and the Treasury Announcement 10:51 Why Crypto Rails Make Better Products 11:07 The Two Prongs of the Stablecoin Strategy 11:42 From Holding to Actually Using Stablecoins 12:30 Treasury Live in 50 Countries 13:00 Abstracting Crypto Without Losing the Magic 13:53 Smart Contract Risk and Disclosure 14:38 MoneyGram MGUSD and Deel Contractor Wallets 15:35 The Stablecoin Sandwich and Responsibility to Disclose 16:05 Ship the Value, Not the Infrastructure 16:48 Is Tooling Still the Bottleneck 17:30 Regulatory Clarity and Money 20/20 17:53 Accounting, Taxes, and Marrying the Rails 18:41 Meta Creator Payouts in Emerging Markets 19:33 The Perception Gap: Crypto Stuck in 2014 20:23 Three KPIs Henri Is Watching 21:21 New Experiences That Peek the Rails 21:39 The Ten Year Horizon of Self Sovereignty 22:04 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Kartik Talwar

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this brief opening, Kartik Talwar, co-founder of ETHGlobal, welcomes over 2,000 attendees to day two of ETHConf at the Javits Center. He reiterates that ETHConf is the first and biggest institutional Ethereum event in America, run by ETH Global with the goal of promoting the Ethereum ecosystem and getting the smartest people in the world building on the hardest problems in the space. New York was chosen intentionally to bring together the finance world with the broader crypto community, connecting DeFi and TradFi founders alongside builders working on cryptography and distributed systems so both sides can readily collaborate. Kartik previews day two's structure across three continuing themes: how institutions are thinking about adopting stablecoins and DeFi in their day to day flows, how protocols are evolving from an engineering perspective (what's still outstanding, what's being worked on, what to expect in the coming months and years), and how these two threads connect to make it easy for everyone else to come on chain by simplifying UX, technical, and regulatory hurdles at scale. He emphasizes that speakers coming on stage will talk about work they've already shipped rather than work they're just thinking about, and encourages attendees to interact directly with founders throughout the day since decisions happen faster when you can chat with the people building the products. 00:00 Welcome to Day Two of ETHConf 00:30 Why New York and Why Institutional Focus 00:58 Bringing DeFi and TradFi Together 01:23 2,000 Attendees and 150 Speakers 01:51 Day Two Themes: Institutions, Protocols, Adoption 02:20 Real Stuff on Stage, Not Concepts 02:39 Meet Founders Throughout the Day 02:57 Kicking Off the First Talk _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Shadman Sakib, founder of Flex Global, argues that fintech and banking have missed the real economy by building almost exclusively for customers who already have world class financial infrastructure. Through interactive audience polling, he illustrates that while most attendees use Robinhood and major banks, 99% of the world operates with a patchwork of obscure local banks, stablecoin wallets, FX platforms, manual checks, and separate debit cards just to complete a single transaction. Drawing on nine years at JP Morgan and City plus three years at Mercury, he explains that fintech was built in San Francisco for AI agents, NASDAQ listed companies, and large multi-million dollar deposit holders, while ignoring local manufacturers, middle market businesses, and exporters in places like Colombia hedging against currencies that fluctuate 20 to 30%. He notes even crypto foundations struggled to bank anywhere from 2020 to 2025, relying on patchwork setups across the Cayman Islands, BVI, Singapore, and Switzerland. Shadman contends that while stablecoins solved money movement, they don't solve operations for most companies, and 90% of stablecoin adoption happens overseas precisely where the complex use cases live. He details what's actually missing: invoices and ISO memos attached to payments, FX conversion to local currencies, local bank delivery, 30-day payment terms, and credit, which the US takes for granted but barely exists elsewhere. He critiques neo banks spinning up without true banking DNA or real compliance teams, chasing Solana treasuries and crypto companies with hundreds of millions rather than serving the businesses that drive the global economy. Using a Singapore tire manufacturer on HSBC as an example, he outlines the real needs: multicurrency accounts, multi-entity management, trade finance to borrow against receivables, local off-ramps, real credit, and compliance that understands industries rather than labeling crypto high risk. He explains Flex Global treats stablecoins not as a product to sell but as an augmentation of years of banking rails and credit expertise from servicing over 20,000 middle market customers, offering local currency accounts in 100 plus countries with invoicing, treasury, FX, and native credit. He closes urging the industry to stop building for people already on chain and instead serve those for whom simply holding US dollars is a luxury. 00:00 Introduction 00:12 Interactive Audience Poll 00:38 The One Transaction Nightmare 01:18 How Fintech Missed the Real Economy 01:47 Why the US Has World Class Infrastructure 02:12 How Things Break Outside the US 02:34 The Luxury of Using the US Dollar 03:02 Why Even Crypto Foundations Couldn't Bank 03:32 Who Fintech Has Been Building For 03:54 Building for Large Deposit Holders 04:18 The Neo Bank Cluster Chasing Crypto Treasuries 04:39 Why Regular Businesses Dwarf Crypto 05:02 Serving Crypto After SVB at Mercury 05:24 Why No Compliance Is a Death Sentence 05:45 How Banks Made Money on FX and Fees 06:10 Why the Fastest Money Movement Is Not Moving It 06:43 Why We Keep Building for the Same Customers 07:00 Why 90% of Stablecoin Adoption Is Overseas 07:35 What Is Missing From Stablecoin Payments 07:54 Why Credit Doesn't Exist Outside the US 08:42 Why Real Businesses Have Amplified Needs 09:09 Local Currency and Everyday Bills 09:45 The Singapore Manufacturer on HSBC 10:04 Trade Finance and Borrowing Against Receivables 10:22 Why Real Compliance Must Understand Industries 10:42 Why Neo Banks Lack Banking DNA 11:18 Why the Full Stack Is Hard to Build 11:44 Understanding Invoicing and User Permissioning 12:04 Why Business Payments Need Approval Layers 12:30 Serving the Customers Everyone Ignores 12:55 What Flex Global Is Building 13:25 Stablecoins as Augmentation, Not a Product 13:50 Serving the Customers Actually Moving Money 14:17 Local Accounts, Credit, and Native Rails 14:46 Talking to Design Partners 15:09 Building for People Who See This as Luxury 15:32 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Erbil Karaman

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Erbil Karaman from Huma Finance presents an onchain alternative to global transaction banking, the system that has dominated global money movement for decades. He explains that despite its name, the system is largely local: most global transaction banking happens in New York, home to USD Fedwire (around $1.1 quadrillion annual volume) and the CLS FX settlement system (around $1.8 quadrillion), all depending on a central ledger held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York where every bank wanting to settle USD globally must hold reserves, topped by JP Morgan. He dispels the myth that banks move money, arguing they instead manage liquidity across large balance sheets composed of deposits, which is why JP Morgan is fighting stablecoins so hard, since without deposits banks lose the liquidity that enables global capital movement. Erbil outlines three challenges facing bank fiat liquidity: higher cost of capital as quantitative easing ends and monetary policy tightens, fragmenting geopolitics from trade and tariff wars pushing central banks to derisk from T-bills into gold and commodities, and the rise of stablecoins draining deposits from treasuries, companies, and wealthy individuals. Citing JP Morgan's 2026 payments industry report, he notes banks now recognize liquidity must become programmable, borderless, and always on, and that blockchains are here to scale. Huma's PayFi network rebuilds global transaction banking onchain using stablecoins, programmable liquidity, and yield vaults that operate 24/7 without banking holidays or dependence on the Fed's central ledger. He shares live use cases across credit cards (Rain), cross border payments, merchant settlements (Amazon settling with Asia suppliers in one button press instead of two to four days), and trade finance for commodities, rare earths, and GPUs. He details Huma's layered stack (transaction, currency, cost, compliance, liquidity, and use case layers) and rapid adoption by Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Stripe, Western Union, and MoneyGram. The network has grown 3x year over year to $14 billion in total volume growing $1 billion monthly on just $160 million in efficiently recycled stablecoin liquidity, generating sustained 8% organic yield for over 110,000 depositors with zero credit defaults. He closes announcing the PayFi token (PST) omnibus yield system is now live on Ethereum mainnet with partners including Bitwise, Fluid, Morpho, and Chainlink, after two years operating mainly on Solana. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 A Big Idea: Replacing Global Transaction Banking 00:36 Understanding the Global Banking Buildup 00:58 Why the System Is Actually Local 01:25 Fedwire and CLS: Quadrillions Through New York 01:50 The Central Ledger at the Federal Reserve 02:17 JP Morgan and the Bank Reserve System 02:40 The Myth That Banks Move Money 03:03 Why Banks Fight Stablecoins to Death 03:25 Three Challenges Facing Fiat Liquidity 03:52 Fragmenting Geopolitics and Derisking From T-Bills 04:31 How Stablecoins Drain Deposits 05:03 JP Morgan's 2026 Payments Report 05:26 Programmable, Borderless, Always On Liquidity 06:00 Why Blockchains Are Here to Scale 06:36 How Huma's PayFi Network Works 06:58 Use Case: Credit Cards With Rain 07:24 Use Case: Cross Border Payments 07:50 Use Case: Amazon Merchant Settlements 08:33 Use Case: Trade Finance for Commodities and GPUs 09:06 The Layered PayFi Stack 09:42 Adoption by Every Major Payment Company 10:05 The Numbers: $14 Billion and 3x Growth 10:28 8% Organic Yield and Zero Defaults 10:53 Programmatically Locking the Settlement Cycle 11:21 The PST Cross-Chain Omnibus Yield System 11:56 Now Live on Ethereum Mainnet 12:32 Diminishing the Role of Fiat Rails 12:59 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Kevin Zhang, co-founder of Loon, the issuer of Canadian dollar stablecoin CADC, explains why the playbook for building a non-US dollar stablecoin is fundamentally different from a US dollar one. He shares that Loon is Canada's largest stablecoin with about two-thirds of the market, launched the first Canadian dollar stablecoin in 2021, and did around half a billion dollars in transactions over the past year. He maps the global rise of local stablecoins across Europe, Asia (Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand), Africa (Nigeria, Cameroon), and a booming Latin America (Brazilian Real, Argentine Peso, Mexico), envisioning a network of stablecoins enabling unique new use cases. Kevin contrasts the two models. The US dollar stablecoin playbook is to accumulate AUM, lock it in treasuries, and earn yield, which works spectacularly for Tether but is becoming a race to zero as Circle, Paxos, and Bridge compete by distributing more yield to partners, ultimately becoming asset managers charging basis points like banks. Non-US dollar stablecoins have a different advantage: an FX conversion is inherent in almost every transaction, value that is usually captured by centralized exchanges. By decoupling the fiat on-off ramp from the FX component, a stablecoin issuer can become the on-off ramp while a separate provider handles foreign exchange, significantly reducing onboarding costs. He walks through the core principles of building a stablecoin: regulation (Canada's conflicting federal and provincial regimes, Europe's MiCA revision, the US Clarity Act, and the UK rethinking limits), politics (the Gary Gensler era versus today's climate), and the deeper driver of monetary sovereignty, since countries want citizens using local currency rather than ceding monetary supremacy to the US dollar. He stresses trusted infrastructure and efficient fiat on-off ramps to hold the peg, integration with domestic payment rails like Brazil's Pix and India's UPI, catering to local geography, and the hard problem of liquidity and market making since major market makers like Wintermute, Cumberland, and Jump have not yet entered. He closes on velocity of money as the biggest opportunity, noting CADC's roughly $2 million market cap generated $500 million in volume and millions in FX revenue, and argues coupling on-off ramps with issuance (a synergy Circle missed by not acquiring Bridge) is key to building the future non-US dollar stablecoin FX network. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Meet Loon and CADC 00:44 Why Not Everyone Uses the US Dollar 01:06 Kevin's Background in Crypto 01:34 Launching the First Canadian Dollar Stablecoin 01:58 Mapping Stablecoins Around the World 02:32 Latin America's Local Stablecoin Boom 02:55 Toward a Network of Stablecoins 03:27 The US Dollar Stablecoin Playbook 03:51 Why AUM Is a Race to Zero 04:34 Why the Yield Model Is Unsustainable 04:34 The FX Advantage of Non-USD Stablecoins 05:08 Decoupling On-Off Ramps From FX 05:41 The Core Principles of Building a Stablecoin 06:27 Regulation in Canada and Beyond 07:08 MiCA, Clarity Act, and the UK 07:31 Why Monetary Sovereignty Matters 07:52 Escaping US Monetary Supremacy 08:46 Why Politics Plays a Big Part 09:14 The Gensler Era and Its Aftermath 09:41 Why Trusted Infrastructure Is Critical 10:09 Why Efficient On-Off Ramps Hold the Peg 10:32 Connecting Domestic Payment Rails Like Pix and UPI 10:58 Catering to Local Geography 11:41 Why Liquidity and Market Making Is the Hardest Part 12:10 Convincing the Biggest Market Makers 12:32 Toward a 24/7 Always-On FX Market 13:04 Disintermediating SWIFT and the Banks 13:42 Velocity of Money as the Biggest Opportunity 14:05 How CADC Did $500 Million on $2 Million AUM 14:53 Why FX Is the Cornerstone 15:17 The Non-USD Playbook Recap 15:41 The Bridge Acquisition Circle Missed 16:12 Why Circle Should Own Its On-Off Ramps 16:37 Building the Future Non-USD Stablecoin Network 17:00 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Justin Gainsley, who leads stablecoin payment acceptance at Coinbase, shares what four years of building stablecoin payments at scale has taught him about selling to enterprises and payment service providers, and what still needs to be accomplished. He opens with a 2012 Hacker News post from Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong, written before he even applied to Y Combinator, expressing the idea of using crypto to remove the 2 to 3% interchange tax Visa and Mastercard charge on every payment, showing crypto as a payment method has been ingrained in Coinbase from the start. Taking over Coinbase Commerce with the same mandate, Justin's team tried nearly everything (Bitcoin payments, every token on every chain, memecoins, cashback, point of sale, invoicing, online checkout) but nothing moved the needle, and for a while they worried crypto might not be right for payments. The signal emerged from talking to hundreds of buyers and merchants: a real cohort wanted crypto as their cash, something stable to earn into and spend without gas or volatility. So Coinbase made the non-consensus bet of stripping out Bitcoin, Ethereum, and all volatile assets to go all in on stablecoins, which drew internal backlash but sent conversion, volume, and merchant satisfaction all up. Strikingly, 64% of wallets paying on the stablecoin only product held no other assets, a fundamentally new cohort of savers rather than traders. Justin recounts bringing what they thought was the industry's best stablecoin checkout to Shopify, only to be asked about auth and capture, a term he had never heard, kicking off a year of learning what a real payment system requires: authorization holds, automated voids, configurable expiries, refunds, settlement schemes, reconciliation, and disputes. He details the resulting open source Commerce Payments Protocol, an escrow smart contract on Base powering Shopify's USDC checkout across hundreds of thousands of sites, with a permissionless operator role, six operations (authorize, capture, charge, void, refund, reclaim), and a blockchain native reclaim function letting buyers pull funds back after expiry. He covers the boring but required enterprise needs (predictable flat gas fees, custom settlement files, daily fiat delivery, compliance), argues the blockchain itself is fine for payments since Base settles in 200 milliseconds for under a penny, and identifies wallets, on-ramps, and signing UX as the real problems. He closes noting stablecoin payments have gone from curiosity to production in two years. 00:00 Introduction 00:41 Brian Armstrong's 2012 Post on Removing Interchange 01:09 Why Crypto Payments Are in Coinbase's DNA 01:35 Trying Everything to Make Crypto Payments Work 02:00 Worrying Crypto Might Not Fit Payments 02:23 Listening Closely to Buyers and Merchants 02:41 The Camp That Wanted Crypto as Cash 03:06 The Non-Consensus Bet on Stablecoins 03:35 The Internal Backlash 03:58 Why All the Metrics Went Up 04:28 64% of Wallets Held No Other Assets 04:54 The New Cohort of Savers 05:14 Bringing the Best Checkout to Shopify 05:32 The Auth and Capture Question 06:08 A Year Learning What Payments Require 06:32 Why Not to Underestimate Traditional Payments 07:15 Plugging Into Where Enterprises Already Are 07:37 The Commerce Payments Protocol on Base 08:01 How the Escrow Smart Contract Works 08:28 The Operator Role Explained 08:46 Why Operators Cannot Modify or Lock Funds 09:28 The Six Core Operations 09:48 Reclaim as a Blockchain Native Feature 10:12 The Boring but Required Enterprise Needs 10:33 Predictable Flat Gas Fees 10:44 Custom Settlement Files per PSP 11:01 Daily Fiat Delivery and Compliance 11:26 Just Another Alternative Payment Method 11:54 What the Industry Still Needs 12:19 Why the Blockchain Is Fine for Payments 12:42 Where Wallet UX Kills Conversion 13:03 Why On-Ramps Still Need to Be Better 13:27 Signing UX and Smart Wallet Adoption 13:59 From Curiosity to Production in Two Years 14:41 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Rajeev Bamra, who oversees global strategy and operations for the digital economy at Moody's Ratings, addresses the question beneath every institutional capital markets discussion: not which stablecoin is fastest, but which ones are safer, and how you would ever know. He identifies three expensive, measurable problems in traditional financial infrastructure: a mobility problem ($240 trillion in liquidity trapped across hundreds of siloed ledgers designed not to talk to each other), a volume problem (over $100 billion spent every year reconciling data across those ledgers), and a speed problem (over $10 trillion in daily FX turnover exposed to settlement risk because execution and settlement speeds are mismatched). He argues markets are already responding: tokenization can unlock collateral and stablecoins can settle it, shared ledgers can solve reconciliation, and atomic or T+0 settlement can solve speed. US dollar stablecoins are already driving de facto digital dollarization, some issuers hold more US treasury debt than midsize sovereigns, and incumbents are integrating rather than fighting them, so stablecoins have crossed into core infrastructure regulators now signal reserve, redemption, and operational requirements for. Rajeev explains why a credit rating agency cares about stablecoins with a house-buying analogy: you would not hand over your life savings without an independent structural survey, and a credit rating is exactly that, a forward-looking independent opinion of how an issuer performs over time under stress. He lays out four risk buckets for assessing a stablecoin: underlying collateral and reserve quality (bankruptcy-remote segregation, stress scenarios like 30% simultaneous redemption), transaction structure and legal enforceability across jurisdictions, operations and counterparties (who runs the chain, minting and burning, governance, systemic interdependency as stablecoins embed into treasuries and agentic commerce), and technology risk (oracles, smart contract audits, key management, custody, validator concentration). Since no rigorous framework existed, Moody's built one, launching in March 2026 the industry's first cross-sector stablecoin credit rating methodology, applicable to all fiat-backed stablecoins globally and portable across jurisdictions, assessing whether a stablecoin can be redeemed at par on demand under stress. He notes Ethereum stands out as the settlement chain in a future multi-chain economy, and closes on Moody's Token Integration Engine, which turns static credit opinions into programmable onchain signals, making Moody's the only credit rating agency with native onchain presence. 00:00 Introduction 00:12 The Question Beneath Every Capital Markets Debate 00:46 Three Expensive Problems in Financial Infrastructure 01:00 The Mobility Problem: $240 Trillion Trapped 01:15 The Volume Problem: Reconciliation Costs 01:29 The Speed Problem: FX Settlement Risk 01:46 How Markets Are Already Responding 02:17 Stablecoins Driving Digital Dollarization 02:39 From Parallel Ecosystem to Core Infrastructure 03:06 How Regulators Have Noticed 03:46 Why a Rating Agency Cares About Stablecoins 03:56 The House Survey Analogy 04:38 What a Credit Rating Really Is 05:07 The Four Risk Buckets 05:38 Underlying Collateral and Reserve Quality 06:03 Transaction Structure and Legal Enforceability 06:40 Operations and Counterparties 07:15 Technology and Oracle Risk 07:43 Launching the First Stablecoin Rating Methodology 08:14 Redeeming at Par Under Stress 08:39 Why This Is About More Than Stablecoins 09:14 Why This Moment Is Different 09:46 New Asset Types and New Risk Layers 10:14 What Digital Bonds Proved 10:37 What Tokenized Funds Confirmed 11:01 Why Stablecoins Are Growing So Fast 11:24 Why Ethereum Stands Out 11:54 Why the Future Is Multi-Chain 12:07 The Missing Credit Intelligence Layer 12:55 Coming On Chain With Public Ratings 13:20 Introducing the Token Integration Engine 13:56 Moody's Native Onchain Presence 14:22 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Scott Dykstra from Space and Time explains how his team is building the data layer for Ethereum's institutional era, providing data to smart contracts from institutional portfolios offchain or secured events onchain. Space and Time is a decentralized onchain database that lets smart contracts ask complex questions. When they started in late 2021, they set out to build the first verifiable ZKP-proven SQL database, using zero knowledge cryptographic proofs for queries asked by smart contracts. The original insight was that a lending smart contract knows nothing about the borrower wallet transacting with it (DeFi protocols have no database to query and aggregate past activity), so Space and Time brings an onchain database that lets contracts roll up and aggregate the history of wallet transactions and events, proven back to the contract by the next block. He frames this as the next step beyond the price-feed oracles that enabled DeFi summer in 2020: letting a smart contract actually run a SQL query aggregation, a powerful primitive for institutions entering lending and vaults. Scott describes the technology as a blockchain sitting next to the EVM that lets you create tables, insert data, and run SQL queries, paying a few SXT tokens per action (for example, creating a T-bill volumes table and querying it from a contract to mint stablecoins backed by offchain T-bills). With the Clarity Act about to pass, he sees fintechs like Stripe, PayPal, and Circle having shown banks how to mint stablecoins backed by reserves, and now major banks hiring contractors to tokenize offchain securities. The real unlock is programmable finance: banks can codify rules around minting, volume thresholds, and marking to market, extending beyond stablecoins to CLOs, equities, and commercial real estate repriced as often as desired. Space and Time acts as the secure conduit that reaches into locked-down offchain portfolios and ZK-proves to a contract that aggregated data (say, total collateral across 17 portfolios on two clouds) is accurate and untampered, ensuring minted stablecoins always match reserves in near real time. He extends this to virtual vaults that give lenders a data room and dashboard showing borrower collateral and deployed capital across exchanges and DEXes, then lets the vault contract itself run SQL queries to enforce thresholds and margin calls, enabling compliant, largely uncollateralized lending. He closes on DeFi itself, where querying a wallet's history of repaid loans could earn experienced borrowers better rates, powering a new wave of onchain lending. 00:00 Introduction 00:33 Building the Data Layer for Ethereum 00:58 The First Verifiable ZK-Proven SQL Database 01:33 Why Smart Contracts Have No Database 01:58 A Verifiable Pipeline of Data to Smart Contracts 02:19 Beyond Price Feed Oracles 02:38 How the Technology Works 02:52 Spending SXT to Create, Insert, and Query 03:15 Why Banks Are Leaning In 03:38 From Fintechs to Major Banks 03:56 The Benefit of Programmable Finance 04:44 Codifying Business Logic On Chain 05:16 Where Traditional Securities Data Lives 05:42 The Need for a Secure Conduit 06:12 ZK Proving Data From Offchain Portfolios 06:50 Why This Is More Than an Oracle 07:13 Aggregating Across 17 Portfolios 07:52 Why It Must Be Near Real Time 08:25 Extending Beyond Stablecoins 08:52 Why SQL Is a Familiar Primitive 09:15 Why You Cannot Aggregate Without This 09:48 The Problem of No Asset Provenance 10:39 Taking It Further Into Vaults 11:17 Why Banks Need Borrower Transparency 11:42 The Opaque World of Ethereum Vaults 12:26 Introducing Virtual Vaults 12:57 Giving Lenders a View of Borrower Capital 13:39 The Investor Dashboard and Data Room 13:56 Feeding Data to the Vault Contract Itself 14:22 Codifying Margin Calls and Business Rules 14:53 An End-to-End Example 15:55 Smarter Vaults Beyond Morpho 16:30 What About DeFi Itself 17:03 Rewarding Loyal Borrowers With Better Rates 17:29 The Year Ahead for Banks and DeFi 17:48 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Azeem Khan, co-founder of Miden, cuts through the headlines to address the reality of the missing pieces for institutional adoption of crypto. Drawing on his experience as a UNICEF Crypto Fund consultant, a Forbes Crypto contributor, and a CoinDesk writer, he introduces Miden as a next-generation ZK blockchain that raised $25 million last year from a16z crypto, 1kx, and others. He frames the core problem: blockchains have been either fully public (creating dystopian financial surveillance) or fully private (making illicit activity easy), and while permissioned chains are one attempted fix, the average person cares less about decentralization than about counterparty risk. Miden aims to give privacy and compliance to individuals and institutions at once, focused on onboarding institutions. He argues institutional adoption matters because the billion users will not come from meme coins but from people with real money in financial institutions going on chain, noting the 2024 bull run was kicked off by BlackRock's ETF, yet most activity remains stuck in pilots rather than full deployment. Azeem shares insights from speaking with leaders like the head of digital assets at Invesco and Amy Oldenburg who leads digital asset strategy at Morgan Stanley, both $2.5 trillion firms, and buckets the obstacles into four categories. Technical barriers include compliant privacy, interoperability and fragmentation, settlement delays, too few custody and stablecoin providers, weak institutional risk tooling, and shallow liquidity depth (large players would move price charts). Regulatory and compliance barriers include token classification and tax uncertainty (he has not created a US onshore entity for fear the SEC could freeze accounts and block payroll), weak auditing and reporting, insurance shortages, cross-border tax complexity, and reputational risk (the New York Knicks closed off crypto after nearly signing FTX). Operational and governance barriers include counterparty risk, DAO decentralization theater run by whales, and broken token economic models where airdrops create sell pressure rather than demand. Cultural and organizational barriers include quarterly earnings pressure, talent shortages, risk-averse conservatism, and internal knowledge gaps where crypto evangelists are not the decision makers (Invesco needs 50 teams to sign off on a product). He ends optimistically on progress in privacy tech, stablecoin regulation, and institutional DeFi (which he thinks will simply become onchain finance), arguing crossing the chasm requires regulators, builders, and institutions collaborating on trust, compliance, and usability, with long-term vision over short-term hype. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 The Reality Behind the Headlines 00:29 About Azeem 01:02 What Is Miden 01:32 The Problem With Fully Public or Private Chains 01:56 Why Counterparty Risk Matters More Than Decentralization 02:18 Why Institutional Adoption Matters 02:38 Why the Billion Users Will Come From Institutions 03:02 Still in Pilots, Not Full Deployment 03:32 The Three Institutional Perspectives 03:59 Why Adoption Has Stalled 04:21 Technical Barrier: Compliant Privacy 04:42 Interoperability and Fragmentation 05:00 Settlement Delays and Inefficiency 05:21 Too Few Custody and Stablecoin Providers 05:44 The Problem of Liquidity Depth 06:02 Regulatory and Compliance Barriers 06:26 Why He Has No US Onshore Entity 06:40 Auditing, Reporting, and Insurance Shortages 07:16 Cross-Border Tax and Reputational Risk 07:44 Operations and Governance Barriers 08:02 DAO Decentralization Theater 08:36 Why Token Models Are Broken 08:57 Cultural Barriers: Quarterly Earnings Pressure 09:26 Talent Shortages and Risk-Averse Culture 10:13 Why Evangelists Are Not the Decision Makers 10:49 Why Invesco Needs 50 Teams to Sign Off 11:07 Where the Industry Is Making Progress 11:29 From DeFi to Onchain Finance 11:56 What It Takes to Cross the Chasm 12:16 Long-Term Vision Over Short-Term Hype 12:34 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Tomasz Stanczak

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this wide-ranging talk, Tomasz Stanczak, founder of Nethermind and now founder of Complete Robot (a fully owned Nethermind subsidiary, not a departure), explores robots and physical AI as a new asset class and where Ethereum fits. After two years talking about agentic AI, robots, and how Ethereum can coordinate agents and solve identity, he decided to actually build rather than tell people it is easy, and shares the harder but exciting realities. He surveys the landscape: AI agents, compute, and robotics (embodied or physical intelligence), agent-to-agent and machine-to-machine payments, agentic commerce as the most immediately implementable case, and onchain compute metering (referencing the Blockrun AI team from his HF0 residency in San Francisco). His own focus is machine-to-machine micropayments, fleet billing, and self-deployable businesses, imagining how a largely autonomous economy of agents and robots would need to be structured. Tomasz walks through robotics trends: a robot beating a human at package sorting (a robot runs 6,000 hours a year versus a human's 2,000), and the economics where robots make sense wherever their amortized cost per hour undercuts expensive human labor, opening questions about insurance, regulation, financing, and operating robotic fleets as yield-generating asset classes. He notes China leads in absolute deployed industrial robots while Korea, Singapore, Germany, and Japan lead in density, and describes the energetic re-industrialization movement he witnessed in Detroit (Newlab, BCON) and across the US and Europe. On blockchain-to-robot, he covers identity systems (World, Boop, the latter incubated at Nethermind), verifiable robot actions, training, and data collection amid cross-border mistrust of foreign-made robots, and yield tokenization treating robotic fleets as deployable yield businesses. He flags a friction: strong identity plus reputation reduces the need for micropayments (enabling subscriptions and credit), while micropayments minimize trust but raise KYC and AML problems at scale. He observes that centralized players like Tesla often strip the decentralization from crypto's visions while shipping the same product, discusses DePIN precedents like Helium and their incentive misalignments, and covers stablecoin-backed debt like USD.AI backed by GPU (and potentially robot) fleets. He closes on tokenized real assets enabling on-demand fleet deployment, heavy regulation ahead, growing token use from physical AI, X2X adoption needing layer-2 scaling, and his focus on recursive autonomous capital allocation. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Founding Complete Robot Under Nethermind 00:33 Two Years on Agentic AI and Robots 00:58 Why He Decided to Build Instead of Talk 01:33 The Landscape: Agents, Compute, and Robotics 02:10 Machine-to-Machine Payments and Self-Deployable Businesses 02:41 Imagining a Fully Autonomous Economy 03:05 The Robot That Beat a Human at Sorting 03:53 The Economics of Robot vs Human Labor 04:25 Robotic Fleets as an Asset Class 05:22 Robotic Density Around the World 05:48 The Potential in North American Robotics 06:36 The Re-Industrialization of Detroit 07:26 Why People Must Meet to Build Physically 09:01 Blockchain to Robots: Identity Systems 09:22 Verifiable Robot Actions and Cross-Border Mistrust 10:29 Yield Tokenization of Robotic Fleets 11:00 The Friction Between Identity and Micropayments 11:50 Why Micropayments Raise KYC and AML Problems 12:40 How Tesla Strips Decentralization From Crypto Visions 13:33 Where Decentralized Fleets Could Work 14:30 Lessons From DePIN Projects Like Helium 15:14 The Unfairness in Tokenized Solutions 15:40 Stablecoin-Backed Debt Like USD.AI 16:08 Tokenized Real Assets and On-Demand Fleets 16:38 The Permissionless Vision vs Heavy Regulation 17:12 Why Physical AI Grows Token Use 17:38 Compute vs Money at the Energy Level 18:35 The Growing Adoption of X2X 19:13 Carrying Blockchain DNA Into Agents and Robots 19:46 Closing: Recursive Autonomous Deployment _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Rodrigo Coelho, CEO of Edge & Node, explains why banks are racing onchain in 2026, covering what is working in production today and what is not, and what infrastructure moving production financial workloads on chain actually requires. He opens on how most of the world's money still moves on software written in the 1970s, likening institutions going on chain to a dial-up to broadband moment, or streaming music forced through record players. In 2026 the pilots of past years are moving into production: the New York Stock Exchange is working on 24/7 tokenized trading and tokenized assets are becoming collateral, all converging because the regulatory clock is ticking with the Genius Act, Clarity Act, and MiCA turning compliance frameworks from white papers into laws. Having spent eight years shipping blockchain infrastructure (from the first commit at The Graph to running Edge & Node, serving 1.8 trillion queries), Rodrigo says the Genius Act taking effect January 27th is a forcing function, and given long procurement cycles, institutions that wait for tooling will miss the window. Rodrigo argues banks are bringing the wrong assumptions on chain: their data stacks assume finality, append-only ledgers, overnight batch windows, and ACH and wire transfers, treating reorgs as edge cases when reorgs are normal, and off-the-shelf warehouses like Snowflake, Postgres, and BigQuery do not work out of the box with on-chain data, which is rarely cryptographically verifiable. Using the wrong tools breaks data freshness, auditability, and verifiability, and bad data puts capital at risk through stale collateral, blown liquidations, and compliance violations, with 24/7 markets that never pause. He lays out five non-negotiables for institutional data infrastructure: sub-second data freshness (block to query in under a second), verifiable cryptographic lineage, multi-chain access (The Graph indexes over 90 chains), on-prem deployment for data sovereignty in jurisdictions like the Middle East, Brazil, and Japan, and SQL-native querying that engineers and AI both speak. He gives vendor-evaluation questions and introduces Amp, Edge & Node's SQL-native, on-prem-capable blockchain data platform with verifiable extraction and full lineage across 100 chains that bridges into existing stacks. He shares production numbers (747 millisecond freshness, 100x pipeline improvement, 4,350x faster backfills), contrasts pay-per-query versus flat-fee licensing, and closes that the institutions moving now will own the next decade of financial infrastructure. 00:00 Introduction 00:41 Money Still Runs on 1970s Software 01:05 Why 2026 Is When Pilots Go to Production 01:35 Why the Regulatory Clock Is Ticking 01:57 Rodrigo's Background at The Graph 02:16 Why Now: Genius Act, MiCA, and Global Momentum 02:44 Why Waiting for Tooling Misses the Window 03:13 The Genius Act as a Forcing Function 03:42 What Institutional Conversations Revealed 04:11 Banks Bringing the Wrong Assumptions On Chain 04:34 Why Reorgs Break TradFi Assumptions 04:56 Why Off-the-Shelf Warehouses Fail 05:28 Why On-Chain Data Is Rarely Verifiable 05:40 The Three Things That Fail 06:01 Why Bad Data Puts Capital at Risk 06:33 Why 24/7 Markets Reward First Movers 06:56 The Five Non-Negotiables for Data 07:23 Multi-Chain Access and On-Prem Deployment 07:47 Why SQL Native Is a Requirement 08:07 Questions to Ask Every Vendor 08:30 Red Flags in Data Vendors 08:57 Introducing Amp 09:21 Joining On-Chain and Off-Chain Data 10:30 Amp's Production Numbers 11:00 Pay Per Query vs Licensing the Platform 11:50 How Compliance Becomes Provable 12:18 Why Amp Was Built for Tokenized Deposits 12:41 What Rodrigo Tells Every Institutional CTO 13:36 Why the Future of Finance Is Multi-Chain 14:13 Why Infrastructure Choices Decide the Leaders 14:39 The Rise of Heads of Digital Assets 15:02 Consulting to Navigate the Vendor Landscape 15:29 Building the New Way Money Moves 16:07 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, John Egan, the recently joined chief product officer at Polygon, lays out how Polygon sees the future of money, walking through its mission, the product it is bringing to market, and its progress toward what money will become on chain. He introduces Polygon's new mission, championed by CEO Marc and founder Sandeep, to move all money on chain, a practical evolution of its earlier goal of building a trustless internet. He argues the killer use case of blockchain turns out to be money, so the aim is to do the hard, product-oriented work to get all of it on chain. The vehicle is the Open Money Stack, a single open, vertically integrated stack for all money movement and storage (onchain and off) that collapses the tangle of networks, banks, processors, and compliance integrations developers juggle today into one API and dashboard. He notes last week's technical preview shipped regulated cash and fiat ramps, custodial wallets (with non-custodial coming), intent-based orchestration, distribution across chains, and a dashboard any knowledge worker can use. John makes the case for why Polygon is positioned to win. It has already moved about $2.6 trillion, with monthly volumes up over 400% to $130 billion across 30 million-plus payments a month, recently the most stablecoin transactions of any chain including BNB and Solana. Major financial companies already run on Polygon (Stripe, BlackRock's BUIDL, Robinhood, Paxos, Checkout.com, and Flutterwave), and it has been global since day one, handling around 75% of Latin America's stablecoin market where adoption is real utility and a hedge, not wash trading. He argues onchain FX will overtake today's largely non-USD stablecoin market, that money must be cheap and fast (Polygon nears 5,000 TPS, chasing Gigagas at 100,000 TPS, with one-block finality and no reorg since January), and that Polymarket already settles on Polygon. On interoperability he covers AgLayer, Polygon CDK, and Trails (from the Sequence acquisition), a Google Maps for routing money at the cheapest path. He highlights over $250 million in acquisitions including Coinme (regulated in 38 states) for consumer on-ramps, and closes on AI as the next step function: Polygon is the most used chain on X2X, makes agentic transactions gasless (even refunding facilitator gas), and demoed spinning up a neobank with a single Polygon CLI command. 00:00 Introduction 00:07 The Future of Money at Polygon 00:32 The New Mission: Move All Money On Chain 00:48 Why Money Is the Killer Use Case 01:05 The Vision to Get There 01:21 Introducing the Open Money Stack 01:57 The Complexity Developers Face Today 03:01 Collapsing It Into One API and Dashboard 03:21 The Technical Preview and First Features 04:06 What Gives Polygon the Right to Do This 04:29 Not Our First Trillion: $2.6 Trillion Moved 04:48 Leading in Stablecoin Transactions 05:08 The Financial Companies Already on Polygon 05:45 Why Polygon Is Global Since Day One 06:04 Dominating Latin America's Stablecoin Market 06:26 Why Onchain FX Will Take Over 07:08 Why Money Must Be Inexpensive and Fast 07:30 Chasing Gigagas at 100,000 TPS 07:48 Why the Biggest Operators Use Polygon 08:13 Three Efforts Toward Interoperability 08:33 Trails: Google Maps for Moving Money 09:09 $250 Million in Acquisitions for Regulated Money 09:26 Coinme and Consumer On-Ramping 09:48 The Sequence Acquisition and Enterprise Wallet 10:11 Why AI Is the Next Step Function 10:38 From Chatbots to Autonomous Systems 11:17 Why Polygon Is Leaning Into AI 11:35 Gasless Agentic Transactions on X2X 12:07 Building Money Management With AI 12:41 Spinning Up a Neobank With One Command 12:59 What a Neobank Really Is 13:43 Why Anyone Should Be Able to Build One 14:01 Closing and How to Get Involved _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this ETHConf Crypto Startup Showdown, hosted by Kartik of ETHGlobal, 14 startups (drawn from past ETHGlobal hackathon projects turning into companies plus open applications) each pitch for three minutes followed by a four-minute Q&A, competing for a $5,000 cash prize for the best pitch plus future ETHGlobal, Pragma, and ETHConf sponsorship opportunities and Cointelegraph service credits. Three early-stage VC judges give feedback and guidance: Tarun Chitra, Joyce Yang of Pivot Global, and David Shengart of the Cointelegraph accelerator. The lineup spans DeFi automation, agent infrastructure, RWAs, stablecoins, privacy, payments, gaming, and prediction markets. The teams pitch as follows. Amplifi builds single-click permissionless prime brokerage, using trusted execution environments and programmable custody to let traders borrow against any DeFi position across venues. Glider automates any investment strategy, letting users build direct-indexed onchain portfolios (like a Nancy Pelosi tracker or biotech basket) with no gas, signing, or bridging, reporting over 100,000 users. Zyfai embeds personal yield agents into wallets that monitor and rebalance funds, having handled $2.4 billion across 10,000 wallets. ascii presents Box, a cheap, powerful sandbox giving AI agents their own computers at up to 25x less cost. Papre is the agreement layer bridging legal meaning and smart contract execution, automating milestones, escrow, and arbitration. ASCNT brings market-making yield to LPs by pricing toxic versus healthy swap flow and auctioning arbitrage back to the pool. Cambria is a crypto game studio building onchain PvP duels and MMO experiences. Frankencoin offers the largest Swiss Franc stablecoin and its Frankencoin Pool Share governance token, pitching CHF as a superior store of value via an oracle-free CDP. YieldSeeker grows wealth on autopilot with conversational DeFi agents managing $1.5 million. Radius brings the institutional repo market onchain with peer-to-peer funding that bypasses dealer banks. Unlink provides privacy and compliance infrastructure letting companies use any chain privately in three lines of code via zero knowledge. dolphinze builds contractor-first payment infrastructure with one wire in and compliant multi-currency payouts out. Frames offers one composite model giving AI agents access to the paywalled internet across 4,000+ tools with unified billing. PulsePlay is the settlement layer for second-by-second markets using state channels, launching live in-play World Cup predictions with no ghost fills. The judges deliberate to pick the winning pitch. 00:00 Introduction 00:29 How the Showdown Works 00:54 Meet the Three Judges 01:30 The Prize and Sponsorship Opportunities 02:11 The 14 Teams 02:35 Amplifi: Permissionless Prime Brokerage 05:56 Amplifi Q&A 10:35 Glider: Automate Any Investment Strategy 14:28 Glider Q&A 18:42 Zyfai: Personal Yield Agents 22:11 Zyfai Q&A 26:22 ascii: Box, a Sandbox for Agents 30:39 ascii Q&A 34:15 Papre: The Agreement Layer 37:20 Papre Q&A 43:17 ASCNT: Market Making Yield for LPs 46:39 ASCNT Q&A 50:12 Cambria: Crypto Game Studio 53:14 Cambria Q&A 57:41 Frankencoin: Swiss Franc Stablecoin 1:00:16 Frankencoin Q&A 1:05:19 YieldSeeker: Wealth on Autopilot 1:08:19 YieldSeeker Q&A 1:13:34 Radius: Onchain Repo Platform 1:16:33 Radius Q&A 1:20:34 Unlink: Privacy and Compliance Infrastructure 1:23:55 Unlink Q&A 1:28:45 dolphinze: Payment Infrastructure for Work 1:31:54 dolphinze Q&A 1:36:45 Frames: Paywalled Data for AI Agents 1:39:24 Frames Q&A 1:43:59 PulsePlay: Settlement Layer for Fast Markets 1:47:17 PulsePlay Q&A 1:51:45 Closing and Judge Deliberation _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Jan Gorzny

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Jan Gorzny from Zircuit discusses how to bring institutional adoption from Wall Street onto Ethereum, focusing not on ZK but on the barriers institutions and their users face and how crypto-native solutions can overcome them. He motivates the case by cataloging the pain points of TradFi: it is good but not great, with poor settlement efficiency, a lack of transparency (you rarely know who you are dealing with at a bank), and costs and difficulty that scale as you become the institution itself, since it is an old industry not optimized for the last 20 to 30 years of technology, with heavily siloed money. On chain solves much of this: fast and improving settlement, 24/7 trading regardless of bank hours, strong transparency (a double-edged sword given weak default privacy), programmable money enabling automated trading and looping, and composability across asset classes. He argues the value proposition is real, and while early banking-the-unbanked adoption was slow, RWAs and stablecoins have blown up, with FX and other services now being piloted on chain. Jan walks through the barriers. First, regulatory uncertainty: unclear asset classifications, cross-border complications, and technical risks like recurring smart contract exploits (worsened by a bad first quarter) where you cannot simply patch decentralized code, so institutions avoid it not from misunderstanding but because their lawyers will not sign off. Second, infrastructure and chain fragmentation, with around 131 rollups as of last October creating hard choices about which chain, oracle, and bridge to use and forcing new, modular, redundant DApp designs rather than the cookie-cutter patterns of 2022. Third, permissionlessness as a genuine trade-off, where censorship resistance and transparency clash with the whitelisting and controls institutions need. He surveys emerging solutions: permissioned DeFi with KYC and whitelisting, RWA token standards like ERC-3643 and ERC-1400, ZK-based KYC that validates a passport without revealing it, customizable L2s, and safer bridge standards like OFTs and CCIP. He advises builders to design for modularity, understand their trust model, and engage regulators early, and notes users now face far more complex due diligence and unpredictable yield, arguing uncertainty is risk. He closes on his preference for predictable DeFi and Zircuit's product targeting 8 to 11% yield on USDC and USDT with no management fees or minimums, built to work with Wall Street and institutional partners. 00:00 Introduction 00:33 The Barriers Wall Street Faces On Chain 00:52 The Pain Points of Traditional Finance 01:20 Why Costs Scale for Institutions 01:45 Why Money Is So Siloed 02:13 How On Chain Solves These Problems 02:34 Transparency and Programmable Money 03:11 Why the Value Proposition Is Real 03:32 From Banking the Unbanked to Real Adoption 03:44 How RWAs and Stablecoins Blew Up 04:06 Piloting Other TradFi Services On Chain 04:38 Why We Have Only Scratched the Surface 04:56 Why Builders Must Start Agile 05:14 The First Barrier: Regulatory Uncertainty 05:40 Unclear Classifications and Cross-Border Issues 06:02 Why You Cannot Just Fix Exploited Code 06:26 Why Lawyers Will Not Sign Off 06:50 The Second Barrier: Infrastructure and Fragmentation 07:22 Choosing Among 131 Rollups 07:41 Standards, Oracles, and Bridges 08:07 Why the Cookie-Cutter DApp Era Is Over 08:28 Why New DApps Need Redundancy 09:08 The Third Barrier: Permissionlessness 09:30 Choosing Which Permissionlessness Matters 09:59 Emerging Solutions: Permissioned DeFi 10:13 RWA Token Standards Like ERC-3643 and 1400 10:28 ZK-Based KYC With a Passport Scan 10:44 Building Your Own Customizable L2 10:59 How Bridges Have Come a Long Way 11:17 Tokens Built With Legal Barriers in Mind 11:37 What This Means for Builders 11:56 What This Means for Users 12:28 Why Uncertainty Is Risk 12:47 The Case for Predictable DeFi 12:59 Zircuit's Product for Wall Street 13:13 Targeting 8 to 11% Yield With No Fees 13:54 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Zach Pandl, head of research at Grayscale (the world's largest digital assets focused fund manager), lays out how his team thinks about investing for the tokenization vision and why Ethereum is well positioned to capture it. He notes Grayscale's history of Ethereum firsts (one of the first ETH investment products and ETFs, the first to stake tokens in its Ethereum ETF, and the first to pay out staking rewards), and pushes back on the current despair over ETH's price. He defines tokenization as extending public blockchain's peer-to-peer digital finance into capital markets: instead of a security trade routing through broker, exchange, clearing house, custodian, and transfer agent, a tokenized trade settles cash for asset in a single peer-to-peer smart contract transaction, removing intermediaries and gaining efficiencies. Zach shows tokenized assets have grown from near zero to the $20 to $30 billion range and diversified across tokenized treasuries (the largest category), public fixed income, equities, private credit and equity, commodities like gold, and real estate. Yet this is only about one basis point of global equity and bond market cap, making tokenization a 10-to-30-year mega trend still at its very beginning. He frames a spectrum of network architectures: institution-centric designs like Canton (mirroring today's financial system, lower near-term onboarding friction, near-term success), open architecture networks like Ethereum (bigger onboarding frictions and unfinished privacy and identity solutions, but general purpose, global, and more long-term upside), and hybrids like Avalanche and Ethereum L2s. He argues Ethereum has the right architecture and leads on tokenized assets, stablecoin supply and transactions, and DeFi TVL, while Canton, Solana, and BNB lead on certain niche measures. On value accrual, he presents data showing bigger blockchains mean higher token value, using hard-to-game transaction fees and TVL, with Ethereum, BNB, Solana, and Tron standing apart and evidence of a nonlinear network-effect premium for the largest networks (Ethereum dominant on assets). He closes predicting the Clarity Act will pass and accelerate tokenization, framing it as a rising tide that lifts all boats where Ethereum is the biggest boat and the anchor asset no sensible institutional portfolio built around tokenization should skip, though diversifying into smaller boats can make sense too. 00:00 Introduction 00:31 Who Grayscale Is 00:59 Grayscale's History of Ethereum Firsts 01:52 Why the Price Despair Is Surprising 02:15 How Grayscale Thinks About Tokenization 02:39 What Is Tokenization 02:59 Peer-to-Peer Finance on Public Blockchains 03:24 Applying Peer-to-Peer to Capital Markets 03:54 Removing the Chain of Intermediaries 04:24 Where Tokenization Is Today 04:46 The Diverse Set of Tokenized Assets 05:06 Tokenized Commodities and Gold 05:40 Why This Is Only One Basis Point 06:06 Why Tokenization Is a 30-Year Mega Trend 06:32 Comparing Network Architectures 06:58 Institution-Centric Networks Like Canton 07:49 Open Architecture Networks Like Ethereum 08:14 The Onboarding Frictions vs Long-Term Upside 08:32 Why Ethereum Is a Global Project 08:58 Hybrid Architectures in the Middle 09:20 Why Ethereum Has the Right Architecture 09:45 Ethereum in the Leadership Position 10:02 Where Other Networks Lead 10:52 What This Means for the Price 11:18 Why Bigger Blockchains Mean Higher Value 11:51 Two Ways to Measure Finance 12:11 Why Fees Are the Best Metric 12:54 The Four Transaction Leaders 13:15 Evidence of a Nonlinear Value Premium 13:40 Measuring by Assets and TVL 14:02 Why Ethereum Dominates on Assets 14:25 Why Bigger May Get More Valuable Faster 14:46 No Need to Despair 15:11 Why the Clarity Act Will Accelerate This 15:47 A Rising Tide That Lifts All Boats 16:11 Why Ethereum Is the Biggest Boat 16:37 The Anchor Asset for Tokenization 16:59 Why Diversifying Into Smaller Boats Helps 17:18 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Yueqi Yang from The Information sits down with Farooq Malik, CEO of Rain, to discuss where stablecoin cards go next. She notes stablecoins have been the hottest story since the Genius Act passed, and Rain is a leader in stablecoin backed cards, recently raising at close to a $2 billion valuation. Farooq explains that stablecoins are a new way to hold, send, and spend money but were not interoperable with the existing financial ecosystem, trapped on the blockchain. Rain connects that value to the existing network of merchants worldwide, letting consumers tap a card or enter a PIN exactly as normal while the transaction is powered by stablecoins, so the merchant never needs educating. This has driven massive global adoption of stablecoins as a store of value. Farooq explains how Rain differs from earlier crypto exchange cards from Binance or Coinbase: rather than a fiat enabled veneer settling five days a week (forcing working capital and counterparty risk), Rain rebuilt the backend so 100% of customer and card network settlement happens directly on the blockchain, supporting over a dozen blockchains, every major virtual machine, public and private chains, multiple stablecoin issuers, and now tokenized deposits. He argues a fiat veneer has no moat and can only compete on price. On customers, Rain powers programs in over 100 markets split roughly 50/50 between crypto native (including stablecoin neobanks) and traditional financial services, and surprisingly the largest destination of transactions is US merchants and bank accounts, contradicting the assumption that stablecoin use is only offshore. He shares US use cases including hourly payroll disbursement (real 24-hour money, not a debt product) and a travel platform embedding spendable stablecoin balances. Farooq frames Rain as a technology and accounts business rather than a cards business, committed to being credibly neutral and open rather than a closed ecosystem like AOL. He addresses banks entering the space (SoFi's USD, tokenized deposit consortiums), Rain's tracker showing banks that deny stablecoin demand are actually the source of billions in flows, the difficulty of Visa and Mastercard principal membership, and closes on Rain's agent control layer for agentic payments where delegated spending authority cannot be hallucinated away. 00:00 Introduction 00:43 Why Rain Is a Leader in Stablecoin Cards 01:05 What Is a Stablecoin Backed Card 01:26 Why Stablecoins Were Not Interoperable 01:53 Connecting Tokens to the Merchant Network 02:34 Massive Global Consumer Adoption 02:52 Why Merchant Behavior Stays the Same 03:41 How Rain Differs From Exchange Cards 04:07 Building Full Interoperability Across Chains 04:28 Supporting Tokenized Deposits and Digital Money 04:57 Why Fiat Settlement Creates Risk 05:40 Settling 100% on the Blockchain 06:12 Why a Fiat Veneer Has No Moat 06:41 The Profile of Rain's Core Customers 07:11 Demand From Public Companies and Banks 07:41 Powering Programs in Over 100 Markets 08:07 Why the US Is the Largest Destination 08:56 Addressing the JP Morgan Deposit Token Claim 09:19 The Hourly Payroll Disbursement Use Case 09:57 Why This Is Only Possible With Stablecoins 10:21 Reallocating Value From Debt Products 10:48 The Travel Platform Use Case 11:47 The Diversity of Use Cases 12:09 Why Lower Working Capital Changes Everything 12:26 The Crypto Native vs Non-Native Breakdown 13:14 How Rain Thinks About Competition 13:47 Why Rain Is Not a Cards Business 14:31 Why Rain Avoids Payment Flows 14:59 Being a Credibly Neutral Technology Player 16:15 Why Open Beats Closed Ecosystems 17:04 Will Banks Enter the Stablecoin Card Business 17:38 SoFi USD and Tokenized Deposit Consortiums 18:30 The Data Gap in Bank Stablecoin Flows 19:30 Why Banks Lose Customers to Platforms 20:31 The Visa and Mastercard Principal Membership 21:27 Meeting Customers Where They Are 22:31 Plans for Agentic Payments 23:43 The Agent Control Layer 24:20 The AI Concierge Example 24:42 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Ayesha Kiani interviews her boss Shiliang Tang of Monarq Asset Management, after seven years working together, on all things markets and Ethereum. They open on how Ethereum has quietly become the settlement layer enabling 24/7 global markets. Shiliang draws a key distinction between trading and settlement: forex markets already trade 24/7, but settlement still depends on traditional banking, SWIFT messages, and windows that take one to two days, whereas Ethereum settlement is instant and final by definition. In practice this means trillions of dollars in stablecoin transfers annually, anyone worldwide accessing markets 24/7, and tokenized collateral becoming fungible and transferable on a Saturday, unlocking capital efficiency. On institutional interest in tokenizing real world assets, money market funds, treasuries, and private credit, Shiliang ranks the drivers as settlement first, then programmability and composability, then 24/7 trading, pending regulatory clarity from the Clarity Act. He highlights the underappreciated repo market (trillions of dollars at the foundation of capital markets, central to the 2008 crisis and the 2019 repo rate spike) as a huge opportunity, since instant movement of good collateral solves the bottleneck of collateral not reaching margin calls fast enough. He discusses CME, NYSE, and others moving to 24/7 amid a mix of public and private chains, the winners (global retail) and losers (settlement and margin-calculation industries built around market open and close), and how AI and agentic trading could level the playing field for retail. He argues traditional features like circuit breakers and FCMs are not bugs but hard-won guardrails crypto is now learning it needs after events like October 10th and leverage looping hacks, envisioning a blend where guardrails live in trading while settlement goes on-chain. On regulation, he describes perimeter enforcement: regulating the edges (stablecoin issuers as narrow banks, custodians, prime brokers, on- and off-ramps, whitelisted wallets) rather than permissionless protocols themselves. He names the repo market and non-US-dollar stablecoins as the liquid products he most wants on Ethereum, argues Ethereum should dominate settlement even as payments and trading fragment to faster chains, and closes hoping the community moves past its price fixation toward use cases, like a mature commodity that cycles up and down rather than only up. 00:00 Introduction 00:50 What 24/7 Global Markets Look Like in Practice 01:15 Trading vs Settlement: The Key Distinction 01:54 Trillions in Stablecoin Transfers 02:39 What Is Driving Institutional Interest 03:17 Why the Clarity Act Would Unlock Participation 03:37 Ranking the Drivers: Settlement First 03:55 The Underappreciated Repo Market Opportunity 04:40 How Collateral Bottlenecks Cause Crises 05:12 Composability and Instant Collateral Movement 05:41 Is TradFi Moving to 24/7 Markets 06:19 A Mix of Public and Private Blockchains 06:48 The Winners and Losers of 24/7 Markets 07:28 How AI Trading Levels the Playing Field for Retail 08:11 Liquidations at 3 AM on a Sunday 08:47 Why Traditional Guardrails Are Features, Not Bugs 09:29 What Crypto Is Learning From TradFi 10:04 Blending Guardrails With On-Chain Settlement 11:09 Educating Senators on DeFi 11:37 How Regulators Approach Permissionless Networks 12:10 Regulating the Edges: Issuers and Custodians 12:49 How to Regulate a Protocol With No Central Entity 13:13 Perimeter Enforcement Like the Internet 13:53 Regulating Whitelisted Wallets and Tokenized Assets 14:26 Will Ethereum Stay Dominant or Fragment 14:45 One Liquid Markets Product to See on Ethereum 15:11 Why the Repo Market Is the Answer 15:40 The Case for Non-Dollar Stablecoins 16:11 Why Ethereum Dominates DeFi 16:48 Why Ethereum Should Focus on Settlement 17:23 Closing Thoughts on the Next Cycle 17:52 Why the Industry Fixates Too Much on Price 18:30 Ethereum as a Mature Commodity With Cycles 19:18 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Kartik Talwar

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Kartik Talwar from ETHGlobal sits down with Katherine Wu, CEO of ENS Labs, to discuss the next era of ENS. Katherine explains that ENS launched in 2017 before NFTs, DeFi, L2s, account abstraction, and stablecoins existed, and that its smart contracts reflect a very different world. V2 is a ground-up rearchitecture of both the protocol and the front-end apps to meet users in a fast-changing, multi-chain industry. On the protocol side, V2 gives users maximal flexibility to design and set rules for their own namespaces in a world of stablecoins and L2s. On the app side, ENS is splitting its front end into two experiences: an Explorer for data nerds who want to see a name's full onchain history and footprint, and a simpler app for casual users who just want a profile. Katherine walks through the decision to abandon Namechain, ENS's planned own L2, which was not easy. The original motivation was sparing users the volatile, high mainnet gas fees of 2021 (she paid over $300 to register her name), but over the past year mainnet registration gas fell roughly 100x from around $5 to five cents, invalidating the core assumption. Since a name tied to identity needs the strongest security guarantees, and Ethereum L1 is the most secure chain with no downtime, they prioritized V2 on mainnet instead. She describes her role as CEO of an engineering-driven org, spanning finance, operations, and deep technical dives, and how working with the DAO forces user-first decisions (they put a first-ever price increase to a DAO vote and cannot unilaterally ship a protocol upgrade without token holder approval, a can't-be-evil design). She highlights ENS integration in PayPal and Venmo for sending stablecoins by username rather than a 0x address, arguing fintechs bringing users on chain cannot ship a 2017 UX. She previews V2 letting users pay for names with stablecoins or any ERC20 token, even starting the transaction on any L2 and settling on mainnet, and discusses years of good-faith relationship building with ICANN toward DNS compatibility (contrasting ENS with unrecognized alt-naming projects like .crypto that sit outside the internet root zone). She closes on the hardest part of building a trustless protocol with millions of users and owned assets: you cannot move fast and break the internet, and V2 is like ENS's version of the merge. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 The Next Era of ENS and Why V2 00:41 Why ENS Is Still Around Since 2017 01:07 How the Crypto World Has Changed 01:32 A World Before DeFi, L2s, and Stablecoins 02:04 The Big Features of V2 Over V1 02:33 Maximal Flexibility on the Protocol Side 02:56 Splitting the App Into Explorer and Normal 03:37 The Namechain Announcement 03:53 What Namechain Was and Its Goals 04:20 Maximizing Trustlessness 04:41 The $300 Gas Fee Problem of 2021 05:03 Why ENS Looked Into L2s 05:29 How Mainnet Gas Fell 100x 06:02 Why Security Guarantees Matter Most 06:21 Why Ethereum L1 Won 06:57 What the CEO of ENS Labs Actually Does 07:38 Why the Open Engineering Culture Matters 08:00 VC vs the Operating Side 08:22 How ENS Works With the DAO 08:53 Asking Users Before Raising Prices 09:29 Why Protocol Upgrades Need a Vote 09:53 The Can't-Be-Evil Design 10:13 ENS in PayPal and Venmo 10:57 Why Fintechs Integrated ENS for Stablecoins 11:51 The Security Case Against Raw Addresses 12:36 Why On-Chain Products Cannot Ship 2017 UX 12:59 Optimizing How You Pay for a Domain 13:15 Why ENS Was Not Built for ERC20 Payments 13:44 Buying an ENS Name With Any ERC20 Token 14:04 Starting the Transaction on Any L2 14:27 Compatibility With DNS and TLDs 14:59 Why ICANN Matters 15:37 Why Alt-Naming Projects Fall Outside the Root Zone 16:10 Years of Building Relationships With ICANN 16:58 The Hardest Part of Building Trustless Protocols 17:26 Why the Protocol Does Invisible Work 17:55 Why You Cannot Move Fast and Break the Internet 18:25 Designing for Every Edge Case 18:58 Why V2 Is ENS's Version of the Merge 19:16 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

David Hoffman

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, David Hoffman from Bankless sits down with Reid Simon from Figure to discuss how the company built one of the top 10 crypto assets by market cap through tokenized real world credit. Reid explains that Figure built quietly, creating a tokenization platform for HELOCs (home equity lines of credit), an esoteric consumer credit asset, now doing around $1.5 billion a month of natively tokenized HELOCs on the Provenance network, with TVL mirrored via CoinGecko for verifiability. Founded by Mike Cagney (also founder of SoFi), Figure operates as a capital light platform where about 380 partners plug into its tech stack for origination, credit decisioning, tokenization, trading, warehousing, and securitization across HELOCs, auto loans, residential transition, SMB, and inventory finance. Reid explains why Figure chose HELOCs: traditional mortgage origination costs banks around $11,000 to $12,000, making small equity loans unprofitable, so blockchain's cheaper rails unlocked lending banks could not provide. Once tokenized, the asset needed utility, so Figure built Democratized Prime, a borrow-lend market against AAA rated HELOCs paying around 6.5% with hourly liquidity, recently connected to DeFi via a Morpho launch enabling financing near SOFR. He describes the new buyers unlocked by public blockchains: TradFi buyers like pension funds and insurers who buy tokenized mortgages in monthly securitizations, DeFi curators who dig into the historical loan tape, and net new capital like Asian family offices who cannot otherwise access American consumer credit. He frames banks as the primary middleman being removed, citing a narrow banking thesis, and explains the margin benefits: financing on Morpho at around 4.4% versus Goldman's 6.7% warehouse rate is a meaningful accelerant. He covers why Morpho on Ethereum made sense after an MVP on Solana with Kamino (deeper liquidity, isolated markets, composability), how Figure charges 50 basis points but treats it as a flywheel rather than a profit center, and how competitors like Securitize and Superstate compete through value chain partnerships. He closes on expansion into auto loans, residential transition loans, and SMB and trade finance, projecting Figure's Ethereum and Morpho TVL to reach the billions by year end. 00:00 Introduction 00:07 How Figure Became a Top 10 Crypto Asset 00:41 $1.5 Billion a Month in Tokenized HELOCs 01:03 Mirroring TVL via CoinGecko for Verifiability 01:25 A 101 on the Figure Business 01:52 From Lender to a 380 Partner Platform 02:19 The Full Stack of Credit Assets 02:42 Beyond First-Generation Tokenized Assets 03:05 Why Tokenizing HELOCs Is Just One Piece 03:30 Why Figure Picked HELOCs as an Asset 03:49 Why Banks Could Not Provide Small Equity Loans 04:29 Why Tokenized Assets Need Utility 04:56 Democratized Prime Explained 05:27 Connecting HELOCs to DeFi via Morpho 05:46 The New Buyers Public Blockchains Unlock 06:06 Why RWA Tokens Struggle With Liquidity 06:26 TradFi Buyers of Tokenized Mortgages 06:50 Democratizing Access to Warehouse Finance 07:17 Are Banks the Middleman Being Removed 07:35 The Narrow Banking Thesis 08:19 Accessing 160 Billion in Stablecoins 08:40 Two Sources of New Capital 08:58 Success With DeFi Curators 09:48 Asian Family Offices Accessing US Credit 10:33 The Margin Impact of the Opportunity 10:49 Why Cheaper Financing Accelerates the Business 11:13 Financing on Morpho Below SOFR 11:49 A Whole New Product of Prime Borrowers 12:11 Why Morpho Was the Right Platform 12:37 Why Ethereum Over Solana for Scale 13:02 Is Morpho a Profit Center or Distribution 13:23 Why It Is a Flywheel, Not a Profit Center 13:53 What Competitors Are Learning 14:31 Competing Through Value Chain Partnerships 15:03 What Is Next: New Assets Coming On Chain 15:37 Auto Loans, Residential, and SMB Lending 16:06 Is the Model Unique or Scalable 16:40 The Two Keys to Success 17:31 Sizing the Assets on Ethereum and Morpho 17:58 Projecting Billions by Year End 18:21 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Jun 9, 2026

In this workshop, Ed Marquez walks through the three foundational layers needed for a trustless agentic economy: identity (ERC-7804), communication (Google's A2A protocol now under the Linux Foundation), and payments (X2X). He frames the vision of a near-future agentic web where AI agents discover, communicate with, and pay each other autonomously, and demonstrates how these three open protocols together enable that economy. Ed does live coding demos showing each layer. For A2A, he shows how agents expose an agent card describing their skills, capabilities, and streaming support. For X2X, he demonstrates how just 15 lines of middleware can gate any Express endpoint behind stablecoin micropayments, using Cloudflare's pay per crawl initiative with publishers as a real world example. He walks through the facilitator architecture that separates blockchain execution from business logic, then combines A2A with X2X to create an AI agent that charges 1/10th of a cent per stock summary query. For ERC-7804, he covers the three registries: identity (NFT-based), reputation (score-based feedback with optional IPFS or HCS-stored details), and validation, explaining how server agents authorize clients to leave signed feedback, creating verifiable reputation that lets autonomous agents safely discover and trust each other. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Three Pillars of the Agentic Economy 02:26 Technologies: ERC-7804, A2A, X2X 02:49 GitHub Repo Walkthrough 03:33 A2A Agents and Agent Cards 05:14 A2A Client Setup 06:00 Introduction to X2X Protocol 07:12 X2X for Micropayments and Pay Per Crawl 08:19 Implementing X2X Middleware 10:00 Combining A2A with X2X Payments 11:47 X2X Facilitator Architecture 13:33 Client Side X2X Integration 15:30 Live Demo: AI Agent with Paid A2A Endpoint 17:14 Verifying the Transaction on Hashscan 17:54 The Trust Problem in Autonomous Agents 19:46 Introduction to ERC-7804 20:58 The Three Registries: Identity, Reputation, Validation 22:23 Validation Registry Explained 23:16 Live Demo: Registering an Agent on ERC-7804 24:38 Minting the Identity NFT 25:54 Setting Agent Metadata and Trust Mechanisms 27:47 Reputation Feedback Flow 28:39 Authorizing Feedback with Signed Tokens 29:34 Feedback URIs: IPFS vs Hedera Consensus Service 31:20 Closing and Discord Call to Action _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Funding the Commons · May 9, 2026

AI isn't just displacing jobs. Sheila Warren argues it's accelerating something older and more dangerous: the systematic removal of human dignity from how decisions get made. Sheila, CEO of the Project Liberty Institute and founder of the World Economic Forum's blockchain and digital assets team, connects what look like separate crises — surveillance tech, deportation without due process, AI agents — into a single cultural problem. Her central concept is differential friction: the idea that the race to remove friction from every system is quietly eroding the checks that keep power accountable. When there's nothing to slow an AI agent down, small errors compound fast and become permanent. She encourages everyone building in this space to ask, every time: before you remove friction, whose protection were you removing with it? Speaker: Sheila Warren (Project Liberty Institute) This session was part of Intelligence at the Frontier, held March 14–15, 2026, at Frontier Tower in San Francisco. Learn more at https://www.fundingthecommons.io Note: This recording was captured with technical limitations on Day 1. We apologize for any audio quality issues and appreciate your patience.

Jan Gorzny

ETHGlobal · May 9, 2026

In this talk, Jan Gorzny from Zircuit presents Zircuit Finance, a new platform launched at Denver that brings institutional-grade investment yields on-chain in a fully permissionless way. He frames the two core problems blocking DeFi mass adoption: inaccessibility (accreditation requirements, high capital minimums, lockup periods) and risk (smart contract exploits, complex looping strategies, yield unpredictability). His thesis is that if Web3 truly wants to "bank the unbanked," it needs to offer all the good aspects of institutional finance — professional capital management, predictable yields, proven track records — without the gatekeeping. Zircuit Finance solves this by letting anyone deposit USDC or USDT with no KYC, no minimum deposit, and no lockup, then lending those funds to regulated asset managers like Monarch, Fortis, and Fidelity who run strategies like delta-neutral quant funds. The platform targets 8-11% APY with 0% management fees and a 20% performance fee, keeping the smart contract architecture deliberately simple to minimize security risk. It's live on Ethereum and Base as a LayerZero OApp with multi-chain expansion planned, and also integrates DeFi protocols like Aave and Morpho to augment yields and provide flexibility alongside the institutional strategies. 00:00 Introduction 00:29 Pragmatic DeFi: Sensible and Realistic 01:49 Two Problems with High-Yield DeFi: Risk and Inaccessibility 03:21 Banking the Unbanked Means Matching Bank-Level Features 04:10 Bringing Institutional Capital On-Chain 04:50 Why Institutional Yields Are Currently Inaccessible 05:59 Professional Strategies and Higher, Safer Yields 06:56 DeFi Risk: Exploits, Contagion, and Horror Stories 07:42 De-Risking Through Regulated Partners 08:43 Growing the Pie Together 09:02 Solution: Permissionless Access + Predictable Yields 09:51 Introducing Zircuit Finance 10:27 Target: 8-11% on USDC/USDT, Zero Management Fees 10:49 Multi-Chain via LayerZero 11:10 Partners: Monarch, Fortis, Fidelity, Aave, Morpho 11:48 How It Works: Deposit, Lend, Earn 12:10 Key Takeaway: Predictable DeFi Is Safer DeFi 13:13 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇫🇷 *Pragma Cannes 2026* Pragma Cannes 2026 was held on April 2nd at the JW Marriott Hotel in Cannes, France and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Cannes 2026 YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5OnsJ95gz7HoI1tLUj3kZr ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Jan Gorzny X: https://x.com/jgorzny ✅ Follow Zircuit X: https://x.com/Zircuit ✅ Follow Kartik Talwar X: https://x.com/TheRealKartik ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city

Josef Je

ETHGlobal · May 9, 2026

In this talk, Josef Je introduces the European Ethereum Institute, a newly launched task force dedicated to getting Ethereum recognized as strategic public infrastructure by European regulators — comparable to the internet or the electric grid. He argues that after a decade of builders ignoring policy, regulation has now caught up to the point where DeFi, tokenization, and MEV are being discussed in EU papers, and the community must engage proactively or risk being overshadowed by permissioned chain salespeople pitching proprietary tech to uninformed regulators. Josef frames the urgency through Europe's risk of repeating the Web2 pattern where all innovation and business creation migrated to Silicon Valley while the EU could only react through after-the-fact regulation. He outlines the institute's three-pronged approach: producing evidence-based papers and infographics showing regulators the differences between true DeFi and centralized projects, helping regulators understand the full Ethereum technology stack beyond finance (identity, voting, ZK proofs, timestamping), and proactive outreach to bring regulators into crypto events. He announces that André Kvapiš, a former European Parliament member who helped remove DeFi from MiCA's scope, has officially joined the institute, and shares that initial funding comes from Ethereum Foundation, Aave, and Gnosis. 00:00 Introduction 00:29 Why a Builder Started Caring About Policy 02:09 Institutions Coming On-Chain: Now or Never 03:42 Launch of the European Ethereum Institute 04:22 Permissioned Chains Are Back (and Still Wrong) 05:10 Ethereum as the Golden Standard 06:05 "It's Ethereum, Not Blockchains" 07:00 Ethereum's Lindy and Network Effects 07:31 Mission: Ethereum as Strategic Public Infrastructure 08:55 Europe's Risk of Repeating the Web2 Mistake 10:14 Providing Evidence to Regulators 11:39 Tokenization, Stablecoins, and True DeFi 13:10 Ethereum's Stack Beyond Finance: Identity, Voting, ZK 14:22 A Task Force, Not Another Association 15:58 How a Regulator Joined the Ethereum Side 17:11 André Kvapiš and MiCA's DeFi Exemption 18:37 Team, Funding, and How to Get Involved 19:56 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇫🇷 *Pragma Cannes 2026* Pragma Cannes 2026 was held on April 2nd at the JW Marriott Hotel in Cannes, France and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Cannes 2026 YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5OnsJ95gz7HoI1tLUj3kZr ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Josef Je X: https://x.com/josefje ✅ Follow Kartik Talwar X: https://x.com/TheRealKartik ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city

ETHGlobal · May 9, 2026

In this talk, Jonathan Han, CEO of Euler Labs, explains how modular lending infrastructure is essential for onboarding trillions of dollars in traditional financial assets onto DeFi. He outlines three key requirements for institutional RWA adoption: compliance enforcement at the smart contract level (KYC, sanctions screening, geo-fencing), risk isolation through modular vault architecture where each asset class has independent liquidation mechanisms and risk parameters, and composability via the Ethereum Vault Connector (EVC) technology that lets isolated collateral markets share stable coin liquidity pools. Jonathan details Euler's curator model where institutional-grade risk managers like Santora, Bitwise, and Apollo set and monitor risk parameters per vault rather than relying on DAO token holder governance. He highlights their partnership with Securitize for DS Token compliance integration and their launch of tokenized equity markets (S&P 500, NASDAQ, Tesla) currently operating 24/5 with plans for 24/7 weekend trading pending reliable oracle data and weekend liquidation partners. The talk emphasizes that permissionless deployment of high-quality assets, combined with professional risk curation, is the path to making previously inaccessible financial instruments — private credit, public equities, commodities — available to everyone through DeFi. 00:00 Introduction 00:31 The Credit Layer and Next Phase of DeFi 01:28 Key Categories for Institutional Onboarding 02:49 Compliance Requirements at the Smart Contract Level 03:44 Risk Isolation: Why Modular Architecture Wins 04:54 Modular vs Monolithic Lending Protocol Design 05:52 NAV Delays, Regulatory Halts, and Weekend Markets 06:33 Summary: Isolated Markets, Compliance Hooks, Domain Experts 07:51 Permissionless Deployment with Professional Risk Curators 09:25 Euler's Architecture: ERC-4626 Vaults and EVC 10:32 Independent Liquidation Mechanisms Per Market 11:58 Securitize Partnership and DS Token Compliance 13:37 Capital Efficiency: Isolated Collateral, Shared Liquidity 14:12 The Risk Curator Model Explained 15:32 Bridging TradFi and DeFi: 24/7 Markets and Settlements 17:12 Tokenized Equity Markets: S&P 500, NASDAQ, Tesla 18:25 Multi-Party Coordination for RWA Markets 19:30 Permissioned and Permissionless Vaults 20:05 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇫🇷 *Pragma Cannes 2026* Pragma Cannes 2026 was held on April 2nd at the JW Marriott Hotel in Cannes, France and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Cannes 2026 YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5OnsJ95gz7HoI1tLUj3kZr ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Jonathan Han X: https://x.com/0xJHan ✅ Follow Euler Labs X: https://x.com/eulerfinance ✅ Follow Kartik Talwar X: https://x.com/TheRealKartik ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city

ETHGlobal · May 9, 2026

In this talk, Misha Putiatin, co-founder of Symbiotic, lays out the four critical problems that must be solved to bring trillions of dollars of traditional finance on-chain in a composable, DeFi-native way rather than as simple database receipts. He argues that after 18 years of building infrastructure, blockchains are no longer bandwidth-bound, but the industry lacks the financial primitives needed for institutional adoption: private credit, smart contract risk coverage, standardized reporting, and RWA liquidity. Misha details Symbiotic's role as a collateral market platform addressing each problem: partnering with Cap Protocol for private credit and financial guarantees (already at $220M+ in delegations), working with Nexus Mutual on second-loss coverage for DeFi and RWA protocols, helping Hive build on-chain reporting with real-time liquidation triggers and automated audits, and building an instant liquidity solution that pools redemption flow across all tokenized platforms to solve the chicken-and-egg problem of illiquid RWAs with 90-100 day redemption windows. He emphasizes that the "native way" — composable, liquidatable, self-custodied assets with DeFi rails — is the only path that truly leverages what crypto has built, with instant liquidity and Nexus coverage both launching early Q2. 00:00 Introduction 00:10 18 Years of Building Infrastructure 02:26 Traditional Finance Is Finally Interested 03:43 Why Institutions Matter: They Have the Money 04:44 Two Options: Database Receipts vs DeFi-Native Composability 06:30 Symbiotic's Four-Problem Framework 06:59 Problem 1: Private Credit and Financial Guarantees 08:48 Problem 2: Smart Contract Risk Coverage with Nexus Mutual 10:42 Capital Efficiency and the Insurance Gap 12:12 Problem 3: Standardized On-Chain Reporting with Hive 13:22 Actionable Reporting: Liquidation Triggers and Automated Audits 14:03 Problem 4: RWA Liquidity — The Biggest Blocker 15:37 Current Solutions: Half-Yield Buffers and Platform Funds 17:00 Symbiotic's Approach: Pooled Cross-Platform Liquidity 18:01 Launch Timeline: Instant Liquidity and Nexus in Q2 18:41 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇫🇷 *Pragma Cannes 2026* Pragma Cannes 2026 was held on April 2nd at the JW Marriott Hotel in Cannes, France and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Cannes 2026 YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5OnsJ95gz7HoI1tLUj3kZr ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Misha Putiatin X: https://x.com/Psalom ✅ Follow Symbiotic X: https://x.com/Symbioticfi ✅ Follow Kartik Talwar X: https://x.com/TheRealKartik ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city

Rene Reinsberg

ETHGlobal · May 9, 2026

In this talk, Rene Reinsberg, founder of Celo and Self, presents how Self is bootstrapping global-scale proof of human infrastructure using zero-knowledge cryptography and government-issued identity documents. He announces a partnership with Google and Tether where users can verify their unique humanity through Self, claim free stablecoins, and send them to their wallet — launching next month. The system works by NFC-scanning passports or national IDs, cryptographically verifying document authenticity through country signing certificate authorities, and generating zero-knowledge proofs without storing any user data. Rene explains how applications can then request disclosure proofs (age verification, country of origin, OFAC screening) without handling PII, making it preferable to traditional KYC. He connects this to the agentic world, citing examples like Moldbook (an agent social network acquired by Meta) and Rent a Human marketplace, arguing that proof of human becomes critical when agents need to verify human counterparties or delegate identity without exposing personal data. The system enables agents to hit verification barriers in workflows and trigger ZK proof requests back to the human, unblocking agentic commerce without sharing actual identity data with the AI. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 00:00 Introduction 00:10 Welcome and Context: From Celo to Self 00:57 Why Proof of Human Matters Now 02:32 Google and Tether Partnership Announcement 03:55 Google's Use of Self for Testnet Faucets 05:29 Vision: Social Services and UBI on Crypto Rails 06:31 Why Proof of Human Is Becoming Urgent 07:41 Government Identity Infrastructure as a Foundation 09:01 How Self Works: NFC Scanning and ZK Proofs 10:43 Why NFC Beats Traditional KYC in an AI World 11:43 Zero Knowledge: No Data Storage, No Trust Required 12:13 Disclosure Proofs: Age, Country, Sanctions Screening 13:56 Registration and SDK Integration 14:20 Proof of Human in the Agentic World 15:04 Moldbook and Agent Sybil Attacks 16:00 Rent a Human: Agents Hiring Verified Humans 17:14 Delegating Identity to Agents Without Sharing Data 18:36 Self for AI Agents: Unblocking Agentic Workflows 19:44 Resources: self.xyz and ai.self.xyz 20:09 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇫🇷 *Pragma Cannes 2026* Pragma Cannes 2026 was held on April 2nd at the JW Marriott Hotel in Cannes, France and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Cannes 2026 YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5OnsJ95gz7HoI1tLUj3kZr ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Celo X: https://x.com/Celo ✅ Follow Kartik Talwar X: https://x.com/TheRealKartik ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city

Stani Kulechov, Kartik Talwar

ETHGlobal · May 9, 2026

In this fireside chat, Kartik Talwar interviews Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave, about the vision behind Aave V4 and the future of DeFi as infrastructure for global credit. Stani explains that V4 introduces a modular hub-and-spoke architecture where liquidity is stored in central hubs that allocate credit lines to customizable spokes — enabling anyone to build new lending models (native Bitcoin collateral, debt trading, fixed lending) while tapping into Aave's existing liquidity pool rather than bootstrapping from scratch. Stani outlines three waves of new collateral entering DeFi: tokenized real-world assets, yield-bearing stablecoins, and data-backed credit facilities for consumers, businesses, and institutions. He discusses the Aave App's fintech-like mobile experience that fully abstracts away wallets, gas, and networks, and reflects on why Ethereum remains the strongest chain for DeFi due to tooling, security community, and liquidity network effects. Looking ahead, he frames the institutional transition as a decade-long journey of replacing financial backend infrastructure dating back to the 1970s, with DeFi serving as the efficient capital allocation layer for all future credit. 00:00 Introduction 00:10 Welcome and Aave V4 Context 00:40 Why V4 Took Two Years to Build 02:10 DeFi as a Backbone for All Future Credit 03:43 V4 Architecture: Hub-and-Spoke Model 04:48 Custom Spokes: Bitcoin Collateral, Debt Trading, Fixed Lending 05:59 Unified Liquidity Access for New DeFi Projects 07:31 New Collateral Types: RWAs, Yield Stablecoins, and Data 08:32 Risk Premiums and Collateral-Based Pricing 09:45 Institutional Requirements and Permissionless Infrastructure 11:11 BlackRock on Ethereum: A Turning Point 12:04 Aave App: Fintech-Like Mobile DeFi Experience 13:35 Building DeFi for Everyone 14:19 Staying Motivated Through Market Cycles 15:35 Why Now Is the Best Time to Build 16:57 Why DeFi Stays on Ethereum 18:36 Five-Year Prediction: A Decade-Long Institutional Transition 20:41 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇫🇷 *Pragma Cannes 2026* Pragma Cannes 2026 was held on April 2nd at the JW Marriott Hotel in Cannes, France and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Cannes 2026 YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5OnsJ95gz7HoI1tLUj3kZr ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Stani Kulechov X: https://x.com/StaniKulechov ✅ Follow Aave X: https://x.com/Aave ✅ Follow Kartik Talwar X: https://x.com/TheRealKartik ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city

ETHGlobal · May 9, 2026

In this workshop, Blessing Adesiji walks through Arc's nano payment system and demonstrates how to build agentic economy use cases using the X2X protocol and Arc's gateway infrastructure. He explains how nano payments solve the challenge of sub-cent transactions by batching off-chain signatures and settling them on-chain later, reducing gas costs to near zero. The X2X protocol leverages HTTP 402 responses so that AI agents can request paid content or services, sign payments off-chain, and receive access — all without individual on-chain transactions. Blessing runs a live demo of a sample application where an AI agent with a 1 USDC spending limit completes 98 tasks across multiple endpoints — quotes, datasets, compute via LLM APIs, and agentic treasure hunt tasks — all in sub-500ms with zero gas per transaction. He shows how the ephemeral agent wallet, gateway deposits, off-chain signature batching, and seller settlement all work together. The session covers four hackathon bounty tracks: advanced stablecoin smart contracts, abstracted USDC apps using Arc as a liquidity layer, agentic economy with nano payments, and prediction markets with real-world signals. 00:00 Introduction and Hackathon Bounties 00:31 Best Smart Contract with Stablecoin Logic 01:03 Abstracted USDC Apps and Arc as Liquidity Layer 01:31 Agentic Economy with Nano Payments 01:55 Prediction Markets Bounty 02:17 Sample Application Overview 03:01 How X2X and HTTP 402 Protocol Work 03:52 Payment Flow Diagram Walkthrough 05:19 Ephemeral Wallets and Off-Chain Signatures 06:16 Batch Settlement via Gateway 07:19 Key Points: Zero Gas Agentic Payments 07:46 Dashboard and Endpoint Overview 09:04 Live Demo: Agent Running 98 Tasks on 1 USDC 10:28 Sub-500ms Transaction Speed 11:00 Seller Settlement and Withdrawal 12:01 Demo Results: Agent Spent Exactly 1 USDC 12:50 Q&A _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHGlobal Cannes 2026* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal Cannes 2026, a 3-day hackathon held April 3-5 at the Palace of Festivals and Congresses of Cannes, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal Cannes 2026 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5YrcvSj6KSTztLMy58d7d4 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Nov 9, 2025

Cynthia Wang, co-founder of Primer Pay and Stanford student, discusses the future of e-commerce and payments, focusing on bridging Web2 and Web3 through seamless stablecoin transactions. Primer, developed by a team from three universities, enables users to pay with stablecoins on platforms like Amazon via a Chrome extension. The solution abstracts away complex crypto details, targeting mainstream adoption, especially in emerging markets where stablecoin demand is high. Primer converts stablecoins to gift cards for merchant compatibility, emphasizing user experience and integration with existing consumer habits. The team is exploring AI-driven product discovery and checkout, aiming to create a universal aggregation layer for receipts and payments across credit cards, stablecoins, and tokens. Cynthia highlights industry trends like AI agents, Google’s agent payment protocol, and institutional crypto adoption, positioning Primer at the intersection of e-commerce, crypto payments, and AI. The project continues to iterate, with plans for broader platform integration and a focus on user-centric design. 00:00 Introduction 00:38 Team Background & Motivation 01:02 Crypto UX & Decentralization Debate 01:44 Crypto Payments: US vs Emerging Markets 02:03 Bridging Web2 and Web3 02:33 E-commerce Challenges & Opportunities 03:23 Merchant Infrastructure & Trust Issues 03:50 Vision: Universal Aggregation Layer 04:08 Industry Trends & Inspiration 04:37 Building Primer: ETH Global New York 04:56 Demo: Stablecoin Payments on Amazon 05:36 Improving Gift Card Conversion & Expansion 06:15 Target Markets & Use Cases 06:36 User Flow & AI Integration Plans 07:15 Payments Focus & Institutional Adoption 07:33 AI Agents & Microtransactions 07:53 Future of E-commerce & UX 08:26 Community Engagement & Next Steps 08:46 Iteration, Waitlist, and Future Vision 09:04 Conclusion _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇮🇳 *Pragma New Delhi* Pragma New Delhi 2025 was held on September 25th at the JW Marriott Hotel in Aerocity New Delhi and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma New Delhi YouTube Playlist here: ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Cynthia Wang X: https://x.com/cynthwangg ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Nov 9, 2025

This talk, part of the ETHGlobal Spotlight series, introduces MC Pay, a project focused on enabling seamless payments for Model Context Protocols (MCPs) and AI agents. Luis Freitas explains how current API payment systems are not scalable for AI agents, which lack traditional payment methods like credit cards. MC Pay leverages the X42 protocol (initiated by Coinbase) and HTTP 402 status code to enable per-call payments using stablecoins (e.g., USDC) without subscriptions or API keys. Developers can monetize MCP servers via SDK integration or a user-friendly dashboard, set pricing, and access analytics. MC Pay integrates with Coinbase server wallets for easy onboarding and spending control. The platform supports rapid deployment and experimentation with MCP Build, allowing developers to launch monetized servers quickly. Future plans include zk receipts, dynamic pricing, and expanding as an agent commerce hub. MC Pay aims to unbundle software into nano-services, enabling micro-payments and creating a high-signal market for AI tools in the agent economy. 00:00 Introduction 00:31 ETHGlobal Spotlight Projects Overview 00:44 MC Pay Introduction by Luis Freitas 01:09 The Agent Economy & API Payment Challenges 01:54 Model Context Protocol (MCP) Overview 02:44 Introducing MC Pay & X42 Protocol 03:34 Monetization Options & Developer Tools 04:54 Analytics, Wallet Integration & User Experience 06:01 MCP Build: Rapid Server Deployment 06:41 How X42 Payments Work 07:28 The Future: Nano-Services & Micro-Payments 08:35 Why Now? Tech Readiness & Next Steps 09:14 Vision for the Agent Economy & Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇮🇳 *Pragma New Delhi* Pragma New Delhi 2025 was held on September 25th at the JW Marriott Hotel in Aerocity New Delhi and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma New Delhi YouTube Playlist here: ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Luís Freitas X: https://x.com/microchipgnu ✅ Follow MCPay X: https://x.com/mcpaytech ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Nov 9, 2025

Prabal Banerjee from Avail introduces "Liquid Apps" at an EthGlobal event, addressing the challenges of the rapidly evolving web3 multi-chain ecosystem. He highlights issues like liquidity fragmentation, complex user experience (UX), security trade-offs, and developer dilemmas in choosing chains and managing bridges. Liquid Apps, powered by Avail Nexus, aims to solve these by enabling seamless liquidity and user onboarding across multiple chains through a simple SDK. Developers can deploy once and scale everywhere, allowing users to access unified balances and interact with dApps without worrying about bridging assets or chain-specific hurdles. The solution supports both EVM and non-EVM chains, offers fast, non-custodial transactions, and integrates easily into existing frontends. Live demos showcase how Liquid Apps short-circuits onboarding, improves retention, and enhances both developer and user experience in the fragmented DeFi landscape. 00:00 Introduction 00:38 Web3 Evolution and Developer Challenges 02:05 Multi-Chain Complexity and User Experience 03:28 Liquidity Fragmentation and Security Trade-offs 04:23 Native Bridges vs. Liquidity Bridges 06:09 Introducing Liquid Apps and Avail Nexus 07:46 Seamless User Experience Vision 08:45 Unified SDK and User Balances 09:50 Build Once, Scale Everywhere 10:41 Developer Incentives and Tooling 11:48 Liquidity Expansion via Nexus 12:28 Liquid Apps Demo Introduction 14:05 Demo Walkthrough and SDK Integration 15:21 Non-Custodial, Multi-Chain User Onboarding 16:48 User Retention and Bridging Pain Points 18:04 Unified Balances and Developer Experience 19:19 Security, Chain Support, and UI Widgets 20:24 Supported Chains and Closing Remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇮🇳 *Pragma New Delhi* Pragma New Delhi 2025 was held on September 25th at the JW Marriott Hotel in Aerocity New Delhi and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma New Delhi YouTube Playlist here: ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Prabal Banerjee X: https://x.com/prabalbanerjee ✅ Follow Avail X: https://x.com/availproject ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Nov 9, 2025

Mehak (PayPal, PYUSD) explains why PayPal launched a dollar-pegged stablecoin and how it fits the “next generation of payments.” She contrasts legacy rails (ACH/SWIFT delays, banking hours, intermediaries/fees, access barriers) with on-chain settlement that’s fast, interoperable, inclusive, and 24/7. PYUSD is a 1:1 USD stablecoin, 100% reserve-backed, issued by Paxos and regulated by NYDFS. It’s ERC-20, multi-chain, programmable, low-cost to move (chain-dependent), and benefits from PayPal’s compliance stack (e.g., AML/monitoring). Users can buy, redeem, and transfer PYUSD; developers can integrate it across eligible exchanges and supported networks. For ETHGlobal, PayPal’s bounties are intentionally open-ended: prioritize payments-centric ideas (P2P, remittances, B2B, payouts) but creative, responsible uses are welcome (e.g., on-chain rewards, lending/collateral, wrappers/interop, gas-saving flows). She highlights live efforts like remittances (Xoom), B2B payments, crypto payouts/Hyperwallet, and PYUSD rewards (4% in the U.S.). Practical notes from Q&A: PYUSD app access is geo-limited (use exchanges or testnets); only Paxos mints PYUSD; consult docs for reserve details; faucet options include Google Cloud and Paxos (limits apply); don’t submit with a mock token—use real/test PYUSD to show contract-level integration. For submissions, select PayPal as a sponsor and document where/how PYUSD is used. 00:09 Intro, format & goals 01:43 Why crypto at PayPal; pain of legacy rails 03:47 150-year “innovation” timeline (wires→ACH→SWIFT) 05:48 Introducing PYUSD & “decentralized payments” 06:13 Stablecoin basics; PYUSD = 1:1 USD peg 06:44 Next-gen traits: fast, interoperable, inclusive, 24/7 07:15 PYUSD snapshot; where to access 07:39 Key features: reserves, regulation (NYDFS), multi-chain, programmable 08:42 Cost vs other rails; why PYUSD matters 09:13 Hackathon focus & bounties (open-ended, payments-first) 10:24 Resource QR: docs, guides, faucets 10:54 Other PayPal crypto products & use cases 12:27 PYUSD rewards (4%); closing remarks 15:04 Q&A: geo access & testnets 20:02 Q&A: reserves & issuance (Paxos) 20:54 Q&A: faucet limits & options 21:17 Q&A: using PYUSD among pool tokens; sponsor selection 22:39 Q&A: cross-chain payments interest 23:28 Q&A: submission flow (sponsor vs track) 25:15 Q&A: mock token not acceptable; show real/test integration _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 💻 ETHOnline 2025 This workshop is specifically for ETHOnline 2025, a 21-day hackathon held October 10 - 31, 2025, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow PayPal USD X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city

ETHGlobal · Nov 9, 2025

PYUSD is PayPal’s U.S. dollar–backed stablecoin, fully reserved 1:1 in USD deposits or T-bills and issued by Paxos under NYDFS regulation. Subramaniam explains that after PayPal’s 2020 entry into crypto (buy/sell/hold, checkout, and transfers on PayPal & Venmo), the company saw volatility make BTC and ETH unsuitable for commerce—so it launched PayPal USD (PYUSD) in August 2023. PYUSD now supports cross-border settlements (Xoom), B2B payouts (Hyperwallet), and 4 % rewards for holders inside PayPal. The token is multi-chain—on Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, and Stellar—and fully programmable with AML monitoring. He contextualizes PYUSD within Asia’s fintech evolution (from ATMs to UPI) and crypto’s timeline (Bitcoin → Ethereum → stablecoins), stressing that PayPal aims to merge traditional trade and DeFi rather than create a parallel economy. Builders are invited to experiment with financial inclusion, global money movement, tokenized settlements, and new consumer experiences. PayPal’s goal is adoption and community feedback, aided by a PayPal Stable Club, on-site support booth, and Google Cloud faucets providing 100 PYUSD test tokens on Ethereum and Solana. 00:02 Intro – PayPal’s role and goals 00:54 Company overview and crypto timeline 03:34 PYUSD launch and integrations 06:36 How PYUSD works: reserves, custodian, blockchains 07:42 Opportunities for builders (DeFi + commerce, inclusion, settlements) 08:45 Community feedback and hackathon resources 10:18 Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇮🇳 *ETHGlobal New Delhi* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New Delhi, a 3-day hackathon held September 19-21 at the India International Convention & Expo Centre, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal New Delhi 2025 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh7zCFW3hBqatZ18rQaYeEJL _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow PayPal USD* X: https://x.com/PayPal ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city

ETHGlobal · Nov 9, 2025

Talip Akalın introduces Citrea, an EVM-compatible ZK rollup that brings full smart-contract functionality to Bitcoin without changing L1. He frames Bitcoin’s limitations (Script’s low expressivity, fee spikes, slow upgrades) and the risks of today’s BTC bridges (multisig/“honest majority” custody). Citrea’s architecture: a sequencer produces L2 blocks, validity proofs (RISC-Zero ZKVM) attest to state, and data is published on Bitcoin, letting users treat Bitcoin as the single source of truth. BTC is the native gas/asset on Citrea, so existing Solidity apps (DEXs, lending, etc.) can be “forked” to work with real BTC rather than wrapped derivatives. The bridge design (“Clementine”) uses BitVM-based challenge games plus ZK proofs to kick out malicious signers, shifting the assumption from “honest majority” to “at least one honest participant,” a stronger trust model than typical multisig bridges. For the hackathon, Citrea offers two tracks—Open Innovation (any novel app using BTC on Citrea) and DeFi (fork/improve core money apps). Beyond the weekend, the Citrea Origins builder program provides mentorship, go-to-market, fundraising, and hiring support; early teams include wallets, a BTC-backed stablecoin, a native DEX, money markets, prediction markets, and offline SMS Bitcoin payments. The aim: catalyze a BTC-centric alternative economy (“hyperbitcoinization”) by making Bitcoin practical for rich onchain applications. 00:02 – Intro, talk scope & hackathon focus 02:04 – Why Bitcoin matters beyond price; limitations in practice 03:51 – Script vs Solidity; fees, capacity, and upgrade constraints 05:28 – Using other layers: wrapped BTC & bridge risks 07:55 – The bridge problem (multisig custody, exploits) 08:19 – What is Citrea: EVM rollup secured by Bitcoin + ZK proofs 09:12 – BTC as native asset; build DeFi/apps with real BTC 09:46 – Why Citrea’s bridge is different: BitVM + ZK challenges 10:39 – Trust model shift: “one honest party” vs “honest majority” 12:47 – Testnet, funding, partners, readiness 13:53 – Hackathon tracks: Open Innovation & DeFi 15:01 – Vision: hyperbitcoinization & BTC-centric economy 16:33 – Citrea Origins: builder community & support 18:37 – Hacker houses, testimonials, call to join _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇮🇳 *ETHGlobal New Delhi* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New Delhi, a 3-day hackathon held September 19-21 at the India International Convention & Expo Centre, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal New Delhi 2025 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh7zCFW3hBqatZ18rQaYeEJL _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Citrea* X: https://x.com/citrea_xyz ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city

ETHGlobal · Nov 9, 2025

Angela Ocando and Dayitva Goel (Uniswap Foundation) introduce Uniswap v4, highlighting a major architectural shift to a singleton pool contract with flash accounting and a continuous fee spectrum. The headline feature is Hooks—external smart contracts that can run before/after swaps, liquidity adds/removals, donations, fee updates, etc., letting developers program custom pool behavior (risk controls, pricing, access rules) while keeping gas costs low. Compared to v3’s multi-contract routing, v4’s singleton reduces on-chain hops and enables more seamless, gas-efficient trading and liquidity operations. They then walk through problem statements to inspire hackathon builds: TVAP execution and stable-to-stable efficiency for large trades; Pendle-style time-decay AMMs; World ID/KYC-gated pools; lottery/no-loss pools; smart borrow via re-hypothecation of out-of-range liquidity; and RWA issuance hooks with compliance checks. The session closes with a live demo of the v4 Hook Template (Foundry): scaffolding a basic hook, tests, deploying mock tokens, initializing a v4 pool (currency0/1, fee, tick spacing, hook address), adding liquidity, and performing a swap—showing how to flip specific hook callbacks on/off and verify they trigger correctly. 00:02 – Introduction and overview of Hooks in Uniswap v4 01:00 – About the Uniswap Foundation and its mission 01:31 – How the Uniswap protocol works and its evolution 02:21 – Key upgrades from v3 to v4 and ERC-20 support 02:48 – Continuous fee spectrum, singleton architecture, and flash accounting 04:18 – Gas efficiency and improved trading experience 04:48 – How Hooks work and their role in customizing liquidity behavior 06:14 – Hackathon problem statements and innovation ideas 06:31 – Stablecoin efficiency for large-scale swaps 07:07 – Time-Weighted Average Price (TVAP) execution hook 07:45 – Pendle-style AMM with time-decaying assets 08:09 – World ID verified pools and KYC-based access 08:41 – Lottery pools with social reward systems 09:17 – Smart borrowing and liquidity re-hypothecation 09:36 – Real-world asset issuance and compliance hooks 09:56 – L2 hooks for small and medium trade optimization 10:30 – Developer resources and hacker toolkit overview 11:26 – Using the V4 Hook Template for development 13:33 – Forking and deploying your first hook contract 14:54 – Creating mock tokens and setting parameters 15:15 – Deploying a pool and adding liquidity 16:32 – Performing and verifying swaps 17:20 – Closing remarks and developer invitation _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇮🇳 *ETHGlobal New Delhi* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New Delhi, a 3-day hackathon held September 19-21 at the India International Convention & Expo Centre, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal New Delhi 2025 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh7zCFW3hBqatZ18rQaYeEJL _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Uniswap* X: https://x.com/UniswapFND ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city

Austin Griffith

ETHGlobal · Nov 9, 2025

Austin Griffith continues his Ethereum building series by showing how to deploy a decentralized exchange (DEX) using Scaffold-ETH and the Speedrun Ethereum curriculum. He begins by revisiting the simple counter app from the previous session, deploying it to Arbitrum, and explaining why developers should move beyond testnets to use inexpensive Layer 2s for real deployments. After configuring Scaffold-ETH to point to Arbitrum, he connects a wallet, interacts with the live contract, and emphasizes publishing both the smart contract and frontend to IPFS. Austin then introduces the concept of scaling from simple apps to real-world use cases by following Speedrun Ethereum challenges—covering NFTs, staking systems, token vendors, games, and eventually, DEXs. He walks through the logic behind building decentralized systems where users don’t have to trust intermediaries. Starting with staking and token sales, he explains how incentives and state machines create autonomous coordination among users. The talk culminates with the DEX concept, describing how liquidity pools and constant-product equations (x*y=k) enable trustless token swaps. Liquidity providers earn small fees while users trade freely, and developers act as the “hardware builders” creating these hyperstructures that can’t be censored or shut down. He closes by connecting DEXs to broader DeFi concepts like overcollateralized lending and stablecoins, showing how these building blocks power the next level of onchain finance. 00:00 – Recap: deploying the first app 00:37 – Reviewing the local counter app 00:59 – Deploying to Arbitrum 02:19 – Why to skip testnets and use L2s 02:58 – Switching Scaffold-ETH to live networks 03:28 – Interacting with deployed contracts 03:52 – Introduction to Speedrun Ethereum challenges 04:39 – Building multiple projects for experience 05:23 – Real-world onchain use cases 06:09 – Canonical records and attestations 07:01 – NFTs as credentials and token gating 07:52 – Staking app for coordination and trustless DAOs 08:56 – The state machine pattern in smart contracts 11:10 – Incentives and automation in DeFi design 12:19 – Handling failure and refunds securely 13:46 – Token vendor and ICO mechanics 14:38 – Onchain games, randomness, and commit-reveal 17:14 – The DEX as a hyperstructure 18:47 – From order books to automated market makers 19:32 – Liquidity reserves and the constant-product formula 20:22 – Incentives for liquidity providers 21:17 – How DEXs enable trustless swapping 21:55 – Developers as hardware builders 22:22 – Build Guild onboarding and developer growth 23:04 – Scaling through mainnet and L2 deployments 24:08 – Intro to overcollateralized lending and DeFi concepts 31:32 – Closing remarks and next sessions preview _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇮🇳 *ETHGlobal New Delhi* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New Delhi, a 3-day hackathon held September 19-21 at the India International Convention & Expo Centre, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal New Delhi 2025 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh7zCFW3hBqatZ18rQaYeEJL _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow BuidlGuidl* X: https://x.com/buidlguidl ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city

Kevin Jones

ETHGlobal · Nov 9, 2025

Kevin Jones walks through the Speedrun Ethereum stablecoin challenge, focusing on building an over-collateralized, onchain stablecoin system. He contrasts models: fiat-backed (USDC/USDT), under-collateralized/algorithmic (risky), and the target design: over-collateralized with robust peg mechanisms. The reference implementation includes five parts: a simplified DEX for swaps, a stub oracle for prices, the stablecoin token with restricted mint/burn, an engine contract that manages collateral, minting, and liquidations, and a staking contract plus a rate controller for borrow and savings rates. Using Scaffold-ETH with burner wallets, he deposits ETH as collateral, mints the stablecoin, and demonstrates how collateralization ratios, liquidation thresholds, and incentives keep the system solvent. Kevin then runs a simulation with trading bots to show peg dynamics. When borrow demand overwhelms supply, the stablecoin price drifts below one; raising the borrow rate discourages new borrowing, nudging price back to peg. If price drifts above one, enabling a savings rate incentivizes holders to stake, increasing supply available to sell and pulling price down. He reviews the core code: access-controlled mint/burn in the token, the engine’s health checks and liquidate flow (anyone can repay and collect a reward), and the role of the oracle and DEX. The session closes by encouraging builders to complete the challenge to deeply internalize risk management, incentives, and onchain monetary policy. 00:00 – Intro and why stablecoins matter 01:18 – The Speedrun Ethereum challenge overview 02:28 – Types of stablecoins and tradeoffs 03:42 – Required components: oracle, DEX, token, engine, staking 04:54 – Token design: restricted mint and burn 06:35 – Spinning up the demo with Scaffold-ETH 09:04 – Adding ETH collateral and minting the stablecoin 10:23 – Collateral ratio, liquidation threshold, and rewards 11:54 – Setting up rates and understanding parameters 13:25 – Bot simulation: price falls below peg 14:26 – Raising the borrow rate to restore peg 16:34 – When price goes above peg: savings rate incentives 17:32 – Staking the stablecoin and yield mechanics 18:47 – Pushing toward unsafe health and liquidation discussion 21:11 – Contract tour: oracle, rate controller, token 22:36 – Engine internals: checks, health, and liquidate user 23:20 – Takeaways and next steps _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇮🇳 *ETHGlobal New Delhi* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New Delhi, a 3-day hackathon held September 19-21 at the India International Convention & Expo Centre, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal New Delhi 2025 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh7zCFW3hBqatZ18rQaYeEJL _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow BuidlGuidl* X: https://x.com/buidlguidl ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city

Marek Olszewski

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

At Pragma Singapore 2024, Marek Olszewski, Co-Founder of Celo, delivers an engaging and inspiring talk on how crypto can be real—and already is on Celo. Moving beyond meme coins and speculation, Marek showcases real-world use cases like cross-border payments, savings, uncollateralized lending, remittances, and on-chain mobile experiences, all happening on-chain via the Celo platform. Marek reveals how Celo surpassed Tron in daily active stablecoin users, how MiniPay (built into Opera Mini) is unlocking on-chain financial tools for millions, and how projects like Vera and Haraka are making stablecoin savings and microloans accessible to users in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. He also dives into Celo’s transition from an L1 to an L2 on Ethereum using the OP Stack and EigenDA, bringing Celo’s mobile-first UX, token gas fees, and carbon offset model to Ethereum’s rollup-centric future. 00:00 Intro: Making Crypto Real on Celo 01:32 Real World Use Cases of Crypto 03:28 Savings Use Case with Stablecoins 04:01 Cross-Border Money Transfers 04:34 Splitting Bills Across Borders 05:06 Uncollateralized Loans via Crypto 05:44 Payments as a Core Use Case 06:20 Most Used Blockchain for Payments 06:56 Celo Surpasses Tron in Stablecoin Users 07:39 Overcoming the Bear Market 08:12 Transaction Growth on Celo 09:19 What’s Driving Real Usage 09:56 MiniPay and Opera Mini Wallet 10:30 Year-on-Year Usage Growth 11:03 Saving with Stablecoin Yield (Vera Wallet) 12:29 Crypto vs Traditional Remittances 13:36 Lending Against Future Income (Haraka) 15:15 Why We Need Stablecoins for All Currencies 16:23 Stablecoins on Mento for Local Economies 16:58 Celo’s Transition from L1 to L2 17:31 Unique Features Celo Brings to L2 18:11 The Challenge of a Hard Hard Fork 19:21 Celo L2 Roadmap: Dango, Alpha Horus, Mainnet 20:21 Ethereum as the Settlement Layer 21:00 Final Thoughts and Spirited Away Ending _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇸🇬 *Pragma Singapore* Pragma Singapore 2024 was a special gathering of founders and builders that took place September 19, 2024 at the Fullerton Hotel in Singapore. Pragma Singapore 2024 was an opportunity discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. Watch the full Pragma Singapore playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh6z0saYJnVdgXWfz-vaoEYx&si=uavhkhF5Kc8XBoLv ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Marek Olszewski* X: https://x.com/marek_ ✅ *Follow Celo* X: https://x.com/Celo ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Chris Yin

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Join Chris Yin of Plume Network as he breaks down why “Real-World Assets” (RWAs) will eventually fade out – and why the stablecoin model holds the key to bridging on-chain and off-chain value. Learn how Plume’s approach to RWA adoption focuses on crypto-native formats, composable design, and active community-building rather than simply porting legacy “TradFi” products onto blockchains. Discover how institutional headlines (BlackRock, Franklin Templeton) can distract from what truly drives adoption, how stablecoins became the original RWA success story, and why Plume’s ecosystem is thriving by offering a liquid, permissionless user experience. If you’re ready to move beyond the hype and unlock real usage for on-chain assets, this talk explains the next phase of RWA evolution in DeFi. 000:00 Introduction & RWA Hype 01:10 Growth of RWA Market & Headlines 02:45 Why Institutional “Tokenization” Might Mislead 04:02 Comparing Stablecoins vs. On-Chain Treasuries 05:45 Defining RWAs & Crypto-Native Assets 07:18 Public Sector Examples: DMV Titles & Salesforce 09:10 Real Adoption: The Story of Stablecoins as RWA 10:58 On-Chain Assets: Liquid, Permissionless & Composable 12:55 Plume Network: Mission & Ecosystem Overview 14:28 Building for Crypto Natives vs. Traditional Finance 16:11 Plume’s Approach: Liquidity & Community 17:30 Examples: Pokemon Card Derivatives & Real-Yield Assets 18:35 Why “RWAs” as a Category Should Disappear 20:25 Conclusion & Next Steps with Plume _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma San Francisco* Pragma San Francisco 2024 was a special gathering of founders and builders that took place October 16th and 17th at The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, CA. Pragma San Francisco 2024 was an opportunity discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. Watch the full Pragma San Francisco playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4LcwDpGf_itZrAu7XRNb07&si=3x3y9J3avgNTITUe ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Chris Yin* X: https://x.com/chriseyin ✅ *Follow Plume Network* X: https://x.com/plumenetwork ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Explore how Iron Fish is building a cross-chain privacy layer for EVM networks, enabling private transactions for any on-chain asset – from stablecoins to custom tokens. In this talk, Elena Nadolinski explains how Iron Fish’s multi-asset shielded pool, ZK proofs, and threshold signatures combine to deliver an intuitive privacy solution without smart contracts. Learn how its decentralized bridging model ensures regulatory compliance while still preserving user confidentiality. If you’re seeking a scalable approach to private DeFi, discover how Iron Fish’s zero-knowledge stack can offer the “anonymous diamond” experience of crypto, across multiple blockchains. 00:00 Introduction & Why Privacy Matters 01:10 Diamonds & Historical Lessons in Private Money 02:07 Current Transparency: Challenges in Crypto Payments 03:00 Iron Fish Approach: One Privacy Pool for All Assets 04:05 Multi-Asset Shielder Protocol & ZK Mechanics 05:15 How Iron Fish Handles Mint, Burn, & Encrypted Transactions 07:00 Threshold Signatures for Private Multi-Sig Wallets 08:24 Custodian Bridges & Sanction Screening 09:14 Demo: Cross-Chain ERC-20 Privacy on Iron Fish 10:05 Future Plans & Launch Timeline 11:20 Conclusion & How to Get Involved _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma San Francisco* Pragma San Francisco 2024 was a special gathering of founders and builders that took place October 16th and 17th at The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, CA. Pragma San Francisco 2024 was an opportunity discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. Watch the full Pragma San Francisco playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4LcwDpGf_itZrAu7XRNb07&si=3x3y9J3avgNTITUe ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Elena Nadolinski* X: https://x.com/leanthebean ✅ *Follow Iron Fish* X: https://x.com/ironfishcrypto ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Explore sustainable yield strategies in DeFi with Andrew Redden from Last Network. This insightful talk covers how yield originates, the challenge of maintaining sustainable returns, and innovative financial models designed to stabilize holistic yield. Learn about liquid staking tokens, risk-adjusted investments, governance challenges in DAOs, and Last Network's vision to redistribute yield fairly, incentivize genuine participation, and build resilient, modular blockchain ecosystems. 00:00 Intro: The Search for Sustainable Yield Explained 00:47 Understanding Yield: Market Fit and Financialization 01:18 Historical Origins and Financial Meaning of Yield 01:45 Yield as Market Pricing Inefficiency (Athena Example) 02:42 The Massive Scale of the Crypto Yield Market 03:11 Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) and Yield Compression 03:43 Defining True Sustainable Yield in DeFi 04:11 Sustainable Yield Through Productive and Utility Assets 04:44 Lessons from Lehman Brothers: Risk and Diversification 05:18 Holistic Yield: Exposure to All Financial Activity 05:52 Stability and Safety with Stablecoins 06:20 Last Network's Complementary Approach to Yield 06:51 Cash Flow Reinvestment Strategy in Crypto Protocols 07:49 Aligning Incentives: Problems with Inflationary Tokenomics 08:15 Last Network's Mission: Built to Last Philosophy 08:42 Fair Compensation for DAO Governance Participants 09:34 Addressing Whale Dominance and Governance Challenges 10:02 Rewarding Liquidity Providers Fairly 10:31 Exportable Yield: Facilitating Cross-Chain Yield Access 11:28 Incentivizing Stablecoin Proliferation Across Networks 11:57 Vote Escrow Governance Model and Bribe Market Innovation 12:26 The Core Engine: Real-Time Cross-Chain Yield Accounting 13:26 Sovereign Rollups: Modular Blockchain and EVM Flexibility 14:22 Modular Blockchain Tech: From Optimistic to ZK Rollups 14:51 Optimistic Governance Model to Enhance DAO Efficiency 15:48 Governance Mechanisms to Prevent Obstruction and Stalemates 16:43 Last Network: Supporting Builders and Developers 17:10 Mistakes Protocols Make: Launching Tokens Too Early or Late 17:36 Yield Farming Risks and Protocol Sustainability 18:02 Resurrection Model: Learning from Failed Crypto Protocols 18:28 Conclusion: Stabilizing Holistic Yield with Last Network _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma San Francisco* Pragma San Francisco 2024 was a special gathering of founders and builders that took place October 16th and 17th at The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, CA. Pragma San Francisco 2024 was an opportunity discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. Watch the full Pragma San Francisco playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4LcwDpGf_itZrAu7XRNb07&si=3x3y9J3avgNTITUe ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow LAST* X: https://x.com/lastdotnet ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Matthias Broner, Kartik Talwar

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Join Matthias Broner, Head of Growth at ZKsync, and Kartik Talwar from ETHGlobal for a deep dive into blockchain adoption strategies and the unique growth of crypto in Latin America. Matthias shares insights on how ZKsync scaled their Layer 2 solution with zero-knowledge technology (ZK), emphasizing real-world applications such as stablecoin usage, decentralized digital identities, and practical blockchain solutions in Argentina and beyond. Discover how ZKsync's elastic chain vision fosters interoperability, the role of government-backed digital identities, and effective strategies for attracting blockchain developers. 00:00 Introduction: Matthias Broner & ZKsync Fireside Chat 00:37 Growing Protocols & Lessons from ZKsync 01:13 What is ZKsync & Yearly Achievements 02:09 Measuring Growth: Key Metrics at ZKsync 03:32 Why Latin America is Key for Crypto Growth 04:53 Crypto Adoption Patterns in Latin America 06:20 Popularity & Use of Stablecoins in LatAm 07:41 Demographics & Crypto Usage Stats in LatAm 09:02 Tips for Success Building Crypto in LatAm 10:29 Insights from Argentina's Crypto Ecosystem 11:56 Beyond Payments: Real-World Blockchain Use Cases 12:23 Digital Identity & Buenos Aires Government Initiative 13:51 Self-Sovereign Identity & ZK Technology 14:46 Local Reaction to Blockchain-Based Identity 16:32 How ZKsync Supports Growth & Adoption in LatAm 17:52 Strategies for Effective Developer Engagement 19:20 Activating Community Through Decentralized Governance 20:10 Conclusion & Takeaways from Matthias Broner _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma San Francisco* Pragma San Francisco 2024 was a special gathering of founders and builders that took place October 16th and 17th at The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, CA. Pragma San Francisco 2024 was an opportunity discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. Watch the full Pragma San Francisco playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4LcwDpGf_itZrAu7XRNb07&si=3x3y9J3avgNTITUe ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Mattias Broner* X: https://x.com/BronerMatthias ✅ *Follow ZKsync* X: https://x.com/zksync ✅ *Follow Kartik Talwar* X: https://x.com/therealkartik Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/kartik ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Kartik Talwar

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Join Nikhil Chandhok, Chief Product Officer at Circle, and Kartik Talwar from ETHGlobal, as they dive deep into the world of stablecoins and blockchain innovation. Discover how Circle is revolutionizing global financial inclusion with USDC, enabling seamless cross-border payments, instant settlements, and unprecedented capital efficiency. Nikhil discusses Circle's developer platform, future innovations, regulatory perspectives, and how stablecoins surpass traditional financial networks in global transaction volumes. Learn what makes stablecoins the essential building block for the future of finance. 00:00 Introduction: Nikhil Chandhok & Circle Fireside Chat 00:45 Nikhil’s Journey: From Google and Meta to Circle 01:51 Personal Motivation Behind Joining Circle 03:33 Why Stablecoins Matter Globally 04:32 Circle's Mission Beyond USDC Issuance 05:02 Three Pillars of Circle's Business Model 06:12 Web3 Services & Developer Platform at Circle 07:15 Stablecoins After FTX: Restoring Industry Trust 08:18 Circle's User Experience & Wallet Innovations 09:19 Product Development Strategy at Circle 10:58 Simplifying Crypto UX for Global Consumers 12:09 Challenges Supporting Multiple Blockchains 13:46 Ensuring Security and Regulatory Compliance 14:42 Advocating for Open Internet & Public Blockchains 15:53 Predicting Novel Blockchain User Behavior 16:55 BlackRock's Bitcoin Fund & USDC Integration 17:31 Perspective on Competing Stablecoins 18:43 Regulatory Outlook for Stablecoins Globally 20:24 Why the Stablecoin Market Will Grow Exponentially 21:57 The Non-Zero-Sum Nature of Blockchain Innovation 22:34 New Features Coming to Circle’s Developer Platform 23:33 Stablecoin Transaction Volume Exceeds Visa 24:05 Conclusion: The Future of Money with Stablecoins _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma San Francisco* Pragma San Francisco 2024 was a special gathering of founders and builders that took place October 16th and 17th at The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, CA. Pragma San Francisco 2024 was an opportunity discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. Watch the full Pragma San Francisco playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4LcwDpGf_itZrAu7XRNb07&si=3x3y9J3avgNTITUe ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow the Nikhil Chandhok* X: https://x.com/chandhok ✅ *Follow Cirlce* X: https://x.com/circle ✅ *Follow Kartik Talwar* X: https://x.com/therealkartik Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/kartik ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Edwin Aoki

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Discover how PayPal’s digital currency initiative is reshaping global payments in this in-depth conversation with Edwin Aoki, PayPal’s CTO of Blockchain, Crypto, and Digital Currencies. Learn about the launch of PayPal USD (PYUSD), the strategic reasons behind creating a stablecoin, and how blockchain technology is bridging old payment rails (like wire transfers and SWIFT) with modern digital assets. Edwin shares insights on multi-chain adoption (including Ethereum and Solana), confidential transfers, regulatory compliance, and real-world use cases—from B2B crypto payments to everyday consumer transactions. Key topics include: • Why PayPal ventured into crypto and how digital assets improve cost and efficiency • PYUSD design, bankruptcy-remote reserves, and NYDFS greenlisting • Seamless merchant integrations, enabling users to spend cryptocurrency anywhere PayPal is accepted • Exploring confidential transactions on Solana for privacy in business-to-business payments • Future innovations in smart contracts, cross-border payments, and SAP integration Don’t miss this behind-the-scenes look at how a global financial leader embraces Web3, stablecoins, and the next generation of commerce. 00:00 Introduction & Keynote Opening 00:49 Meet Edwin Aoki, PayPal’s Digital Currency CTO 01:57 Why PayPal Entered the Crypto Space 02:26 Bridging Old Payment Rails With Blockchain 03:04 Outdated Systems & Crypto’s Efficiency 04:09 How Stablecoins Improve Global Payments 05:52 Moving from Buy/Hold to Stablecoins 07:31 Seamless Merchant Integration with Crypto 08:37 Launch of PayPal Stablecoin (PYUSD) 09:12 Multi-Chain Approach & Confidential Transfers 10:23 How PYUSD Differs from Other Stablecoins 11:35 Optimizing Smart Contracts for Payments 13:11 Bankruptcy-Remote Reserves & NYDFS Approval 14:17 Compliance & Innovation at PayPal 15:24 Executive Backing & Corporate Challenges 17:42 Expanding PYUSD & Multi-Currency Plans 19:21 Future Focus: SAP Integration & Global Adoption 20:52 Looking Ahead to Payment Innovations _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎤 *Pragma Bankgkok* Pragma Bangkok 2024 closed out a year of exceptional Pragma events held around the world, and offered the global Web3 community a chance to hear from founders and builders as they reflect on the past, and look to the future of Web3. Pragma Bangkok 2024 was held on November 14th at the Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit in Bangkok, Thailand. Watch the full YouTube Playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4JNkhnsv5F95OqxT_IjCEl&si=6Tv3CvB6vrQIIjBA ETHGlobal's Pragma series, which began in Tokyo in the spring of 2023, has been fostering a curated, global community of individuals who deeply care about web3. You can learn more about Pragma and upcoming events in the series here: https://ethglobal.com/pragma _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow PayPal X: https://x.com/PayPal Website: https://www.paypal.com ✅ Follow Kartik Talwar X: https://x.com/therealkartik Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/kartik ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Stani Kulechov

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Explore the evolution of crypto wallets with Stani Kulechov, founder of Avara. In this Pragma Bangkok interview, Kartik Talwar (co-founder of ETHGlobal) discusses the origins of Family Wallet, its user-centric approach, and how it differentiates itself from traditional wallet designs. Hear Stani’s insights on abstracting away gas, multichain adoption, and the role of stablecoins (including Aave’s GHO token) in driving global adoption. Learn how Aave V4 and Family’s unique UI/UX can unlock new consumer and DeFi experiences—and where Stani sees the future of Ethereum wallets heading next. 00:00 Kartik Talwar Introduces Stani (Avara Founder) 01:00 Why Avara Invested in Building Family 02:29 Story of the Family Team 03:55 The Value of Delightful Wallet UX 05:07 Onboarding New vs. Existing Users 06:26 Pocket & Zero-Knowledge Backup Keys 07:29 Infrastructure vs. Consumer Apps 08:10 Expanding Aave, Lens & Family 09:15 Opinionated Product Integration 10:40 Family’s “Last Mile” Approach 11:53 Quick Onboard Experience & Feedback 12:19 Stablecoins & Payment Use Cases 13:22 Why GHO (Aave’s Native Stablecoin) 15:06 GHO’s Borrower Demand & Defi Yield 16:18 Aave V4: Key Goals & Features 18:01 Risk Management & Liquidity Premiums 19:14 The Boom in Stablecoin Supply 20:00 In-Depth on GHO & Borrowing Rates 21:00 DeFi Applications & UI Ownership 22:44 Aave V4 Built in Public 23:24 Multi-Chain Vision & GHO 25:00 Chainlink CCIP & Bridge Liquidity 26:21 Does Liquidity Fragmentation Exist? 28:12 Wrapping Up Family’s Two-Year Build 29:18 Future of Family: DeFi & Non-Financial 30:32 Advice for Founders & Concluding Words _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎤 *Pragma Bankgkok* Pragma Bangkok 2024 closed out a year of exceptional Pragma events held around the world, and offered the global Web3 community a chance to hear from founders and builders as they reflect on the past, and look to the future of Web3. Pragma Bangkok 2024 was held on November 14th at the Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit in Bangkok, Thailand. Watch the full YouTube Playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4JNkhnsv5F95OqxT_IjCEl&si=6Tv3CvB6vrQIIjBA ETHGlobal's Pragma series, which began in Tokyo in the spring of 2023, has been fostering a curated, global community of individuals who deeply care about web3. You can learn more about Pragma and upcoming events in the series here: https://ethglobal.com/pragma _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Stani Kulechov X: https://x.com/StaniKulechov ✅ Follow Avara X: https://x.com/Avara Website: https://avara.xyz ✅ Follow Kartik Talwar X: https://x.com/therealkartik Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/kartik ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Chris Yin

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Join Chris Yin, CEO of Plume Network, as he dives deep into Real-World Assets (RWAs) and explores whether this is just another “rug” or if things are truly different this time. Filmed live at Pragma Denver 2025, Chris dissects market sentiment, tokenization trends, the impact of major institutions like BlackRock, and how Plume aims to build for crypto natives—focusing on real yield, community-driven adoption, and a “FarmVille”-style approach to on-chain asset ownership. Discover how tokenizing real estate, credit, and other assets can finally drive meaningful usage, and learn why Plume believes a dedicated RWA chain is key to unlocking new liquidity and utility. Don’t miss this candid discussion on bridging TradFi and DeFi while avoiding the pitfalls of simply porting old finance onto new rails. 00:00 Introduction & RWA Focus 01:06 BTC Price Crash & Market Sentiment 02:11 Trump “Rug” & Argentinian President’s Impact 03:35 Community Fatigue: Memes vs. Real Yield 04:28 RWA Sector Performance & Rotation 05:15 Larry Fink, BlackRock & Tokenization Hype 06:18 Wall Street 2.0 or Rug? Sell-Side Realities 07:33 Revisiting Old Tokenized Real Estate Cycles 08:44 Success & Failure in RWA Adoption 10:09 Building for Crypto Natives vs. TradFi 11:31 GME, Memes & Community-First Finance 12:35 Introducing Plume Network & Founders 14:42 Plume’s Ecosystem & Community Growth 15:58 Stablecoins as the Original RWA 17:01 The “FarmVille” Approach to On-Chain Assets 18:23 Full-Stack Ecosystem: Plume Arc & Nexus 19:49 Why Plume Needs Its Own Dedicated Chain 21:05 Bringing Assets On-Chain & Composable Uses 22:37 Closing Thoughts & Next Cycle Outlook _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma Denver* Pragma Denver 2025 was held on February 25th at ReelWorks in Denver, Colorado and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Denver YouTube Playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh6mvMfVn2gIK2uhRiTHjIg9&si=D7XfnBKvZL7sthbU ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Chris Yin* X: https://x.com/chriseyin ✅ Follow *Plume Network* X: https://x.com/plumenetwork ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Alex Shevchenko

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Join Alex Shevchenko, Co-Founder and CEO of Aurora at Pragma Denver 2025 to discover how virtual chains on the Aurora platform are transforming the way projects launch their own EVM-compatible networks—without the complexity and cost of traditional L2 setups. Learn how Aurora Cloud’s “one-click” deployment spins up a full blockchain in under a minute, complete with integrated stablecoins, Bridges (Wormhole, Rainbow), custodial solutions, and indexing infrastructure. Whether you’re an ambitious founder looking to decentralize your product or seeking to bypass the usual multi-million-dollar overhead of L2 creation, this talk shows how Aurora’s near protocol backend delivers immediate mainnet functionality and frictionless user experiences. 00:00 Introduction & Why Founders Want Their Own Chain 01:12 Common Reasons: Decentralization, Token Utility, Ecosystem Growth 02:07 Challenges of Launching Traditional L2s 03:30 Virtual Chains: Overview & Key Benefits 04:54 How Aurora Cloud Simplifies Chain Launch 05:56 Infrastructure Integration: Stablecoins, Bridges, CEX Listings 07:01 Immediate Access to Custodians, Indexers, Gnosis Safe 08:00 Target of 1,000 Virtual Chains in 2025 & Current Launches 08:37 Live Demo: Aurora Cloud Console & Rapid Deployment 10:40 Autopilot Setup: Explorers, RPC, Forwarder Integration 12:00 Leveraging near Protocol & Interoperability 13:24 Marketplace of Infra & Automated DeFi Deployment 15:26 Roadmap & Plans for DeFi Stack on Each Virtual Chain 16:45 Conclusion & Next Steps _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma Denver* Pragma Denver 2025 was held on February 25th at ReelWorks in Denver, Colorado and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Denver YouTube Playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh6mvMfVn2gIK2uhRiTHjIg9&si=D7XfnBKvZL7sthbU ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Alex Shevchenko* X: https://x.com/AlexAuroraDev ✅ Follow *Aurora* X: https://x.com/auroraisnear ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Discover how to build AI agents on Celo in this ETHGlobal Taipei 2025 workshop with Viral Sangani from Celo Foundation. Learn about Celo's transition to an Ethereum L2, its mobile-first approach, and developer tools for creating real-world blockchain applications. The workshop includes a live demo of building an AI agent using Goat SDK and LangChain, plus details about $10,000 in hackathon bounties for AI and tooling projects on Celo's ecosystem. 00:00 - Introduction to Celo as Ethereum L2 00:47 - Benefits of Celo's L2 migration 01:21 - Celo's EVM compatibility and speed 02:03 - Human-centric features and stablecoins 03:17 - Celo's global adoption and metrics 03:51 - ETHGlobal hackathon bounties overview 04:34 - AI tooling and L2 celebration prizes 05:11 - Recommended tools for Celo development 06:22 - Celo Composer starter kit demo 07:32 - Hackathon judging criteria and tips 08:08 - Joining Celo's developer ecosystem 09:17 - Funding opportunities and accelerators 10:32 - Live demo: Building AI agent with Goat SDK 12:33 - Customizing plugins and tools 15:12 - Running and testing the AI agent _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇹🇼 *ETHGlobal Taipei* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal Taipei, a 3-day hackathon held April 4-6 2025, that brought together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow *Viral Sangani* X: https://x.com/viralsangani_me ✅ Follow *Celo* X: https://x.com/Celo ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

In this ETHGlobal Taipei 2025 workshop, Elton Tay from Circle introduces four hackathon bounties focused on advancing USDC and stablecoin infrastructure. Learn how to build a multi-chain USDC payment system, enable gasless transactions with Circle Paymaster, design dynamic smart wallets, and implement CCTP V2 transfer hooks. Discover Circle’s developer tools, submission requirements, and compete for $2,000 prizes in each track by pushing the boundaries of cross-chain finance and user experience. 00:00 – Introduction to Circle and USDC stablecoin infrastructure 00:40 – Overview of Circle’s developer tools and APIs 01:21 – Bounty 1: Building a multi-chain USDC payment system 02:02 – Bounty 2: Gasless transactions with Circle Paymaster 02:43 – Bounty 3: Dynamic smart wallets with security controls 03:22 – Bounty 4: CCTP V2 transfer hooks for cross-chain automation 04:03 – Submission requirements: MVP, demo, and GitHub repo 04:40 – Final tips and hackathon encouragement _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇹🇼 *ETHGlobal Taipei* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal Taipei, a 3-day hackathon held April 4-6 2025, that brought together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow *Circle* X: https://x.com/circle ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Marek Olszewski

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Discover why Celo is the Ethereum L2 you've been searching for in this insightful talk by Marek Olszewski, co-founder of Celo. Learn about Celo's seamless transition from an L1 to an OP Stack and EigenDA-based L2, its ultra-low transaction fees, 1-second block times, and robust stablecoin ecosystem with native USDT. Explore how Celo supports real-world adoption through wallets like Opera Mini Pay and Valora, AI innovation with CXAI, and decentralized identity via Self Protocol. Whether you're a developer or crypto enthusiast, find out why Celo is the ideal platform for fast, affordable, and user-friendly blockchain applications. 00:00 - Introduction: Celo’s Transition to Ethereum L2 00:54 - The Hard Hard Fork: Celo’s Unprecedented Upgrade 03:41 - Engineering Challenges & Client Migration 05:29 - Community & Partner Support for the Upgrade 06:41 - Seamless Migration for DApps (Uniswap Example) 07:49 - The Great Celo Happening: Inflation Cut to 1% 09:02 - Reason 1: Fast & Affordable Transactions 11:38 - Reason 2: Celo’s Stablecoin Ecosystem 12:57 - Reason 3: Real Users & Mass Adoption 16:31 - Reason 4: AI & Agent-Based Innovation (CXAI) 17:56 - Reason 5: Decentralized Identity (Self Protocol) 19:51 - Hackathon Prizes & Closing Remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇹🇼 *Pragma Taipei* Pragma Taipei 2025 was held on April 3rd at POPOP in Taipei, Taiwan and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Taipei YouTube Playlist here: ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Marek Olszewski X: https://x.com/marek_ ✅ Follow Celo X: https://x.com/Celo ✅ Follow Kartik Talwar X: https://x.com/TheRealKartik ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Join Lena Hierzi, DevRel Engineer at Celo Foundation, in this ETHGlobal Taipei 2025 workshop to learn about building real-world applications on Celo's new L2 (powered by OP Stack and DA). Discover why Celo is ideal for fast, affordable transactions (1-second finality), stablecoin ecosystems (15+ stablecoins), and AI-powered tools (CXAI initiative). Lena covers hackathon bounties (10K cUSD prizes), identity solutions (Self Protocol for ZK-proof KYC), and resources like Celo Composer and Scaffold-ETH. Perfect for developers building DeFi, payments, or AI agents with a focus on real-world usability and 8M+ mobile users through Valora/MiniPay. 00:00 – Introduction: Celo’s Transition to Ethereum L2 (OP Stack) 01:25 – 5 Reasons to Build on Celo L2: Speed & Affordability 02:55 – Stablecoin Hub: 15+ Regional/Dollar/Euro Stablecoins 03:40 – Real-World Users: 8M+ Mobile Wallets (Valora/MiniPay) 04:23 – AI Focus: Celo x AI (CXAI) & Agent Frameworks 05:06 – Identity Solutions: Self Protocol (ZK-Proof KYC) 06:28 – Hackathon Bounties: 10K cUSD Pools (AI, DeFi, Payments) 07:48 – AI Tooling: Gaia, Giza, Nebula, Eliza OS Integration 08:26 – Celo’s AI Hackathon Judge: Project Feedback System 09:00 – Developer Resources: Celo Composer & Scaffold-ETH 09:37 – Use Cases: DeFi, Microloans, Forex, Refi 10:16 – Tips: User-Centric Design & Presentation Practice 11:39 – How to Win: Engage with Judges & Claim Collectibles _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇹🇼 *ETHGlobal Taipei* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal Taipei, a 3-day hackathon held April 4-6 2025, that brought together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Celo X: https://x.com/Celo ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Join Elton Tay, Developer Relations Lead for APAC at Circle, in this ETHGlobal Taipei 2025 workshop to explore Circle's developer tooling for building with USDC. Learn about Circle's stablecoin infrastructure (60B+ USDC circulation), cross-chain transfer protocol (CCTP v2) for fast USDC transfers, Circle Pay Master (pay gas fees in USDC), and modular wallets with passkey support. Discover hackathon tracks ($10K prizes) for multi-chain payments, gas abstraction, smart wallets with compliance, and CCTP hooks. Perfect for developers building DeFi, payments, or cross-chain dApps with regulated, user-friendly solutions. 00:00 – Introduction: Circle’s Mission & USDC Overview 01:17 – Circle’s Stablecoin Infrastructure: USDC, EURC, USYC 02:02 – Developer Tooling: Circle Wallets, Contracts, Pay Master 03:10 – CCTP v1 vs. v2: Fast Cross-Chain USDC Transfers 04:18 – Modular Wallets: Passkey & Multisig Features 05:32 – Gas Station & Compliance Engine for Regulated Apps 06:42 – Travel Rule & Transaction Monitoring 07:53 – CCTP v2 Hooks: Custom Post-Transfer Logic 09:08 – Circle Pay Master: Pay Gas Fees in USDC 10:24 – Hackathon Tracks & $10K Prize Breakdown 12:12 – Developer Resources: Templates, Docs, Grants 13:58 – Circle Support: Discord, Office Hours, Bounties _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇹🇼 *ETHGlobal Taipei* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal Taipei, a 3-day hackathon held April 4-6 2025, that brought together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow *Circle* X: https://x.com/circle ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Kobble, co-founder of Beraborrow, introduces the largest CDP protocol on Bearchain with over $400M TVL, enabling liquidity, leverage, and yield strategies. Learn how Beraborrow leverages Bearchain’s proof-of-liquidity mechanism to optimize DeFi growth, NECTAR stablecoin efficiency, and sustainable yield. Explore the protocol’s core—DEN vaults, liquid stability pools, and managed leverage—plus future upgrades like cross-protocol liquidity modules. 00:00 - Introduction to Beraborrow and Bearchain 00:31 - How Bearchain’s Proof of Liquidity Works 01:05 - Beraborrow’s CDP Protocol Core Components 01:25 - DEN Vaults: Collateral Deposits Explained 01:51 - NECTAR Stablecoin Design and Composability 02:09 - Liquid Stability Pools for Protocol Solvency 02:42 - Proof of Liquidity vs. Traditional Chain Security 03:16 - Bearchain’s Two-Token Model (BGT Governance) 03:48 - How Applications Bid for Chain-Level Incentives 04:40 - Beraborrow’s Use of Proof of Liquidity 05:40 - Auto-Compounding Yield in DEN Vaults 06:41 - NECTAR Stablecoin Interest Rate Optimization 07:56 - Liquid Stability Pool Yield Strategies 08:54 - Beraborrow’s Role in the Bearchain Ecosystem 09:30 - How Beraborrow Dens and Managers Work 10:49 - Risk Isolation in Protocol Instances 11:21 - Liquid Stability Pool Mechanics 12:56 - Example of a Liquidation Process 14:29 - Maintaining NECTAR’s $1 Peg with PSMs 15:57 - Future Plans: Liquidity Pool Optimization 16:51 - Managed Leverage Vaults and Strategies 18:10 - Requirements for Building on Beraborrow _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇨🇿 *ETHGlobal Prague* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal Prague, a 3-day hackathon held May 30 - June 1 2025, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal Prague 2025 playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5Vv-ZobDU2YMWekDFYvOqd&si=SoQ5O2TOAK8RkYf- _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow *Kobble* X: https://x.com/0xKobble ✅ Follow *Beraborrow* X: https://x.com/beraborrow ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Kevin Jones

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Kevin Jones from The Graph and Build Guild dives into overcollateralized lending and stablecoins in this ETHGlobal Prague 2025 workshop. Learn how decentralized stablecoins like DAI work, explore key DeFi mechanisms (oracles, collateralization ratios, liquidation), and see a live demo of a simulated stablecoin system using Scaffold-ETH. Discover how to adjust borrow/savings rates to maintain peg stability and get a sneak peek at Speedrun Ethereum’s upcoming lending challenge. Perfect for developers interested in DeFi, smart contracts, and algorithmic monetary policy. 00:00 - Introduction to Stablecoins & Lending Challenge 00:37 - Scaffold-ETH Recap for Beginners 01:34 - Types of Stablecoins: Fiat-Backed vs Algorithmic 02:36 - Overcollateralization Explained 03:40 - Oracles, DEXs & Stablecoin Engine Contracts 05:08 - Stablecoin ERC20 Modifications (Mint/Burn Controls) 07:08 - Economics of Overcollateralized Stablecoins 08:44 - Scaffold-ETH Setup: Chain, Frontend & Deployment 10:06 - Live Demo: Depositing ETH & Minting Stablecoins 12:10 - Adjusting Collateralization Ratios 13:54 - Simulating Market Activity with Bots 15:35 - Manipulating Borrow Rates for Peg Stability 17:28 - Savings Rates & Incentivizing Holders 19:29 - Liquidation Mechanics in Action 21:40 - PEG Stability Modules (MakerDAO Comparison) 22:49 - Q&A: Oracle Integration & Hackathon Ideas _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇨🇿 *ETHGlobal Prague* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal Prague, a 3-day hackathon held May 30 - June 1 2025, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal Prague 2025 playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5Vv-ZobDU2YMWekDFYvOqd&si=SoQ5O2TOAK8RkYf- _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Kevin Jones X: https://x.com/cryptomastery_ ✅ Follow Buidl Guidl Website: https://buidlguidl.com ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Ram Kumar, co-founder of OpenLedger, presents their blockchain-based protocol designed for building specialized AI models. He highlights the limitations of current large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI and Llama, which are trained on generic internet data, resulting in generalized outputs and lack of transparency. OpenLedger addresses these issues by enabling users to contribute domain-specific datasets, build and fine-tune AI models via a no-code platform, and receive rewards through an on-chain attribution and provenance system. The protocol ensures data ownership, auditability, and verifiability, distinguishing it from centralized platforms like Hugging Face. OpenLedger supports both community developers and enterprises, with use cases ranging from Solidity code generation to customer support and tax advisory. The ecosystem includes a marketplace for models, agent frameworks, stablecoin micropayments, and a DEX for model tokenization. With over a million users in testnet, OpenLedger is set to launch its mainnet, aiming to democratize and decentralize AI model creation and monetization. 00:00 Introduction 00:38 Why AI Models Need Specialization 01:45 OpenLedger’s Background and Enterprise Experience 02:41 Problems with Current AI Models 03:33 OpenLedger’s Solution: Data, Models, and Attribution 04:38 Blockchain for Verifiable AI and Data Ownership 05:34 OpenLedger vs. Traditional AI Platforms 06:04 Product Overview: Data Nets, Model Factory, Open Models 07:24 Example: Building a Specialized Solidity Model 08:34 Model Marketplace and Access 09:22 Enterprise Use Cases and Partnerships 10:20 Auditability and Attribution for Enterprises 11:21 Community and Enterprise Ecosystem 11:56 Ecosystem Extensions: Stablecoin, DEX, Agent Frameworks 12:38 Testnet Results and Mainnet Launch 13:09 Closing Remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇫🇷 *Pragma Cannes* Pragma Cannes 2025 was held on July 3rd at the Carlton Cannes in Cannes, France and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Cannes YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh6jZYPY5-YIBzvMtUT3ajjI ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Ram Kumar X: https://x.com/Ramkumartweet ✅ Follow OpenLedger X: https://x.com/OpenledgerHQ ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sergey Nazarov, Kartik Talwar

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

In this fireside chat at Pragma Cannes 2025, Kartik Talwar interviews Sergey Nazarov, co-founder of Chainlink, about the evolving landscape of DeFi, institutional adoption, and the future of blockchain. Sergey discusses the increasing creativity in DeFi yield generation, the impact of potential Fed interest rate cuts, and the growing focus on compliance and cross-chain identity to attract institutional capital. He highlights regulatory shifts, especially in the US, enabling institutions to participate in DeFi, and predicts a massive influx of tokenized real-world assets, stablecoins, and institutional funds—potentially surpassing the current crypto market cap within three years. Sergey emphasizes the need to preserve decentralization and transparency as traditional finance enters Web3, and advises developers to focus on stablecoin innovation, payments, real-world asset issuance, and vault strategies. Chainlink’s role in providing proof of reserves, cross-chain integration, and compliance solutions is also discussed as key infrastructure for this transition. 00:00 Introduction 00:32 State of DeFi and Yield Innovation 02:14 DeFi Yield vs. Fed Rates and Institutional Interest 04:49 Institutional Perspectives and Compliance Risks 06:19 Regulatory Shifts and US Influence 08:52 Institutional Capital and On-Chain Integration 10:32 Industry Narratives and Capital Influx 12:09 Impact on Blockchain Ethos and Public Networks 13:50 Tokenization of Real-World Assets 15:27 Institutional Influence and Industry Evolution 17:35 Timeline for Institutional Adoption 18:48 Chainlink’s Role in the New Landscape 19:54 Stablecoins, Payments, and Industry Shifts 20:54 Advice for Developers and Founders 21:51 Opportunities: Stablecoins, Payments, Asset Issuance 23:34 Vaults, Asset Management, and Infrastructure 24:14 Closing Advice and Conclusion _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇫🇷 *Pragma Cannes* Pragma Cannes 2025 was held on July 3rd at the Carlton Cannes in Cannes, France and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Cannes YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh6jZYPY5-YIBzvMtUT3ajjI ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Sergey Nazarov X: https://x.com/SergeyNazarov ✅ Follow Chainlink X: https://x.com/chainlink ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Stani Kulechov, Kartik Talwar

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

At Pragma Cannes 2025, Stani Kulechov (Aave) discusses DeFi 2.0, emphasizing a new era of on-chain innovation, regulatory optimism, and developer empowerment. He introduces Aave V4’s novel “hub and spoke” architecture, which centralizes liquidity in hubs while allowing customizable borrowing strategies (spokes), reducing liquidity fragmentation and enabling permissionless innovation. V4 supports diverse risk profiles, cross-chain liquidity movement, and integration of traditional assets (RWAs) like money market funds via the Horizon initiative. Stani highlights opportunities for developers to build new borrowing strategies, including using NFTs and LP tokens as collateral. The model enhances governance flexibility, risk management, and cross-chain functionality, aiming to bridge DeFi and traditional finance, foster transparency, and improve capital efficiency. The session closes with a call for developer-driven innovation to push DeFi’s boundaries. 00:00 Introduction 00:33 Defining DeFi 2.0 01:59 Aave V4: What’s New 03:42 Hub and Spoke Architecture Explained 05:47 Inspiration and Evolution of the Model 07:05 Spoke Use Cases and Risk Profiles 09:12 Governance Changes in V4 11:31 Cross-Chain and Multi-Chain Considerations 15:01 DeFi’s Future and Real World Assets (RWAs) 17:44 Developer Opportunities and Innovation 19:18 NFTs, LP Tokens, and New Collateral Types 20:05 V4 Launch and Developer Resources 20:34 Closing Remarks and Call to Action _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇫🇷 *Pragma Cannes* Pragma Cannes 2025 was held on July 3rd at the Carlton Cannes in Cannes, France and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Cannes YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh6jZYPY5-YIBzvMtUT3ajjI ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Stani Kulechov X: https://x.com/StaniKulechov ✅ Follow Avara X: https://x.com/Avara ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Vitalik Buterin, Kartik Talwar

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

At Pragma Cannes 2025, Kartik Talwar and Vitalik Buterin discuss evolving trends in the Ethereum and broader crypto ecosystem. They highlight regional differences in community interests—privacy in Prague, AI in Taipei, and global diversity at Cannes. The conversation covers the shift from DeFi innovation to integration, the resurgence of previously failed ideas like micropayments and tokenized stocks, and the challenge of moving from hype to actual product delivery. They debate the intersection of AI and crypto, noting limited real-world success so far. The importance of privacy, decentralization, and composability is emphasized, especially as institutions like Robinhood launch their own chains and stablecoins. They advocate for L1 asset issuance, improved L1-L2 interoperability, and formal verification for security. The session concludes with reflections on fostering a builder culture, balancing mainstream adoption with frontier innovation, and the need for practical, user-centric solutions in Ethereum’s future. 00:00 Introduction 00:42 Icebreakers & Robinhood Launch Discussion 01:48 Diversity & Culture in Ethereum Events 03:22 Pragma’s Audience & Event Structure 05:18 Regional Trends: AI, Privacy, DeFi 06:47 DeFi: Integration vs. Innovation 08:21 The Value of Experimentation in DeFi 09:42 Revisiting Old Ideas: Micropayments, Tokenized Stocks 11:49 Privacy as Feature, Not Application 12:35 Missed Opportunities: VPNs, Bandwidth Sharing 13:14 Surprising Successes & User vs. Developer Perspectives 14:18 Ethereum’s Subcultures & Community Dynamics 16:54 Builder Culture vs. Hype Cycle 18:52 Vision for ETH Pragma 2030 20:04 Lessons from Internet History & Event Curation 22:25 Economic Impact & Hackathon Metrics 23:18 Most Impactful Ethereum Applications 24:58 Distributed Compute & Idle Resources 25:18 AI & Crypto: Current State and Challenges 28:22 AI Agents, Wallet Use Cases, and Future Potential 30:14 Decentralization: Properties vs. Technology 32:26 User Attitudes Toward Privacy & Institutional Perspectives 34:40 Governments, Privacy, and Cashless Societies 36:31 Android, Linux, and Mass Adoption Lessons 38:33 Default Choices, User Education, and Crypto Values 40:26 Institutional Chains, Fragmentation, and L1/L2 Dynamics 43:02 Technical Priorities: L1-L2 Interoperability & Security 46:07 Vision for Ethereum Culture in 2027 47:37 Conclusion _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇫🇷 *Pragma Cannes* Pragma Cannes 2025 was held on July 3rd at the Carlton Cannes in Cannes, France and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Cannes YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh6jZYPY5-YIBzvMtUT3ajjI ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Vitalik Buterin X: https://x.com/VitalikButerin ✅ Follow the Ethereum Foundation X: https://x.com/ethereumfndn ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Marek Olszewski

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Marek Olszewski presents the launch of the Celo Eclair Testnet, the first public network to combine SP1 (Succinct Prover 1) and EigenDA (specifically EigenDA v2) for data availability. Celo, having transitioned from an L1 to an OP Stack-based L2, leverages optimistic rollup architecture with ZK (zero-knowledge) fault proofs, enabling low transaction fees and rapid finality. The Eclair testnet showcases real-time proving, synchronous composability, and Celo-specific features like stablecoin gas payments and ERC20/native token duality. The integration of SP1 allows for fast, efficient ZK proofs, while EigenDA v2 improves data throughput and validation speed. Marek demonstrates a live challenge-response proving process, highlighting the network’s security and speed. Eclair paves the way for future upgrades, including full ZKVM validation and higher throughput, and will undergo audits and further testing before mainnet release. 00:00 Introduction 00:40 Zelda-Themed Presentation & Milestone Announcement 01:07 Launch of Celo Eclair Testnet 01:32 Celo’s Transition to L2 and OP Stack 02:30 ZK vs Optimistic Rollup Decision 03:42 Advances in ZK Proving Systems 04:42 Real-Time Proving & Synchronous Composability 06:22 Preparing for a ZK Future 06:42 Eclair Testnet Overview 07:41 Unique Features of Eclair 08:13 OP Succinct Light and EigenDA v2 Integration 08:46 Live Demo: Challenge-Response Process 10:27 Technical Details: ZK Usage and Cost Efficiency 12:27 EigenDA v2 Improvements 13:41 Hokulea and Rust Integration 14:10 Celo Extensions and Client Porting 14:57 Demo Results & Security Validation 16:42 Block Diagram Explanation 19:24 Challenge Response and Proof Verification 20:12 Conclusion & Next Steps 20:51 End _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇫🇷 *Pragma Cannes* Pragma Cannes 2025 was held on July 3rd at the Carlton Cannes in Cannes, France and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Cannes YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh6jZYPY5-YIBzvMtUT3ajjI ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Marek Olszewski X: https://x.com/marek_ ✅ Follow Celo X: https://x.com/Celo ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Robin Roy

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Robin Roy presents the Avail Nexus SDK, a developer toolkit enabling seamless one-click cross-chain experiences for Web3 applications. Nexus abstracts away the complexity of multi-chain interactions, letting users bridge, transfer, and execute transactions across major EVM-compatible chains (like Ethereum, Optimism, Arbitrum, Base, Polygon, Scroll) without leaving the app or using third-party bridges. Key features include unified token balances, intent-based bridging, and bridge-and-execute functions, allowing developers to build cross-chain DEXs, yield aggregators, lending protocols, tipping clients, and gaming apps with minimal friction. The demo shows easy SDK integration, unified portfolio views, and transaction simulations. Nexus currently supports only EVM chains and liquidity must exist on supported chains. Resources, project ideas, and bounties are available for builders. 00:00 Introduction 00:50 Overview of Avail Stack & Products 01:22 What is Nexus? 02:23 Cross-Chain UX Challenges 03:10 Nexus SDK Features 04:07 Bridge and Execute Explained 05:11 Multi-Chain Application Use Cases 06:46 Bounties & Project Ideas 07:20 Live Demo: Integrating Nexus SDK 09:09 Unified Balances & Portfolio Aggregation 10:16 Bridging Tokens Demo 12:12 Developer vs User Experience 13:04 Bridge and Execute Demo 15:29 Code Walkthrough & Resources 17:23 Supported Chains & Q&A 18:13 EVM Compatibility & Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇫🇷 *ETHGlobal Cannes* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal Cannes, a 3-day hackathon held July 4-6, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal Cannes 2025 playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5N2DCwhcEshNW9C8knZ1T-&si=Lc-WOyfkAVP2--R4 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Avail* X: https://x.com/AvailProject ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Blessing Adesiji from Circle presents at ETHGlobal, focusing on building with USDC and the Circle Developer Platform. The talk covers Circle’s mission to enable frictionless, borderless money movement using regulated stablecoins like USDC. Key developer services are explained: wallet infrastructure (developer-controlled, user-controlled, modular wallets), gas station for gasless transactions, compliance engine for real-time risk screening, and CCTP (Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol) for seamless USDC transfers across EVM-compatible blockchains. The new CCTP v2 offers faster-than-finality transfers. Circle Paymaster enables users to pay gas fees in USDC. The session details four bounty categories: multi-chain USDC payment systems, enabling gas payments in USDC, creating gasless experiences, and building smart wallets with dynamic security controls. Q&A covers compliance engine data sources, differences between CCTP v1 and v2, and technical details of cross-chain transfers. Extensive documentation and resources are available for developers. 00:00 Introduction 00:40 Circle’s Mission and Developer Services Overview 02:28 Wallet Infrastructure: Developer, User, Modular 05:39 Gas Station and Gasless Transactions 06:37 Compliance Engine and Risk Screening 07:12 Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) & CCTP v2 08:30 Circle Paymaster: Paying Gas in USDC 10:09 Circle Bounties Overview 10:37 Multi-Chain USDC Payment System Bounty 12:13 Gas Payments in USDC Bounty 13:15 Gasless Experience Bounty 13:40 Smart Wallets with Dynamic Security Bounty 15:20 Q&A: Compliance Engine 16:25 Q&A: Compliance Data and Quick Start 17:39 Q&A: CCTP v1 vs v2 and Technical Details 20:25 Conclusion and Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇫🇷 *ETHGlobal Cannes* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal Cannes, a 3-day hackathon held July 4-6, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal Cannes 2025 playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5N2DCwhcEshNW9C8knZ1T-&si=Lc-WOyfkAVP2--R4 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Blessing Adesiji* X: https://x.com/bleso_a ✅ *Follow Circle* X: https://x.com/circle ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Tomasz Stanczak, Kartik Talwar

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

In this fireside chat, Tomasz Stanczak, Co-executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation, and Kartik Talwar, Co-founder of ETHGlobal, discuss the future of the Ethereum protocol, focusing on upcoming upgrades, scalability, and institutional adoption. Key topics include the Fusaka and Glamsterdam upgrades, which will enhance L2 scaling, blob capacity, and overall network throughput. They highlight the progress of ZKVMs, aiming for significant gas and transaction improvements, and the evolving role of Ethereum Layer 1 versus Layer 2 for different applications. The conversation covers enterprise and financial institution interest, stablecoin initiatives, and the migration of projects from custom L1s to Ethereum L2s for better integration and activity. The importance of Ethereum as a global coordination layer, its potential integration with AI and robotics, and the need for collaboration between traditional finance and web3 builders are emphasized. The session concludes with a call to action for building impactful products on Ethereum, leveraging its robust ecosystem and upcoming technical advancements. 00:00 Introduction 01:02 Ethereum Foundation Current Priorities 01:43 DevConnect and Blockchain Adoption in Argentina 02:04 Enterprise and Institutional Engagement 02:50 Upcoming Fusaka and Glamsterdam Upgrades 03:12 November Upgrade Details: L2 Scaling and EIPs 04:11 Impact of Upgrades on Scalability and Blobs 05:11 Ethereum Layer 1 Roadmap (Next 12 Months) 05:35 ZKVMs and Scaling Innovations 06:24 Integrating ZKVMs into Layer 1 07:17 Validator Provers and Infrastructure Requirements 08:09 Throughput and Gas Improvements 09:05 Choosing Between Layer 1 and Layer 2 10:02 Application Deployment Strategies 11:31 Institutional Questions and Engagement 12:54 Ethereum’s Long-Term Vision: AI, Robotics, and Coordination 13:42 L2 Launches, Stablecoins, and Ecosystem Diversity 14:58 Stablecoins and Ethereum as a Global Platform 16:24 L1 vs L2: Institutional Decision-Making 17:07 L1 Premium and Migration to L2s 18:33 L1 Fee Capture and Revenue Models 19:25 Wishlist for the Ecosystem and Collaboration 20:17 Conclusion and Call to Action _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma New York* Pragma New York 2025 was held on August 14th at Vesper Events in Brooklyn, New York and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma New York YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5TRLdUXjnhUVfdbBtu6z2j ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Tomasz Stanczak X: https://x.com/tkstanczak ✅ Follow The Ethereum Foundation X: https://x.com/ethereumfndn ✅ Follow Kartik Talwar X: https://x.com/TheRealKartik ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Sergey Nazarov, Kartik Talwar

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

In this fireside chat, Sergey Nazarov, Co-founder of Chainlink, and Kartik Talwar, Co-founder of ETHGlobal, discuss the evolution and institutional adoption of DeFi, focusing on the expanding role of oracles, cross-chain interoperability, and compliance. Sergey explains how oracles have evolved from simple data feeds to encompass cross-chain bridges, identity, and AI oracles, culminating in the Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) and CCIP (Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol). He emphasizes the necessity of robust, secure, and compliant infrastructure for institutional capital to enter DeFi, highlighting Chainlink's dominance in securing DeFi protocols and enabling programmable token transfers. The conversation covers the importance of liquidity, the integration of stablecoins and CBDCs, the abstraction of user experience, and the critical mass of composable building blocks on Ethereum. Sergey offers advice for institutions entering DeFi: prioritize security, compliance, and cross-chain connectivity, and leverage established standards and infrastructure like Chainlink. He predicts rapid growth in on-chain assets, especially RWAs, as institutional adoption accelerates. 00:00 Introduction 01:30 Evolution of Oracles and Smart Contracts 04:22 Oracles’ Role in DeFi and Cross-Chain Bridges 06:43 CCIP and Institutional Requirements 10:17 CCIP for DeFi and Institutional Use Cases 13:20 Chainlink’s Security and Market Share 15:16 Stablecoin Chains and DeFi Liquidity 17:28 Fragmentation vs. Decentralization 20:55 User Experience and Stablecoin Abstraction 23:19 Real-World Institutional Integrations 25:06 Ethereum’s Ecosystem and Composability 27:30 Institutional Mindset Shifts 32:08 Best Practices for Institutional Adoption 34:54 Importance of Cross-Chain Connectivity 36:51 Predictions for On-Chain Asset Growth 38:10 Conclusion _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma New York* Pragma New York 2025 was held on August 14th at Vesper Events in Brooklyn, New York and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma New York YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5TRLdUXjnhUVfdbBtu6z2j ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Sergey Nazarov X: https://x.com/SergeyNazarov ✅ Follow Chainlink X: https://x.com/Chainlink ✅ Follow Kartik Talwar X: https://x.com/TheRealKartik ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Steven Goldfeder, Kartik Talwar

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

In this fireside chat, Steven Goldfeder, Co-founder of Offchain Labs, discusses the evolution and impact of Arbitrum and the Offchain Labs ecosystem, focusing on Robinhood’s decision to build on Arbitrum. He details the multi-year partnership process, emphasizing Arbitrum’s strengths: deep Ethereum integration, mature DeFi ecosystem, Orbit stack customizability, and Stylus, which enables smart contract development in languages like Rust and C++. Goldfeder highlights the advantages for enterprises launching their own L2 chains, such as control, revenue opportunities, and seamless user migration. He addresses industry challenges like fragmentation and interoperability, stressing that user experience (UX) and wallet-level abstraction are more crucial than deep technical research. The acquisition of ZeroDev is positioned as a move to improve UX and cross-chain functionality. Goldfeder critiques new L1s for stablecoins, advocating for Ethereum L2s due to security, decentralization, and financial efficiency. He concludes with optimism about institutional adoption and the future of blockchain usability. 00:00 Introduction 00:10 Robinhood’s Arbitrum Partnership: Origins and Rationale 03:39 Arbitrum’s Unique Features: Orbit Stack & Stylus 04:54 Why Enterprises Launch Their Own Chains 06:39 Other Institutional Partnerships & Adoption Timeline 09:24 Remaining Technical Challenges & Industry Bottlenecks 10:34 Fragmentation, Interoperability, and UX Focus 12:02 Fast Withdrawals, ZeroDev Acquisition, and Chain Abstraction 15:17 Integration of ZeroDev and Offchain Labs’ Strategy 16:48 New L1s for Stablecoins: Critique and L2 Advantages 20:04 Personal Reflections & Institutional Adoption 21:40 Robinhood UX, Blockchain Abstraction, and Future Outlook 22:26 Closing Remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma New York* Pragma New York 2025 was held on August 14th at Vesper Events in Brooklyn, New York and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma New York YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5TRLdUXjnhUVfdbBtu6z2j ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Steven Goldfeder X: https://x.com/sgoldfed ✅ Follow Offchain Labs X: https://x.com/OffchainLabs ✅ Follow Kartik Talwar X: https://x.com/TheRealKartik ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Kartik Talwar

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Kartik Talwar, Co-founder of ETHGlobal, opens Pragma New York 2025, a one-day, single-track Web3 conference designed to be accessible to all skill levels, not just engineers. The event features 15 curated sessions—eight fireside interviews and seven talks—with founders and executives from leading blockchain, fintech, and DeFi organizations. Key topics include the future of Ethereum, interoperability, fintech and stablecoins, AI integration in Web3, scaling solutions, privacy, institutional adoption, yield strategies, and onchain DeFi evolution. Pragma emphasizes pragmatic, non-technical discussions, global participation (410 attendees from 43 countries), and innovative event features like city packs, ETHGlobal Plus, and NFC wristbands for networking. Major partners include Archology, Chainlink, Circle, and PayPal USD. The agenda includes speakers from the Ethereum Foundation, Privy, Offchain Labs, Flow, Chainlink, Plume, Etherealize, Uniswap, Flashbots, Aztec, Bankless, and Optimism. 00:00 Introduction 00:36 What is Pragma? Event Philosophy 01:17 Event Format and Speaker Lineup 01:39 Focus on the Future & Accessibility 02:10 Sessions Overview 02:26 Schedule & Global Participation 02:44 Acknowledgment of Partners 03:00 City Packs and Event Perks 03:28 ETHGlobal Plus & Community Access 04:21 NFC Wristbands & Networking 05:06 Agenda Overview: Ethereum Foundation & Privy 05:25 Interoperability, Fintech, AI, and Scaling 05:44 Consumer Crypto, Privacy, and Institutional Adoption 06:31 Yield, Institutional Ethereum, and Onchain DeFi 07:03 Break & Afternoon Sessions 07:16 Privacy, Bullish Ethereum, and Scaling with Optimism 07:40 Closing & Where to Find More Info _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma New York* Pragma New York 2025 was held on August 14th at Vesper Events in Brooklyn, New York and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma New York YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5TRLdUXjnhUVfdbBtu6z2j ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Kartik Talwar X: https://x.com/TheRealKartik ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Itai Turbahn

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Itai Turbahn, Co-founder of Dynamic, discusses building global fintech apps using stablecoins. He highlights the rapid adoption of stablecoins in fintech, driven by real product-market fit and global demand for faster, more flexible money movement. Key use cases include payins (accepting crypto payments and settling in fiat), payouts (international vendor, contractor, and remittance payments), and holding/investing (users keeping funds in stablecoins to earn yield or spend via debit cards). Turbahn details the tech stack needed: compliance, on/off-ramps, card issuance, wallet infrastructure, and blockchain networks. He notes the current complexity in integrating these services, predicting industry consolidation into unified platforms. Dynamic’s solution abstracts away this complexity, enabling developers to launch global fintech products quickly. He forecasts all major fintechs will soon support stablecoins, and new global-first neobanks will emerge, leveraging crypto rails for scale. 00:00 Introduction 00:31 Audience Poll & Dynamic Overview 01:54 Stablecoin Market Trends 03:03 Fintech Adoption of Stablecoins 04:34 Evolution of Stablecoin Use Cases 05:37 Three Main Use Cases: Payins, Payouts, Hold/Invest 07:22 Deep Dive: Payins (Stripe, Shopify) 08:17 Deep Dive: Payouts (Vendor, Contractor, Remittance) 10:11 Deep Dive: Hold & Invest (Yield, Debit Cards) 11:50 The Required Tech Stack 13:36 Developer Challenges & Market Complexity 15:06 Industry Consolidation & Dynamic’s Solution 16:48 Dynamic Stablecoin Accounts & Developer Tools 17:27 Predictions for the Future of Fintech & Stablecoins 19:59 Stablecoin Report & Closing Remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma New York* Pragma New York 2025 was held on August 14th at Vesper Events in Brooklyn, New York and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma New York YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5TRLdUXjnhUVfdbBtu6z2j ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Itai Turbahn X: https://x.com/turbahn ✅ Follow Dynamic X: https://x.com/dynamic_xyz ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Howard Wu, CEO of Provable, discusses the challenges of current online identity and age verification methods, highlighting privacy risks such as oversharing personal data, lack of revocation, and data breaches. He introduces zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) as a privacy-preserving solution, enabling users to prove attributes (e.g., age, residency, group membership) without revealing sensitive information. Wu presents ZPass, a verifiable credentials system leveraging ZKPs for selective disclosure, and KYA (Know Your Address), which uses ZKML for on-device facial verification to prove ongoing humanity and identity ownership. These tools aim to enable compliance and privacy for onchain and web3 applications, supporting private stablecoins and payments while minimizing data exposure. Wu emphasizes the need for regulatory engagement and evolving compliance tech to match privacy advancements. 00:00 Introduction 00:35 The Problem with Current Identity Verification 02:24 Privacy Risks and Data Exposure 02:46 Zero-Knowledge Proofs as a Solution 03:44 Selective Disclosure and ZPass Overview 04:19 Use Cases: Age, Residency, Compliance, Attributes 06:18 Combining Multiple Proofs and Broader Compliance 07:25 How ZPass Works: Issuance and Claims 08:19 Technical Flow: Passport Registration and Onchain Proofs 09:49 Limitations of Existing Approaches 10:53 From Identity to Proving Humanity: Live Identity 11:41 Introducing KYA: Know Your Address 12:24 How KYA Works: On-Device ZKML Verification 13:43 Privacy Advantages of ZPass and KYA 14:02 Enabling Private, Compliant Payments 14:22 KYA Demo and User Experience 14:40 Compliance, Rule Engines, and Risk Scoring 15:49 Regulatory Gaps and Policy Engagement 16:39 Conclusion and Further Resources _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma New York* Pragma New York 2025 was held on August 14th at Vesper Events in Brooklyn, New York and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma New York YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5TRLdUXjnhUVfdbBtu6z2j ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Howard Wu X: https://x.com/1HowardWu ✅ Follow Provable X: https://x.com/ProvableHQ ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Chris Yin

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Chris Yin, CEO of Plume Network, discusses "Yield as the New Meta" in the current crypto cycle, contrasting it with previous cycles focused on NFTs and alt L1s. He explains that today's narrative centers on yield, particularly real yield, and identifies three key dimensions: liquidity (driven by stablecoins and high T-bill rates), utility (protocols like Pendle enabling yield trading and tokenized real-world assets), and value capture (passing protocol fees to users). Chris highlights Plume's approach to tokenizing diverse real-world assets (RWAs) beyond T-bills, such as mineral rights and tuk tuk fleets, enabling broader participation and utility. He emphasizes the importance of making RWAs feel native to crypto, focusing on retail adoption and composability, rather than replicating traditional finance on-chain. Plume's ecosystem demonstrates significant user engagement, TVL growth, and innovative use cases, positioning yield as the central theme of this market cycle. 00:00 Introduction 00:27 Background and Last Cycle Recap 01:49 The Rise of Yield as the New Meta 03:27 Real Yield and the L2/Bridging Evolution 03:55 Three Dimensions of Yield: Liquidity, Utility, Value Capture 04:16 Liquidity: Stablecoins and Yield-Bearing Assets 06:01 Utility: Protocols, Tokenized Assets, and Pendle 07:05 Value Capture: Protocol Fees and Base/Application Layers 08:01 Plume Overview and Ecosystem 09:23 Tokenized Assets on Plume: Beyond T-Bills 09:45 Plume’s Stablecoin and Yield Mechanisms 10:48 User Adoption and Asset Utility on Plume 11:08 Real-World Asset Examples: Mineral Vault and Oil Rigs 12:24 Real-World Asset Examples: Tuk Tuk Fleets 13:00 Looping, Leverage, and On-Chain Utility 14:09 Value Capture and Fee Distribution 14:29 Making RWAs Crypto-Native and Retail-Focused 15:35 Bottom-Up Adoption vs. Traditional Finance 16:31 Conclusion: Yield as the Cycle’s Core Narrative _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma New York* Pragma New York 2025 was held on August 14th at Vesper Events in Brooklyn, New York and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma New York YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh5TRLdUXjnhUVfdbBtu6z2j ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Chris Yin X: https://x.com/chriseyin ✅ Follow Plume Network X: https://x.com/plumenetwork ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Corey Cooper, head of the DevRel team at Circle, presents an in-depth overview of Circle's developer platform, focusing on tools and infrastructure for seamless USDC (USD Coin) integration. He highlights Circle's mission to drive global economic prosperity via frictionless value exchange, leveraging USDC—the largest regulated stablecoin. Key offerings include wallet infrastructure (dev control, user control, modular wallets), smart contract platform, Paymaster for gas fee abstraction, and the Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP v2) enabling fast, efficient cross-chain USDC transfers using burn-and-mint methodology. Cooper introduces Gateway, a new tool for unifying fragmented USDC balances across chains, and previews ARC, Circle’s upcoming EVM-compatible L1 blockchain optimized for stablecoin finance, featuring USDC as the native gas token, on-chain FX, instant finality, and opt-in privacy. The session emphasizes developer empowerment, compliance, and the importance of robust, scalable, and user-friendly stablecoin infrastructure. 00:00 Introduction 00:50 Circle’s Mission & USDC Overview 03:06 Developer Platform & Services 05:29 Wallet Infrastructure Deep Dive 08:16 Gas Abstraction & Compliance 10:08 Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP v2) 14:17 CCTP Use Cases 16:43 Paymaster for Gas Fees 19:14 Gateway: Unified USDC Balances 23:42 ARC: Circle’s EVM-Compatible L1 Blockchain 26:10 Developer Resources & Closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *ETHGlobal New York* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New York, a 3-day hackathon held August 15-17, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal New York 2025 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4Xze0ZeSWCSGsw25clPpvZ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Circle* X: https://x.com/circle ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Matthew Foyle, representing Dynamic, shares insights from judging 300-400 hackathon projects, offering practical tips for building winning projects and lasting products. He emphasizes focusing on core functionality, self-documenting demos, and product polish. Dynamic is presented as a seamless authentication and wallet solution for web3 apps, supporting social logins, embedded wallets, and integrations like Coinbase On-Ramp. Foyle highlights the importance of clear documentation, live doc integrations (MCP server), and using oneshot prompts for AI-assisted development. He showcases standout hackathon projects, discusses best practices for partner bounties, and demonstrates Dynamic’s quick integration process, including customizable onboarding and payment flows. Final advice includes leveraging office hours, prioritizing fun, and iterating based on feedback. Keywords include hackathon, Dynamic, web3, authentication, wallet, Coinbase, documentation, AI, onboarding, partner bounty, and product polish. 00:00 Introduction 00:36 Judging Hackathons & Dynamic Overview 01:15 Dynamic as Authentication & Wallet Solution 02:22 Real-World Integrations & Winning Tips 03:30 Demo Best Practices & Product Focus 04:28 Importance of Polish & Simplicity 05:05 Partner Bounty Strategies 06:00 Standout Hackathon Projects 07:23 Quick Start with Dynamic 08:49 Live Documentation & MCP Server 10:04 Oneshot Prompts & Documentation Features 11:14 Implementation Guides & Integration Tips 11:55 Coinbase On-Ramp Integration 13:24 Pay with Dynamic: Unified Payment Flow 14:25 Judging Realities & Final Advice 15:20 Conclusion _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *ETHGlobal New York* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New York, a 3-day hackathon held August 15-17, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal New York 2025 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4Xze0ZeSWCSGsw25clPpvZ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Dynamic* X: https://x.com/dynamic_xyz ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Lincoln Murr

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Lincoln Murr, Product Lead for Coinbase Developer Platforms (CDP), introduces X42, a protocol enabling AI agents to natively pay for API requests, data, and services using crypto wallets, specifically stablecoins. X42 aims to eliminate API keys, streamline agentic commerce, and foster a machine-to-machine economy. The talk covers the X42 Bazaar, a marketplace for discoverable agent-enabled services, and demonstrates embedded wallets for seamless onboarding. Lincoln highlights developer resources, including GitHub repos, documentation, and Discord support, and encourages building new APIs, improving the X42 spec, and integrating with other CDP tools like on-ramps and embedded wallets. Q&A addresses API compatibility, multi-chain/token support, and project ideas for hackathon participants. X42 is positioned as an open standard, not just a Coinbase product, aiming for broad ecosystem adoption and innovation in agentic payments, microtransactions, and autonomous digital agents. 00:00 Introduction 00:40 What is X42? Motivation & Value Proposition 01:42 Crypto & Agentic Commerce: Solving Microtransactions 03:11 X42 Use Cases & Marketplace (Bazaar) 04:12 Value for Developers: Service Sellers & Agents 05:36 Getting Started: Docs, GitHub, and Discord 06:42 Example Projects & Embedded Wallet Demo 08:36 Discovery List & Real-Time Service Integration 10:16 CDP Tools: Embedded Wallets, On-Ramp, Hackathon Guide 11:55 Project Ideas & Expanding X42 Capabilities 13:33 X42 as Open Standard & Ecosystem Vision 14:34 Q&A: API Wrappers, Latency, Prize Tracks 18:37 Improving the Bazaar: Search & Reputation 19:20 Agent Kit & Framework Integrations 20:32 Multi-Chain/Token Support & EIP-3009 21:44 Closing & Final Questions _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *ETHGlobal New York* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New York, a 3-day hackathon held August 15-17, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal New York 2025 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4Xze0ZeSWCSGsw25clPpvZ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Lincoln Murr* X: https://x.com/MurrLincoln ✅ *Follow CoinbaseDev* X: https://x.com/CoinbaseDev ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Eda Akturk

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Eda Akturk from Abacus Works presents an overview of Hyperlane, a permissionless interoperability framework for building cross-chain applications in the multi-chain blockchain ecosystem. She explains the challenges of fragmented assets and disconnected apps across Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks, and how Hyperlane addresses these with open-source tools for cross-chain communication, modular security via Interchain Security Modules (ISMs), and flexible relayer infrastructure. Hyperlane supports over 150 chains, enabling developers to build DeFi, asset transfer, and cross-chain execution apps. Key features include Hyperlane Warp Routes for asset bridging (including ERC20, ERC721, EVM, and SVM chains), Warp Routes 2.0 for multi-origin/destination and rebalancing, and Interchain Accounts for cross-chain contract calls. Eda highlights the ISM marketplace, community contributions, and a case study (Drum Super Swaps) leveraging Hyperlane’s stack. She concludes with hackathon support details and a live demo of deploying Warp Routes using the Hyperlane CLI and docs. 00:00 Introduction 00:38 About Eda Akturk & Abacus Works 01:17 Blockchain Ecosystem & Multi-Chain Challenges 03:14 The Need for Interoperability 03:35 What is Hyperlane? 04:22 Permissionless & Modular Security Explained 05:46 Interchain Security Modules (ISMs) 06:42 Hyperlane Architecture Overview 07:24 Mailbox Contracts & Relayer Component 08:52 Hyperlane Features & Tools 09:12 Hyperlane Warp Routes for Asset Transfers 11:16 Warp Routes 2.0 & Multi-Chain Rebalancing 12:59 Interchain Accounts Overview 14:20 ISM Marketplace & Community Contributions 15:24 Case Study: Drum Super Swaps 17:09 Hackathon Support & Resources 18:51 Hyperlane vs. Other Interop Protocols 19:14 Live Demo: Deploying Warp Routes 22:39 Hyperlane Documentation & Further Resources 23:22 Closing Remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *ETHGlobal New York* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New York, a 3-day hackathon held August 15-17, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal New York 2025 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4Xze0ZeSWCSGsw25clPpvZ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Hyperlane* X: https://x.com/hyperlane ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

This session, led by Mehak Jethmalani and Nick Mauro, provides a comprehensive overview of PYUSD, PayPal's USD-pegged stablecoin. PYUSD is live on Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Solana, with Stellar integration coming soon. The talk covers PayPal’s motivation for launching a stablecoin: to modernize payments, reduce settlement times, lower fees, and increase financial inclusion, especially for the unbanked. PYUSD is fully backed by USD reserves, regulated by the New York DFS, and issued by Paxos. It is designed for payments, is programmable, multi-chain, and supports 24/7 transactions. Developers can access PYUSD via PayPal, Venmo, and major wallets, with resources and bounties available for hackathon participants. The Q&A addresses KYC, use cases, reserves, and interoperability, emphasizing PYUSD’s open, secure, and compliant infrastructure for decentralized applications and payments innovation. 00:00 Introduction 00:36 PayPal’s Motivation for PYUSD 01:33 Limitations of Traditional Payments 02:42 Financial Inclusion and Blockchain Benefits 03:31 Evolution of Payment Technology 03:56 What Are Stablecoins? 04:48 Next Generation Payments: Features 06:15 From Online to Onchain: PYUSD Overview 07:04 Multi-Chain Support and Developer Resources 07:39 PYUSD Design: Payments Focus and Regulation 08:29 Accessibility, Security, and Compliance 08:59 Stablecoins vs. Traditional Payment Rails 09:59 Hackathon Bounties and Use Cases 10:46 Developer Resources and Support 11:33 Google Cloud Web3 Portal 11:57 Q&A: KYC, Use Cases, and Technical Details 14:22 Hackathon Bounty Tracks 15:21 Multi-Chain and Token Standards 15:47 Reserves and Paxos Role 16:40 Wallet Eligibility and Usage 17:21 Sending PYUSD: PayPal and External Wallets 18:08 On-Ramping and Access Points 19:19 Closing Remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *ETHGlobal New York* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New York, a 3-day hackathon held August 15-17, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal New York 2025 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4Xze0ZeSWCSGsw25clPpvZ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

This talk, led by Sauce Point, a Uniswap Foundation protocol engineer, introduces Uniswap v4 on Unichain, highlighting its key innovations and developer opportunities. Uniswap v4 features a singleton architecture for enhanced gas efficiency, continuous and dynamic fee spectrum, ERC6909 internal claims tokens, flash accounting, and most notably, programmable hooks. Hooks allow developers to customize pool behavior, enabling programmable liquidity and supporting new asset classes, dynamic fees, liquidity management, and public goods like oracles and advanced order types. The session categorizes hooks into liquidity profitability, liquidity depth, asset class customization, and public goods, providing examples such as dynamic fees, limit orders, KYC compliance, and volatility oracles. Sauce demonstrates live coding with the v4 template, showing how to build and test hooks using Solidity, and emphasizes the importance of testing. Resources like the hook directory, documentation, and Discord are shared for further support. The session concludes with a Q&A on building hooks for various asset classes and optimizing pools for both liquidity providers and swappers. 00:00 Introduction 00:26 Overview & Speaker Introduction 01:46 Uniswap v4 Metrics & Adoption 02:36 Uniswap v4 vs v3: Key Differences 03:43 Singleton Architecture & Gas Efficiency 04:06 Continuous & Dynamic Fees 04:50 ERC6909, Flash Accounting, and Hooks 05:39 Hooks Overview & Programmable Liquidity 06:54 Types of Hooks: Liquidity Profitability 08:09 Types of Hooks: Liquidity Depth 09:20 Types of Hooks: Asset Class Customization 10:39 Types of Hooks: Public Goods 11:47 Resources & Getting Involved 12:36 Live Coding: Building a Hook 13:36 Dynamic Fees & Custom Logic in Hooks 14:43 After Swap Logic & Monetization 15:38 Liquidity Hooks & Penalties 17:23 Testing Hooks with V4 Template 19:05 Deployment Scripts & Chain Configuration 20:28 Custom Pricing Algorithms in Hooks 22:02 Q&A: Asset Class Hooks & Pool Optimization 24:07 Modifying Liquidity & Flash Accounting 24:35 Closing Remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *ETHGlobal New York* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New York, a 3-day hackathon held August 15-17, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal New York 2025 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4Xze0ZeSWCSGsw25clPpvZ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Uniswap* X: https://x.com/Uniswap ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Kartik Talwar

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

ETHGlobal New York 2025 concluded with a high-energy closing ceremony, celebrating over 950 attendees and 690 hackers from 51 countries, 37% of whom were new to web3. The event focused on building and demoing real-world web3, DeFi, AI, and crypto projects, with 275 submissions across categories like DeFi, payments, and AI. Key integrations included Typescript, Python, Solidity, Flow, CDP, Dynamic, and Ethereum mainnet. The top 10 finalist teams—X42 Flash, Hardhat 3 Ledger, Noah, Pumpkin Spice Latte, KaPay, Primer, TX Delay Insurance, Swap Pay, Rivals, and Pika Vault—demoed innovations in payments, security, inheritance, DeFi, stablecoin swaps, AR gaming, and cross-chain vaults. Over $275,000 in prizes were awarded, with special thanks to 192 partners and 18 judges. ETHGlobal Plus and new onchain perks were announced, and a major ETHGlobal conference is set for June 2026 in NYC. The event emphasized community, live deployments, and onboarding new developers to web3. 00:00 Introduction 02:12 Event Overview & Stats 03:44 Partner Acknowledgments 04:21 Hackathon Focus & Hacker Demographics 05:58 Project Submissions & Trends 06:50 Judges & Project Evaluation 07:12 Finalist Teams Announcement 08:51 All Projects Recognition 09:40 Feedback & Community Engagement 10:28 Finalist Demo 1: X42 Flash 16:18 Finalist Demo 2: Hardhat 3 Ledger 21:26 Finalist Demo 3: Noah 27:47 Finalist Demo 4: Pumpkin Spice Latte 32:32 Finalist Demo 5: KaPay 37:38 Finalist Demo 6: Primer 44:02 Finalist Demo 7: TX Delay Insurance 49:38 Finalist Demo 8: Swap Pay 54:20 Finalist Demo 9: Rivals 1:01:02 Finalist Demo 10: Pika Vault 1:09:36 Finalists Recap & Live Deployments 1:10:26 Onchain Packs & ETHGlobal Plus 1:12:35 Prize Announcements 1:28:21 Finalist Packs & Next Steps 1:29:40 Prize Verification Process 1:30:45 ETHGlobal Conference Announcement 1:32:08 Thank Yous & Closing Remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *ETHGlobal New York* This workshop is specifically for ETHGlobal New York, a 3-day hackathon held August 15-17, bringing together the most skilled web3 developers, designers and product builders from all around the globe for a weekend-long adventure to advance the Ethereum ecosystem! Watch the full ETHGlobal New York 2025 playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4Xze0ZeSWCSGsw25clPpvZ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Kartik Talwar X: https://x.com/TheRealKartik ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

European Blockchain Convention · Oct 9, 2024

The panel discussed the incipient adoption of cryptocurrency by financial institutions, emphasizing diverse representation from custody, trading, research, and infrastructure-focused crypto companies. While noting heightened interest from banks, asset managers, and hedge funds, mainstream adoption remains nascent. Crypto's appeal lies in diversification and disruptive potential, yet hurdles include regulatory uncertainties, security concerns, volatility, and a lack of valuation models. Panelists underscored the necessity for institution-centric infrastructure, such as tailored custody and trading platforms. Regulatory clarity, security assurance, and developments like ETF/ETP approvals were seen as catalysts. DeFi, stablecoins, and tokenized assets were recognized for their potential, contributing to an overall optimistic outlook on institutional adoption. --------- Speakers: Nikou Asgari | Financial Times (Moderator) Manuel Nordeste | Fidelity Investments Christopher Siedentopf | Uphold Eliézer Ndinga | 21Shares Anya Nova | GK8 --------- The European Blockchain Convention is the most influential blockchain event in Europe. Follow us to find out more 👇 Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/euro.. Twitter: https://twitter.com/EBlockchainCon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eblockchain..

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2024

Join Stani Kulechov, Founder of Aave, and Rune Christensen, Founder of MakerDAO, as they sit down with ETHGlobal’s Kartik Talwar at Pragma Istanbul 2023 for an in-depth conversation on the future of algorithmic stablecoins. \ This session explores how stablecoins like GHO and DAI are evolving in response to market demands, the critical role of user adoption and yield, and how new models like Maker’s Endgame and subDAOs are shaping the next phase of DeFi governance and scalability. Rune unpacks MakerDAO’s transition from a monolithic protocol to a modular ecosystem of subDAOs, emphasizing alignment engineering and decentralized control. Stani discusses Aave’s strategy behind launching GHO and how protocol design, liquidity guarantees, and governance minimalism are influencing product decisions. The conversation also covers the challenges of stability, governance complexity, real-world integration, and the long-term viability of decentralized currencies. Whether you’re building in DeFi, researching stablecoins, or looking to understand what comes next in Web3 finance, this talk delivers deep insights into the infrastructure powering the decentralized economy. 00:00 Introduction to panel on algorithmic stablecoins 00:58 MakerDAO’s new direction and user demand 03:12 Yield as a growth strategy for Maker 05:18 Why Aave launched GHO stablecoin 08:31 Measuring stablecoin success: supply vs. demand 10:01 Stablecoins for payments and global GDP 13:59 What is Maker’s Endgame strategy? 17:46 SubDAOs and decentralizing Maker governance 21:34 Aligning subDAOs with MKR holders 26:36 Stani’s take on governance minimalism 30:20 Stability management and DAO alignment 33:49 Alignment engineering and self-healing DAOs 36:49 Is GHO a product or a protocol? 39:31 MakerDAO’s upcoming rebrand 41:09 Aave’s user-first stablecoin product strategy 44:11 Organic growth and adoption of GHO 45:17 Advice to each other and cross-protocol insights 47:08 Audience Q1: Future of seigniorage stablecoins 48:19 Audience Q2: STI integrations, real-world growth 50:45 Closing remarks and appreciation _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇹🇷 *Pragma Istanbul* The sixth edition of Pragma took place in Istanbul in November 2023 with a curated series of high-quality talks that sparked thought and discussion. Pragma Istanbul 2023 was an opportunity discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. Watch the full Pragma Istanbul 2023 playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh4rHV1H4J7y0wDok4bIS17t&si=lb8ttkU1HS2tpnUP ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow *ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2024

In this exciting session from Pragma London 2024, Marcos Numes, co-founder of Gnosis Pay, shares how the future of payments is becoming reality with the world’s first decentralized checking account. Discover how Gnosis Pay connects crypto wallets directly to Visa-compatible cards, enabling seamless real-world payments using stablecoins. Learn about the technology behind point-of-sale blockchain authorization, digital asset pre-settlement, and how Gnosis Pay eliminates traditional off-ramp friction. Marcos discusses their journey navigating global regulation, launching across 40+ countries, and their vision for expanding access to financial infrastructure worldwide through decentralized rails. Whether you’re a Web3 builder, fintech founder, or crypto enthusiast, this talk is a must-watch for understanding how self-custody, DeFi, and mainstream payments are finally coming together. 00:00 Intro and welcome to Marcos Numes 01:27 What is Gnosis Pay and how it works 02:07 Using stablecoins at Visa payment terminals 03:30 Behind the scenes: blockchain to fiat flow 04:58 Understanding regulated card issuance 06:11 How blockchain transactions are authorized 07:35 Building Gnosis Pay and regulatory challenges 09:34 Real-world usage: 40+ countries and live testing 10:08 Better FX rates and competitive comparisons 10:50 Sustainable revenue model for Web3 projects 11:23 Working with Visa and industry collaboration 12:41 Gnosis Pay’s mission as a decentralized bank 14:00 Bridging L1s, fiat, and real-world finance 15:25 Enabling wallets and users with seamless off-ramps 16:46 Why off-ramp fees exist and how Gnosis Pay differs 18:01 Making crypto spending as simple as banking 18:32 Global expansion and upcoming product launches 19:40 Adding Apple Pay, e-commerce, and new use cases 20:17 Bridging native USDC and public roadmap wrap-up _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇬🇧 *Pragma London* Pragma London took place at Christchurch Spitalfields in London on March 14, 2024, and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma London playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh7rvaHBM14peT1TwI3QX38p&si=MzGrEYwYjxSQFiFM ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. Ever since we first introduced our new event series Pragma in Tokyo of the spring of 2023, we have been fostering a curated, global community of individuals who deeply care about web3. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Gnosis Pay* X: https://x.com/gnosispay ✅ *Follow ETHGlobal* X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ETHGlobal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship?_ 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _