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, Tomer Weller, Chief Product Officer at the Stellar Development Foundation, presents what nearly a decade in crypto and recent years of institutional conversations have taught him about onchain privacy. He frames the core problem: blockchain is the only financial system where every transaction is fully visible, meaning that the moment paychecks, balances, payroll, trading strategies, or B2B relationships move onchain, they become readable by anyone with a block explorer. For individuals this exposes their entire financial history. For institutions it's worse because competitors can see volumes, relationships, and strategies. Financial institutions have made it clear that not being able to manage visibility is a non-starter. Tomer argues that while crypto has worked on privacy for a decade, it has been driven by cypherpunk ideology of complete financial freedom (which he loves, citing Zcash), when what institutions actually need is privacy as a managed spectrum that allows them to stay competitive and compliant. Privacy varies by jurisdiction (a US regulated asset differs from one in Singapore or Brazil), by use case (payroll has different requirements than trading or remittances), and by technology (ZK, FHE, MPC, TEE all have different tradeoffs). He identifies two privacy dead ends: the all or nothing approach where solutions only offer full transparency or full privacy, and permissioned chains that are private only because they're databases on someone's computer, missing the open participation networks institutions actually want. Tomer presents Stellar's three layer privacy stack: a transparent base layer (transparency is a feature institutions love), low level privacy building blocks like Protocol X-ray providing ZK primitives without enshrining any specific privacy type, and multiple privacy protocols on top. He covers two private payment families: confidential tokens (hide the amount but not the parties, easier to scale compliance) and privacy pools (hide both amount and parties, stronger guarantees but mix funds), with examples like 0xbow and Nethermind's Stellar Private Payments. He closes by walking through a compliance menu including selective disclosure, non-selective disclosure with view keys, association sets, force transparent withdrawals (Oxbow's "rage quit"), and clawbacks for regulated assets. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Why Visibility on Chain Is the Default 00:57 What's at Stake for Individuals and Institutions 01:25 Why Institutions Say Visibility Management Is Non Negotiable 01:53 The Cypherpunk Privacy Heritage 02:18 Why Institutional Privacy Means Something Different 02:43 Privacy as a Multi-Dimensional Spectrum 03:19 The Two Privacy Dead Ends 03:54 Dead End One: All or Nothing 04:20 Dead End Two: Permissioned Chains 05:08 Stellar's Three Layer Privacy Stack 05:36 Transparency as a Feature 06:05 Building Blocks Not Enshrined Privacy 06:32 Protocol X-ray and ZK Primitives 06:59 Why Payments Are the Foundational Use Case 07:26 Confidential Tokens: Hiding the Amount 07:45 The Confidential Token Association 08:09 Privacy Pools: Hiding the Who Too 08:42 Tradeoffs and Co-Mingling Concerns 09:10 Building the Compliance Menu 09:52 Selective Disclosure 10:20 Non Selective Disclosure With View Keys 10:46 Association Sets and Vetted Allow Lists 11:10 Force Transparent Withdrawals and Rage Quit 11:35 Clawbacks for Regulated Assets 12:00 Closing: All the Building Blocks Are in Place _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Christine Kim

ETHGlobal · Jul 9, 2026

In this talk, Christine Kim from Protocol Watch shares the framework she has used for 8 years tracking Ethereum development and governance, including years running the ACD Toolkit and covering Ethereum's All Core Devs calls. She was one of the first people to regularly cover ACD calls, now runs an independent Ethereum development newsletter and a Bitcoin development newsletter, hosts a podcast on both, and operates a research and advisory firm helping businesses building on the two chains. She frames her insider approach around three foundational questions: how does Ethereum governance work, who are the key players, and where and when do they meet to make decisions. Christine explains that Ethereum governance is like an onion. The outer formal layer is defined by EIPs like EIP-1 (defining the EIP process) and EIP-7723 (labels for CFI, PFI, SFI, DFI status), which AI can help summarize. The harder and more important part is the informal layer, the unwritten norms driving decisions. She notes that on ACD calls each client team gets an equal vote regardless of whether they have 40% or 1% market share, and that contentious decisions require supermajorities whose thresholds shift with the level of contention. She emphasizes that governance itself evolves rapidly, pointing to the new headliner process introduced only in the Fusaka upgrade. On the "who" question, she pushes past treating stakeholders categorically (validators, developers, users, client teams) to look at who individuals actually work for and how their companies are funded. Most Ethereum client teams were seeded and funded by the Ethereum Foundation, which explains its historical leadership, and as the EF narrows focus the funding sources for client diversity are opening up. On the "where," she highlights the three ACD calls as the most important decision-making forum, noting the cadence has evolved from once every two weeks pre-merge to twice weekly today as developers push toward two upgrades a year. Christine explains she deprecated the ACD and BTC toolkits earlier this year not because the framework was wrong, but because static written posts were suboptimal and her readers mostly wanted actionable insights rather than the underlying research process. She closes by challenging the room to apply her framework to at least one protocol, arguing it reveals whether a protocol is genuinely decentralized or engaging in "decentralization theater" with multisigs and federations, and helps identify the real values (transparency, verifiability, accountability) driving each blockchain's differentiation. 00:00 Introduction 00:11 Christine's Track Record 01:12 Launching the ACD and BTC Toolkits 01:36 The Three Questions Framework 02:15 Ethereum Governance as an Onion 02:41 The Formal Layer: EIPs and Labels 04:07 The Informal Layer: Unwritten Norms 04:29 How Client Team Votes Actually Work 05:26 Supermajorities for Contentious Decisions 06:17 How Governance Itself Evolves 06:43 The Headliner Process in Fusaka 07:38 Beyond Categorical Stakeholders 08:34 Looking Deeper at Who Funds Client Teams 09:19 Why the Ethereum Foundation Seeded Client Diversity 09:47 What Happens as the EF Narrows Focus 10:40 Being in the Room Where Decisions Happen 11:34 The Three ACD Calls 11:54 How the Cadence Has Evolved Over Time 12:48 Twice Weekly Coordination Today 13:11 Breakout Calls for Long Term Roadmap 13:38 Why ACD Calls Are More Accurate Than X 14:22 The People, Places, and Process 14:46 Applying the Framework to Bitcoin 15:16 Why Christine Deprecated the Toolkits 15:39 The Medium Was Suboptimal 16:09 Readers Wanted Actionable Insights 17:34 A Call to Apply the Framework 18:14 Questioning the True Value of Protocols 19:05 Decentralization Theater 19:54 What Are the Real Ends of Decentralization 21:01 Closing and Resources _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *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, Dan Ugolini, co-founder of Rysk, explains how his team is building the infrastructure for onchain volatility markets after years of learning why options historically do not work in DeFi. Having spent five or six years obsessed with building options, he came to agree with the common pushback that options do not work in DeFi, because each approach faces hard challenges. Order book exchanges like the perps model need a separate order book for every strike, expiry, and asset (hundreds of order books versus one for a perp), so only a few stay liquid and liquidity costs are high. Options vaults packaged systematic yield strategies but were too easy to front run and mostly died. OTC trading through option desks works but is opaque, gated, and manual, much like TradFi. Rysk's own beautiful but complex V1 targeted sophisticated options traders and failed with no users and no TVL. The key lesson was that focusing on the option itself was wrong: the option is not the product, the product is what you get out of it. Speculation is better served by perps or prediction markets, but the underappreciated use case is generating income from option strategies, which perps and prediction markets cannot do. So Rysk rebuilt from scratch as a primitive for income generation targeting anyone holding an asset rather than traders, using an RFQ system where option desks price a two-second auction for the best price, with on-chain settlement and fully collateralized positions (no liquidations, no rehypothecation, composable, collateral locked in the smart contract rather than sent to the counterparty). The redesigned UI lets a user simply choose what price they are willing to sell ETH at on a future date. He shares that TVL drops every Friday by design as positions settle and capital returns, yet the trend grows with a 90% retention rate, since users understand the single use case. Institutions are now using Rysk to run their own structured and ETF-like products, drawn by full transparency and no counterparty or credit risk while still trading with selected counterparties permissionlessly. He frames Rysk as evolving into infrastructure and a liquidity layer for volatility and structured products on any asset, just deployed on Ethereum mainnet (with gold collateral coming next week), chosen as the neutral, trusted, asset-rich home. He closes on the pillars of trust minimization, no intermediaries, no counterparty risk, and accessibility for anyone, not just sophisticated traders. 00:00 Introduction 00:37 Why Options Don't Work in DeFi 00:57 The Challenges of Building Options 01:16 Why Order Book Exchanges Struggle 01:43 Why Only a Few Order Books Stay Liquid 02:02 Why Options Vaults Died 02:26 The OTC Alternative and Its Problems 02:40 Rysk's V1 and Why It Failed 03:20 The Key Lesson: The Option Is Not the Product 03:36 Why Speculators Use Perps and Prediction Markets 03:53 The Overlooked Income Use Case 04:15 Targeting Asset Holders, Not Traders 04:35 Rebuilding as an Income Primitive 04:56 The RFQ System and On-Chain Collateral 05:14 Why Collateral Should Be Safe and Composable 05:32 Redesigning the UI for Simplicity 06:05 How the Covered Call Instrument Works 06:36 Why Collateral Is Locked in the Contract 06:57 Why TVL Drops Every Friday by Design 07:28 The 90% Retention Rate 07:51 Maximum Flexibility With Full Transparency 08:07 Why No Bridging Is Needed 08:28 Remembering the Crypto Ethos 08:56 Why Institutions Use Rysk for Transparency 09:16 Why Not to Take Shortcuts in DeFi 09:39 How Institutions Trade With Selected Counterparties 10:00 Building an Entire New Infrastructure 10:30 Institutions Running Structured Products 10:52 A Liquidity Layer for Volatility Products 11:30 Why It Is Built on Ethereum Mainnet 11:56 Why Ethereum Is the Natural Home 12:25 Enabling Volatility on Any Asset 12:44 Why Trust Minimization Matters 13:04 The Pillars of the Product 14:02 Why Accessibility Is the Whole Point 14:21 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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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 · Nov 9, 2025

Tushar Ojha, founder of True Network, discusses the concept of onchain reputation as a new primitive for Web3 social contracts, arguing that reputation is superior to capital for scalable, trustless coordination. He critiques current blockchain systems that rely on capital staking, highlighting their scalability and centralization issues. Ojha proposes using reputation—earned, non-transferable, and costly to fake—as a portable, plural asset for coordination, governance, and accountability. He references historical uses of reputation in governance (Akbar, Ashoka) and explains how blockchain enables immutable, transparent, and verifiable reputation systems. True Network enables protocols to issue attestations, build reputation models, and leverage reputation as an asset in social contracts, enabling use cases like onchain tournaments, improved governance, and Sybil resistance. He encourages the Web3 community to build on this narrative, sharing examples from ETH India and announcing the Ramen Network testnet. Ojha concludes that the time for onchain reputation has arrived. 00:00 Introduction 00:42 The Value of Reputation in Web3 01:15 What Problem Does Web3 Solve? 02:22 Perspectives on Blockchain: Credible Commitments & Trust 03:23 Coordination Without Trust 04:28 Capital-Based Alignment: Limitations 05:22 The Cost of Capital in Blockchain Security 06:03 Reputation as a New Primitive 07:05 Implementing Reputation: Challenges & History 08:40 Historical Reputation Systems: Akbar & Ashoka 09:07 Why Blockchain Reputation Systems Can Succeed 09:26 Credible Neutrality & Onchain Reputation 09:55 True Network: Architecture & Attestations 10:49 Identity, Credentials, and Reputation Models 11:41 Social Contracts: Programming Reputation 12:42 Formal Definition of Social Contracts 13:41 Use Cases: Games, Governance, and Accountability 15:04 Efficiency and Inclusivity of Reputation-Based Systems 15:51 ETH India: Building the Reputation Narrative 16:14 Example Projects: Fanbase & Placeholder 17:13 Community, Testnet, and Future Vision 17:46 Mission and Closing Remarks 18:08 Conclusion & Call to Action _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇮🇳 *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 Tushar Ojha X: https://x.com/techtusharojha ✅ Follow True Network X: https://x.com/TrueNetworkIO ✅ 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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Remi Gai

ETHGlobal · Nov 9, 2025

Remi Gai’s talk, “Deep Dive into Privacy Enhancing Technologies,” explores the critical need for privacy in blockchain and crypto, highlighting that transparency, while useful for verification and compliance, deters adoption due to privacy concerns. Remi explains privacy as a spectrum: from pseudonymity (default, but weak privacy), to confidentiality (hiding amounts), anonymity (hiding participants), and total privacy (hiding all data). He reviews privacy-enhancing technologies: Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZK), Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), Trusted Execution Environments (TEE), and Multi-Party Computation (MPC), comparing their trade-offs in compliance, composability, and performance. Remi emphasizes the importance of flexible decryption and composability for compliance and business logic, introducing confidential tokens and the Confidential Token Association. He presents Inco, a private compute layer using encryption-based approaches for EVM-compatible blockchains, enabling confidential tokens, private voting, and gaming with minimal developer friction. Remi encourages collaboration to advance privacy as a foundational blockchain primitive. 00:00 Introduction 00:31 The Privacy Problem in Blockchain 01:36 Privacy as a Spectrum 02:26 Pseudonymity and Its Limits 03:13 Confidentiality Use Cases 03:57 Anonymity and Total Privacy 05:12 Choosing the Right Privacy Model 05:31 Compliance and Privacy 05:59 Overview of Privacy Technologies (ZK, FHE, TEE, MPC) 06:23 Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) Explained 09:21 FHE Challenges and Scalability 09:46 Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) 11:31 Commitment vs. Encryption-Based Solutions 12:48 Flexible Decryption and Compliance 13:35 Composability in Privacy Systems 14:50 Confidential Token Ecosystem and Identity 15:47 Confidential Token Association 16:13 Introducing Inco: Private Compute Layer 17:26 Developer Experience and Use Cases 18:17 Private Voting and Randomness 18:56 General Purpose Privacy Applications 19:13 Partnerships and Call to Action 19:37 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 Remi Gai X: https://x.com/remi_gai ✅ Follow Inco Network X: https://x.com/inconetwork ✅ 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

Gathin T from ZeroG introduces the project as a Layer 1 blockchain dedicated to onchain AI, powered by a decentralized AI operating system that combines storage, compute, and data availability into a verifiable, trustless architecture. He contrasts this with closed AI systems—“black boxes” that hide training data, alignment processes, and inferencing logic—arguing that ZeroG decentralizes every layer of AI: from uploading datasets, to training and inferencing with cryptographic proofs. Its modular stack includes a fast, low-cost EVM-compatible chain, a decentralized storage network (95% cheaper than AWS or Arweave), a scalable data availability layer for verifiable AI workloads, and a compute network that provides verifiable inferencing through trusted execution environments (TEE) and zero-knowledge proofs. The compute layer enables GPU providers to monetize idle capacity and users to select inference models by cost and quality, creating a service marketplace for AI models, fine-tuning, and RAG pipelines. ZeroG separates consensus and execution for scalability, achieving 11,000+ TPS and sub-100ms finality. Builders can deploy dapps for AI dev tooling, analytics, DeFi, memecoins, or NFTs using the Builder Hub’s SDKs and documentation. The project recently launched its mainnet, offering $10K in hackathon bounties for developers building early ecosystem tools. ZeroG’s vision is a transparent, verifiable AI ecosystem—fully onchain, censorship-resistant, and economically open to model creators, GPU operators, and users alike. 00:02 – Introduction to ZeroG and decentralized AI 00:44 – The problem with closed AI systems 01:12 – Overview of ZeroG’s modular stack 01:41 – Layer 1 chain and storage architecture 02:22 – Data availability and verifiability 03:13 – Compute network: verifiable inferencing explained 03:32 – Alignment nodes and decentralization governance 03:58 – AI service marketplace and future RAG/fine-tuning support 04:28 – EVM-compatible chain architecture & mainnet performance 05:27 – ZeroG Storage: 95% cheaper, instant retrieval 06:29 – Storage mechanism: chunking, VRF distribution, Merkle proofs 07:22 – Data availability issues and ZeroG’s improvements 08:48 – Security, scalability, and Ethereum-aligned standards 09:12 – Use cases for AI, ML, and modular L1/L2 integrations 09:44 – Compute network and decentralized GPU marketplace 10:56 – Example: model selection and cost flexibility 11:51 – Trustless execution vs centralized inference bias 12:44 – Workflow for users and GPU providers 13:26 – Builder Hub and testnet/mainnet resources 14:03 – Hackathon details and $10K bounty 14:36 – Ecosystem roadmap and mainnet launch 15:09 – Closing remarks and builder 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 0G* X: https://x.com/0G_labs ✅ *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

Niklas Kunkel

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Join Niklas Kunkel, founder of Chronicle, at Pragma San Francisco 2025 as he discusses the evolution from traditional Real World Assets (RWAs) to Crypto Native Assets. Explore MakerDAO's pioneering journey with tokenized treasury bills (T-Bills), understand the differences between first, second, and third-generation RWAs, and discover how blockchain-native assets can enhance transparency, liquidity, and DeFi integration. Learn how oracles like Chronicle play a crucial role in bringing real-time asset data on-chain, transforming the future of decentralized finance. 00:00 Intro: RWAs & Crypto Native Assets Explained 00:52 About Niklas Kunkel & Chronicle Overview 01:37 Stagnation in DeFi: The Need for RWAs 03:08 MakerDAO's RWA Journey: A Case Study 04:26 RWAs & Solving Revenue Volatility in DeFi 05:44 First-Gen RWAs: Tokenized T-Bills & Flaws 07:07 How MakerDAO Integrated RWAs Initially 08:23 Issues with Early RWAs: Yield & Transparency 09:08 MakerDAO Revenue Growth with RWAs 09:51 Breakdown of MakerDAO's Crypto & RWA Revenue 10:37 MakerDAO's Tokenization Grand Prix Explained 11:15 Second-Gen RWAs: Improved Yield & Liquidity 12:04 Legal Claims in Second-Gen RWA Tokens 12:49 Transparency Issues in Second-Gen RWAs 13:27 Rapid Redeemability & Liquidity in RWAs 14:09 Market Leaders in Second-Gen RWA Products 14:50 Problems Remaining in Second-Gen RWAs 15:36 Third-Gen RWAs: Defining "Crypto Native" 16:21 Why Current RWAs Aren't Crypto Native Yet 17:04 Key Features of Third-Gen Crypto Native RWAs 17:45 Real Blockchain Ownership: Tokens as Assets 18:25 Improving Data Transparency with Oracles 19:01 Chronicle's Oracle Solution for RWA Data 19:45 Automated DeFi Risk Management with RWAs 20:27 Chronicle’s Role in Future RWA Integration 21:05 Chronicle's Market Position & Partnerships 21:40 Connect with Chronicle: Dashboard & Socials 21:55 Conclusion & Wrap-Up _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *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 Chronicle* X: https://x.com/ChronicleLabs ✅ *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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Loi Luu

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Caliber Founder and Kyber Network creator Loi Luu delivers a masterclass on building sustainable DeFi systems at Pragma Taipei 2025. Drawing from his experience launching multiple successful protocols, Luu outlines practical frameworks for creating open financial infrastructure that lasts beyond market cycles. The talk provides actionable dos/don'ts covering transparency, security design, incentive alignment, and avoiding common pitfalls in token launches and prediction markets. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇹🇼 *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. 00:04 - Introduction to Caliber's venture studio approach 01:29 - OptimX case study: Bridging Bitcoin/DeFi liquidity 02:43 - Core principles for open financial infrastructure 05:08 - Analyzing current market pitfalls and hype cycles 07:32 - Caliber's framework for protocol sustainability 09:19 - Security best practices from Kyber's experience 11:10 - Designing incentive structures that last 13:34 - Leveraging trends without compromising integrity 14:39 - Capital efficiency innovations in modern DeFi 16:32 - Solving prediction market resolution challenges 17:55 - Token launchpad design lessons 19:49 - Caliber's builder-first philosophy _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Loi Luu X: https://x.com/loi_luu ✅ Follow Caliber X: https://x.com/CaliberBuild ✅ 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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Vitalik Buterin, Kartik Talwar

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

In this fireside chat at Pragma Prague 2025, Kartik Talwar (co-founder of ETH Global) and Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum co-founder) dive deep into the challenges and future of DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations). They discuss governance flaws, transparency issues, decision-making inefficiencies, and the need for experimentation in decentralized structures. Key topics include AI in DAOs, privacy in governance, multi-level decision-making, and how to improve funding allocation. A must-watch for blockchain builders, DAO enthusiasts, and anyone interested in decentralized governance. 00:00 - Introduction: Kartik Talwar & Vitalik Buterin Fireside Chat 00:55 - Challenges of Working with DAOs as an Organization 01:31 - Decline in DAO Experimentation Among Hackers 02:12 - Transparency & Negotiation Issues in DAO Governance 03:15 - Why DAOs Have Stalled in Innovation 04:35 - Problems with Public Forums in DAO Decision-Making 05:39 - DAOs vs. Traditional Companies in Decision Efficiency 06:52 - Gitcoin & Akita Token Case Study on DAO Weaknesses 07:24 - Why DAOs Are Stuck in a "Fork Compound" Mindset 08:39 - Regulatory Pressures & Compliance in DAO Structures 10:19 - Shift Away from Operational Decentralization 11:32 - Separating Organizational Structure from Legal Form 12:48 - Hierarchical vs. Flat Governance in DAOs 14:03 - Why DAOs Are Necessary: DeFi & ENS Use Cases 15:32 - Oracle Security & DAO Accountability in DeFi 17:19 - Strategic vs. Routine Decisions in DAOs 18:26 - Concave vs. Convex Decision-Making in Governance 19:51 - Three Types of DAOs: Data, Funds, & Protocol Steering 21:36 - Rethinking DAO Governance from First Principles 22:09 - Problems with Public Discourse in DAO Negotiations 23:26 - Specialization & SubDAOs for Better Decision-Making 24:38 - Should DAOs Allow Open Participation by Default? 25:24 - Long-Term Bets vs. Short-Term Outcomes in DAOs 27:17 - Enabling Radical Bets in DAO Governance 28:25 - Accountability & Preventing Misallocation in DAOs 29:02 - Decentralized Accountability vs. Centralized Evaluation 31:25 - Privacy & Communication Structures in DAO Governance 32:39 - Preventing Internal & External Capture in DAOs 34:59 - AI’s Role in DAOs: Execution vs. Preference Aggregation 37:28 - Modular Governance: Plugins for Existing DAO Contracts 38:54 - Limits & Accountability in DAO Fund Allocation 40:03 - DeFi Protocol Risks: Token Holders vs. TVL Security 42:35 - DAO Treasury Management: Spending vs. Sustainability 44:33 - Privacy Solutions for DAO Grant Distribution 45:12 - Reopening the Overton Window in DAO Design 46:29 - Voter Attention & Delegation in DAO Governance 47:50 - AI as a Tool, Not a King, in DAO Decision-Making 49:35 - AI Summaries vs. AI-Driven Execution in DAOs 50:54 - Preference Aggregation & Autonomous Execution 52:45 - GDPR, Privacy, & AI in DAO Governance 54:21 - AI DAOs: Balancing Autonomy & Accountability 55:26 - Revisiting "The DAO" (2016) & Lessons Learned 57:21 - Long-Term Investments vs. Short-Term DAO Expectations 59:56 - R&D in DAOs: Funding High-Risk, High-Reward Projects 1:01:14 - DeFi Protocol Treasury Management Strategies 1:04:23 - Preventing DAO Leadership from Self-Enrichment 1:06:00 - Succession Planning in DAO Governance 1:07:16 - Key Takeaways: Privacy, AI, & Multi-Level Governance 1:10:16 - The Doge of Venice: Multi-Level Election Systems 1:10:59 - Final Thoughts: Encouraging DAO Experimentation _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇨🇿 *Pragma Prague* Pragma Prague 2025 was held on May 29th at Holešovice Market in Prague, Czech Republic and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. This event was in collaboration with ETH Prague. Watch the full Pragma Prague YouTube Playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh7vLS72NelQ2dOx2VgPNxJZ&si=uwzTuItQTdcQqkTE 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 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

Mike, co-founder of Superfluid Protocol, discusses the transformative impact of giving AI agents crypto wallets, enabling them to act as autonomous economic actors in the blockchain and Web3 ecosystem. He explains that AI agents, empowered with wallets, can own assets, transact on-chain, participate in DAOs, hire resources, and coordinate at scale. This shift demands a new focus on "agent experience"—optimizing protocols for machine users rather than humans, emphasizing legibility, modularity, composability, predictability, and auditability. Mike highlights the rise of agent-to-agent protocols, the importance of reputation systems, and the ongoing evolution from human-centric to agent-centric design. He notes that while AI-driven agents are already influencing DeFi and DAO governance, the field is still nascent, with most developments at the experimental stage. The talk concludes with a Q&A on agent swarms and the current state of agent-to-agent communication in Web3. 00:00 Introduction 00:32 Why AI Wallets Are a Gamechanger 01:12 The Rise of Autonomous Agents 02:11 Ownership and Capital for Agents 02:38 Crypto Wallets Empower AI Agents 03:11 AI Agents as Economic Actors 04:08 From Assistant to Entrepreneur Agents 05:02 AI in DAO Governance 05:51 AI and Blockchain: The Perfect OS 06:24 Blockchain’s Machine-Readable Advantages 06:57 Reputation and Transparency 07:21 Algo Trading and AI in Finance 08:11 AI Agents as Protocol Users 09:05 Designing Protocols for Humans vs Agents 10:13 Agent Experience: A New Paradigm 11:20 Optimizing for Agent Experience 13:21 Real-Time Value Transfer for Agents 14:40 Agents and Streaming Payments 15:37 Further Resources and Closing 15:57 Q&A: Agent-to-Agent Protocols 16:49 Agent Swarms and DeFi Coordination 18:00 State of Agent-to-Agent Communication 18:50 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 Superfluid X: https://x.com/Superfluid_HQ ✅ 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

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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Ismael Hishon Rezaizadeh, co-founder of Lrange Labs, discusses the critical role of Ethereum's infrastructure and zero knowledge proofs (ZKPs) in ensuring trust, privacy, and safety in AI applications. He introduces zero knowledge machine learning (ZKML), which leverages ZKPs to verify AI model integrity, privacy, and fairness, especially in security-sensitive sectors like healthcare, defense, finance, and content moderation. Lrange’s Deep Prove library enables fast, scalable, and commercially viable ZKML, supporting large models and real-world deployments with partners like Intel, Nvidia, and AWS. Ismael emphasizes the need for verifiability and transparency in AI, moving beyond blind trust to cryptographic proofs, and highlights the growing adoption of ZKML in both Web2 and Web3. He also discusses future advancements, including proofs of training, fairness, and reasoning, and the societal impact of embedding verifiability and privacy as primitives in AI systems. 00:00 Introduction 00:36 Zero Knowledge Proofs & ZKML Overview 01:35 Challenges in AI Trust, Safety, and Bias 02:26 Importance of ZKPs for AI Verifiability 03:17 Lrange Labs & Deep Prove Introduction 04:29 How Deep Prove Works 05:56 Use Cases: Defense, Healthcare, Web2, Web3 08:05 Decentralization & Open Source Approach 09:07 Lrange Research & Industry Collaboration 10:44 Extending ZKML Beyond Crypto 11:29 Societal and Sectoral Impact of ZKML 13:14 Agentic Systems, Compliance, Content Moderation 15:02 DeFi, Governance, and Healthcare Applications 16:40 The Future: ZK as a Default Primitive 17:43 Q&A: ZK Computational Improvements & Future Directions 20:33 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 Lagrange Labs X: https://x.com/lagrangelabs ✅ 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

Alex Pashinski, an engineer at Fluence, introduces Fluence Cloudless Compute—a decentralized, Web3-focused cloud platform designed to address issues like vendor lock-in, high costs, censorship, and lack of transparency found in traditional cloud providers (e.g., AWS). Fluence offers affordable, location-flexible virtual servers with no vendor lock-in, supporting custom hardware and images. The platform currently supports CPU-based VMs, with containers, GPUs, and managed services on the roadmap. Alex demonstrates deploying VMs via the web UI and API, highlighting features like custom images, multi-location support, and API automation. He discusses hackathon bounties for best AI use, reusable images, and multi-chain staking optimizations. Audience Q&A covers abuse handling, dynamic deployment, migration, and credit allocation. Fluence provides $20 credits for hackathon participants, with support available via Discord and at their booth. 00:00 Introduction 00:32 Problems with Traditional Cloud Providers 01:30 Key Features of Fluence Cloudless Compute 02:22 Hackathon Bounties and Use Cases 04:08 Live Demo: Deploying on Fluence via Web UI 06:05 Using the Fluence API for Deployment 07:26 Multiple VM Deployment and Hackathon Credits 08:34 Support and Q&A Introduction 09:12 Abuse Handling and Security 10:20 Dynamic Deployment and Migration Roadmap 12:04 Credits and Resource Allocation 13:00 Closing Remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇫🇷 *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 Fluence X: https://x.com/fluence_project ✅ *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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Etienne Waldron

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

This Ledger conference session, led by developer advocates Etienne Waldron, introduces Ledger’s mission to secure Web3 through hardware wallets and new initiatives. The focus is on three hackathon tracks: Clear Signing, Hardware Integrations, and Documentation. Clear Signing addresses the risks of blind signing by enabling human-readable, transparent transaction details using JSON files, which developers can create and submit for bounties and prizes like the Ledger Flex. The session demonstrates the JSON creation tool, explains the review process, and encourages improvements to the tool. The Hardware Integration track invites developers to use the new Device Management Kit for integrating Ledger devices with popular Ethereum libraries or building new apps. The Documentation track seeks contributions to enhance Ledger’s developer resources. Q&A covers review times, device access, and compatibility, emphasizing that clear signing works on all Ledger devices, with the best experience on newer models. 00:00 Introduction 00:26 About Ledger and Device Security 01:19 Ledger Flex and New Features 01:49 Blind Signing vs. Clear Signing 02:35 Clear Signing Track Overview 03:19 Clear Signing Bounties and Example Flow 04:01 Technical Details of Clear Signing 04:42 Clear Signing Implementation Steps 06:17 JSON File Structure and Usage 07:02 Demo: Creating a Clear Signing JSON File 08:02 Improving the JSON Creation Tool 08:51 Registry and Submission Process 09:17 Hardware Integrations Track 10:00 Device Management Kit and Integration Ideas 10:44 Documentation Track 11:05 Useful Links and Closing 11:41 Q&A: Review Time, Device Access, Compatibility 13:06 Q&A: Submitting JSON for Any Contract, Closing Remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇫🇷 *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 Etienne Waldron* X: https://x.com/EtienneWaldron ✅ *Follow Ledger* X: https://x.com/Ledger ✅ *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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Danny Zuckerman

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Danny Zuckerman, COO of Recall, discusses the intersection of AI, crypto, and Web3, emphasizing the early stage of AI adoption and the challenges of trust, transparency, and evaluation. He critiques current AI benchmarks, highlighting issues like test set leakage and real-world underperformance. Recall aims to solve this by creating a decentralized, onchain AI reputation and discovery layer, where community-driven challenges and competitions evaluate AI agents’ real-world performance and alignment. Crypto is used to provide economic incentives and verifiable, tamper-proof records, enabling trust through staking and reputation. Recall’s products, such as live trading competitions and Recall Predict, leverage community participation to generate ungameable benchmarks and fine-grained rankings across domains. The goal is to prevent AI power concentration, foster open, transparent, and aligned AI, and create an infinite, evolving ecosystem governed by the community, not opaque black boxes. 00:00 Introduction 00:33 AI Adoption Cycle & Web3 Context 02:15 Early Stage of AI & Historical Parallels 03:36 The Infinite Game of AI 04:01 Trust, Fatigue, and Benchmark Limitations 06:02 Real-World Performance vs. Benchmarks 07:23 Need for New Evaluation Methods 08:11 Recall: AI Reputation & Discovery Layer 09:53 Live Trading Competitions & Community Engagement 11:01 Recall Predict & Community Evals 13:02 Expanding to Multiple Domains & Onchain Records 13:36 Crypto’s Role: Economic Skin in the Game 15:40 Economic Markets for AI Trust 16:10 Leaderboards, Search, and Multi-Agent Systems 17:22 Open, Transparent AI vs. Black Box Concentration 18:19 Call to Action & Community Involvement 18:58 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 Recall X: https://x.com/recallnet ✅ 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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

ETHCluj Meetup · Oct 9, 2025

In this Think Tank feedback session of ETHCluj workshops we have the CO2 Angels team, winner of CASSINI hackathon, present their innovative platform for the carbon credit market. Using AI, satellite data & blockchain they ensure real-time monitoring & transparency.

Fredrik Haga

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2024

Fredrik Haga, co-founder of Dune Analytics, discusses the evolution of blockchain data analytics at Pragma London 2024. Learn how Dune transformed from a small Telegram community to the leading on-chain analytics platform, the challenges of scaling data infrastructure across multiple chains, and their vision for an open data ecosystem. Discover how Dune is leveraging AI to simplify data queries and their approach to handling the exponential growth of L2s and app chains. Essential viewing for data analysts, blockchain developers, and anyone interested in the future of transparent, on-chain analytics. 00:00 - Introduction to Dune Analytics and Fredrik Haga 00:51 - The Early Days of Blockchain Data Challenges 01:26 - Founding Dune During Crypto Winter 2018 02:02 - Recognizing the Need for On-Chain Analytics 02:35 - The Epiphany: Public Blockchain Data as Opportunity 03:04 - Unique Aspects of Open Blockchain Data 03:36 - Building for Open Data vs Traditional Silos 04:07 - Has Querying On-Chain Data Gotten Easier? 04:36 - The Current State of Blockchain Data Tooling 05:05 - Progress and Remaining Challenges in Data Analytics 05:39 - The Dune Wizards Community Origin Story 06:09 - Serving the Early Crypto Data Enthusiasts 06:37 - Community Growth During DeFi Summer 2020 07:05 - Open Collaboration vs Data Silos 07:35 - The Inflection Point of DeFi Summer 08:08 - Engineering Challenges of Scaling Dune 08:40 - Handling Arbitrary User Queries at Scale 09:15 - Challenges with Ethereum Forks and High-Throughput Chains 09:42 - Supporting Solana and Other High-Volume Chains 10:20 - Scaling the Dune Team to 45 People 10:51 - Managing Through Crypto Market Cycles 11:27 - The Coming Wave of Thousands of L2s and App Chains 11:58 - Dune's Platform Approach to Chain Fragmentation 12:29 - Transitioning to an Open-Ended Data Platform 12:57 - Enabling Community Data Contributions 13:25 - Expanding Beyond Strictly On-Chain Data 13:57 - APIs and Data Sharing Features 14:27 - AI and Natural Language Query Innovations 14:56 - The Role of Human Curation in Analytics 15:29 - Combining Community Insights with AI 16:04 - Underutilized Potential of On-Chain Data 16:34 - Comparing Web2 vs Web3 Data Accessibility 17:03 - Accelerating Startup Feedback Loops 17:33 - The Power of Open Data for Builders 18:02 - Closing Thoughts on Open Data Ecosystems _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇬🇧 *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 Dune* X: https://x.com/Dune ✅ *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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Jack Butcher, Jesse Pollak

Base House · Dec 9, 2023

No description In this video, Jesse, the creator of BASE, engages in a discussion with Jack Butcher, the mind behind several creative projects including Visualize Value and Opepn. They delve into Jack's transition from traditional commercial design to embracing the crypto and NFT space. He shares his journey of creating digital art and how his work evolved from service-based to product-based businesses, highlighting the importance of building a recognizable style that attracts clients. Jack also discusses his early engagement with NFTs and how his platform allowed him to shift from a service-focused approach to one where his art could represent his ideas and values independently of time spent on projects. He reflects on creating community-driven art collections and the impact of technology in enabling new forms of collaboration and creativity. The conversation touches on the significance of transparency in building networks and communities around art projects. They explore how blockchain technology has facilitated new ways for artists to express themselves, build brands, and support causes through their work. Lastly, they discuss recent collaborations like Opepn Oviators – sunglasses designed in collaboration with Salvino – as an example of organic, composable creativity enabled by blockchain technology. The video ends with a Q&A session where Jack addresses questions about the themes in his art and how it resonates with communities online.

Simona Pop

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2023

Simona Pop shares hard-earned lessons from years of active DAO participation, offering a candid look into what works—and what doesn't—in decentralized governance. In this fireside conversation at Pragma Lisbon 2023, Simona reflects on her recent departure from Gitcoin’s Steward Council, explores the evolution of DAO culture since the 2020 boom, and discusses the need for new governance structures, values alignment, and decision-making clarity. She emphasizes the importance of intentional design, standardized proposal flows, and the shift from extractive mindsets to collaborative contributions. Whether you're starting a DAO or contributing to one, this talk offers invaluable insights into how DAOs can evolve to fulfill their promise of pluralistic value creation and effective coordination. 00:00 Intro to Simona Pop and DAO governance 01:19 Stepping down from Gitcoin Steward Council 02:52 Role in Gitcoin governance and Shelling Point 05:25 DAO boom of 2020 and early experimentation 07:19 Why Simona still believes in the promise of DAOs 10:01 Challenges and exhaustion in building new systems 11:15 DAO impact beyond finance: public goods and education 13:11 Funding use cases from scholarships to security 14:44 Repeating old patterns with new DAO facades 16:20 The problem with tooling without clear processes 17:43 Rubber-stamp voting and loss of clarity 19:38 Decision-making transparency vs shadow processes 21:03 Delegate power, vote timing, and influence issues 22:09 Working with DAOs vs working for them 23:36 DAO facades and power imbalances 25:41 What successful DAOs could look like in 2023 27:38 Standardized proposal formats and flow design 30:17 Cadence, clarity, and interoperability of talent 33:11 Value alignment and knowing when to walk away 34:56 Token clout vs true intention in DAO participation 36:21 Unlearning extraction: toward genuine collaboration 37:37 Change, loss, and emotional realities of DAO work _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇵🇹 *Pragma Lisbon* Pragma Lisbon 2023 took place at Casa do Alentejo on May 11, 2023, and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. 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. Watch the full Pragma Lisbon 2023 playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh7nuyBq4GojkgAhqoRtsi9K&si=pYS-TR5BOQSZ3YGi ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Ever since we first introduced our new event series, Pragma, in Tokyo in the spring of 2023, we have been fostering a curated, global community of individuals who deeply care about web3. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Simona Pop* X: https://x.com/Sim_Pop ✅ *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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Jan Gorzny

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2023

At Pragma Paris 2023, Martin Derka and Jan Gorzny from Quantstamp unveil new Ethereum Foundation-funded initiatives focused on Layer 2 security and transparency. Martin introduces a proposed open standard for Layer 2 block explorer APIs, aiming to unify data access across diverse L2s like Optimism, Arbitrum, zkSync, and Scroll. By defining modular, extensible APIs and publishing them as open source on GitHub, the Quantstamp team invites developers to build better explorers and support broader interoperability across rollups. Jan follows with a deep dive into Quantstamp’s second grant initiative: a comprehensive security evaluation framework designed to fill gaps in current analysis tools like L2Beat. This framework covers over 130 detailed questions addressing escape hatches, trust assumptions, fraud proofs, hardware dependencies, and other critical security aspects of L2s. The talk outlines how to score rollups based on feasibility and resilience, and calls for community contributions to improve and validate the models. If you're building or auditing rollups—or just care about secure scaling—this is a must-watch. 00:00 Introduction to Quantstamp and L2 security 00:39 Why open standards for L2 block explorers matter 01:47 Landscape of Layer 2s and existing explorer gaps 02:54 Building a modular API standard for L2s 03:59 Defining a bridge between chains and explorer UI 05:13 Methodology: analyzing diverse L2 data models 06:22 Publishing an open source API spec on GitHub 07:31 Invitation to contribute, extend, and build with the API 08:37 Jan introduces L2 security evaluation framework 09:08 Beyond L2Beat: assessing escape hatches and trust 10:05 Scoring rollups on feasibility and resilience 10:32 Research-driven, rollup-specific security analysis 11:24 Open sourcing and community feedback request 11:50 Upcoming presentation at L2Beat Warsaw & closing _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇫🇷 *Pragma Paris* Pragma Paris took place at the Pavillion Vendome in Paris on July 20, 2023, and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Paris 2023 playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh42f0yI-hyeOCbNZpvV2fIT&si=Ez6ych6OAdn_sq1D 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 Jan Gorzny* X: https://x.com/jgorzny ✅ *Follow Quantstamp* X: https://x.com/Quantstamp ✅ *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, 2023

Camila Russo, founder of The Defiant and one of the most respected journalists in crypto, joins Pragma New York 2023 to dissect the realities behind decentralization in Web3. In this hard-hitting interview, Camila breaks down what she calls “Crypto Theater”: decentralization theater, governance theater, community theater, and DeFi musical chairs. With clarity and honesty, she explains how most protocols today operate under the illusion of decentralization while maintaining centralized control—and why that’s dangerous for the future of crypto, regulation, and user trust. She also shares early details of her new initiative, the DeFi League, aimed at bringing transparency and accountability to the space. This is a must-watch for builders, DAO participants, DeFi users, and anyone passionate about crypto’s promise. 00:00 Intro to Camila Russo and crypto problems 01:13 Why Camila wrote “Crypto Is a Theater” 02:14 The risk of decentralization theater 03:34 How protocols maintain central control 05:03 Why true decentralization actually matters 06:58 Governance theater and token voting flaws 08:24 Plutocracy and one-token-one-vote issues 09:39 Why fake governance is worse than honesty 10:54 Community theater in NFTs 12:09 DeFi’s musical chairs problem 13:37 No one-size-fits-all for governance 14:22 Introducing the DeFi League initiative 15:52 Making DeFi risk metrics public 16:24 Why decentralization theater happens 17:49 Regulators aren’t being fooled 18:25 Intentional misdirection vs real constraint 20:06 Regulatory pressure hurting US innovation 21:16 Advice to DeFi founders on building better 22:39 Why risky experimentation still matters 23:58 What users can do to protect themselves 25:54 Final thoughts and DeFi League launch _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *Pragma New York* The fifth edition of Pragma took place in New York in September 2023 with a curated series of high-quality talks that sparked thought and discussion. 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. Watch the full Pragma New York 2023 playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXzKMXK2aHh6xsRbmx2niHEDyOyt1mddu&si=6Ic960b2hQyz9RGw ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Ever since we first introduced our new event series, Pragma, in Tokyo in the spring of 2023, we have been fostering a curated, global community of individuals who deeply care about web3. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow Camilla Russo* X: https://x.com/CamiRusso ✅ *Follow The Defiant* X: https://x.com/DefiantNews ✅ *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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _