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 · Nov 9, 2025

Kevin Lin from Self Protocol presents "ZK Identity With No Compromises," introducing Self as a production-ready zero-knowledge (ZK) passport protocol focused on scalable, privacy-preserving digital identity. Self enables onboarding of the next billion users by leveraging biometric passports and government IDs (like India's Aadhaar) for secure, machine-readable, and forgery-resistant attestations. The protocol uses ZK proofs and selective disclosure, allowing users to prove attributes (e.g., nationality, age, compliance) without revealing personal data. The architecture splits registration and disclosure, ensuring anonymity and unlinkability across apps. Self employs Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) for efficient, secure proof generation, avoiding large downloads and enhancing UX. SDKs for frontend, backend, and onchain integration make it easy for dApps to verify users. Partnerships with Celo, Google Cloud, and others enable real-world incentives and use cases. Self aims to solve Sybil resistance without capital requirements, supporting global, privacy-first identity verification. 00:00 Introduction 01:01 The Challenge: Onboarding the Next Billion Users 01:24 Proof of Work, Proof of Stake, and Capital-Based Sybil Resistance 03:15 Introducing Self Protocol: ZK Passport Solution 03:48 Leveraging Biometric Passports & Aadhaar Integration 05:29 Technical Deep Dive: Biometric, NFC, and Machine Readability 06:54 User Experience: Fast, Private, Selective Disclosure 08:24 Registration & Disclosure Workflow 09:40 SDK Integration for dApps and Service Providers 10:49 Privacy Architecture: Anonymity & Unlinkability 11:17 Technical Recap: Key Components & TEEs 13:22 Proof Relaying and User Experience 14:00 Developer Bounties & Community Engagement 14:34 Real-World Partnerships & Incentives 15:41 Collaborations & Use Cases 16:16 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 Kevin Lin X: https://x.com/Slutsky___ ✅ Follow Self Protocol X: https://x.com/SelfProtocol ✅ 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

Join Marek Olszewski at Pragma Denver 2025 as he unveils Self Protocol, a new identity and verification solution leveraging machine-readable biometric passports, zero-knowledge proofs, and Celo’s emerging Layer-2 architecture. Learn how Self Protocol addresses critical crypto challenges—like Sybil resistance, verifying you’re not on an OFAC list, and even confirming you’re human—without exposing private data. Marek demonstrates the mobile onboarding experience, explains the trusted execution environment (TEE) for secure proofs, and shows how developers can integrate Self Protocol’s SDK for dApps requiring age checks, region blocks, or other identity-based logic. If you’re searching for privacy-preserving identity solutions in Web3, this talk has you covered. 00:00 Introduction & What Is Self Protocol 00:49 Launch Day & Interactive “Guess the Country” Game 01:21 Key Unsolved Crypto Problems: Identity & Privacy 02:41 Addressing Sybil Resistance & Bad Actors 03:17 Rise of AI Agents: “Are You Even Human?” 04:21 Vision for Self Protocol & ZK-Based Verification 05:01 Biometric Passports & Machine-Readable Chips 07:04 Zero-Knowledge Proofs: No Counterparty Needed 09:04 Demonstrating the Mobile App Onboarding 10:30 Passport Scanning & Proof Generation Flow 11:04 Example Use Cases: Age Check, OFAC Check, More 12:27 Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) Explained 13:35 Deployment on Celo & Gas-Free Submissions 14:47 Self Protocol SDK for Builders & Custom Use Cases 15:22 Fun Implementations & Closing Remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *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=Xyozrbw0ZvUW_65a 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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Kartik Talwar

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Join Andrew Koller, Founder of Ink Protocol, and Kartik Talwar for a fireside chat at Pragma Denver 2025. Discover how Ink Protocol—an Optimistic L2 built on the OP Stack—is bridging centralized exchange users from Kraken into DeFi. Andrew shares Ink’s focus on user experience, how it’s attracting institutional and retail liquidity, and why decentralization and low-latency block times remain top priorities. Learn how base chain interoperability, EVM compatibility, and Kraken’s ethos of “don’t trust, verify” are guiding Ink Protocol’s roadmap as it onboards millions of potential new on-chain users. If you’re curious about L2 adoption, bridging CeFi and DeFi, or the future of secure, scalable blockchains, you won’t want to miss this insightful conversation. 00:00 Introduction & Fireside Chat Overview 00:47 Founding Ink Protocol: Bringing Kraken Clients On-Chain 02:25 Why an Optimistic L2? Early Experiments & Lessons 04:22 Choosing the OP Stack & Super Chain Advantages 06:08 Managing the Sequencer & Decentralization Plans 09:27 Focus on DeFi Partnerships & Institutional Adoption 11:58 Challenges for Institutions & Regulatory Considerations 13:21 Exchange Chain Lessons: Observing Binance & Others 16:10 Launching Early & Developer Feedback 17:38 Opportunities & Concerns for Ink’s Future 19:03 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: 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 Andrew Koller* X: https://x.com/ak47ink ✅ Follow *Ink Protocol* X: https://x.com/inkonchain ✅ *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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Itai Turbahn

ETHGlobal · Oct 9, 2025

Join Itai Turbahn, Co-Founder of Dynamic, at Pragma Denver 2025 as he introduces a new approach to AI Agents with Allowances, powered by TSS (Threshold Signature) MPC and next-gen embedded wallet tools. Discover how Dynamic’s flexible key management solution securely grants AI agents fine-grained spending permissions, automates on-chain tasks, and supports both “human-in-the-loop” and fully autonomous models. Learn why rule engines, ephemeral key shares, and EIP-7702 gasless transactions play a critical role in creating a trustless environment for everyday use cases—ranging from booking travel to trading. If you’re exploring the future of AI, Web3 automation, and advanced wallet orchestration, this talk uncovers the building blocks for a new, decentralized economy. 00:00 Intro & Agents with Allowances 01:17 Dynamic’s Embedded Wallets & Key Management 02:23 Focusing on Human Onboarding & Industry Partners 03:27 AI Agents: The Next Frontier of Automation 05:08 TSS MPC Announcement & Secure Key Sharing 08:04 Rule Engine & Fine-Grained Spending Policies 09:10 Semi-Autonomous vs. Fully Autonomous Agents 14:01 No Human in the Loop: Server-Only Wallet Flow 15:03 EIP-7702 & Gasless Transactions 16:56 Conclusion & Future of AI Wallet Tools _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇺🇸 *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 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/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

Join Pedro Gomes of WalletConnect, Itai Turbahn of Dynamic, and Itamar Lesuisse of Argent for a dynamic panel discussion on the future of wallets in Web3. Recorded at Pragma London 2024, this conversation dives deep into the evolution of smart wallets, the rise of embedded wallets, and the trade-offs between global and siloed wallet experiences. The panel explores interoperability, security, trust assumptions, account abstraction, passkeys, and the infrastructure challenges shaping wallet UX. With unique insights from leaders building core wallet protocols and smart account tooling, this session is a must-watch for developers, product designers, and anyone invested in the next generation of crypto onboarding and identity. 00:00 Panel intro and speaker introductions 01:29 What Dynamic and WalletConnect do 02:34 Argent’s Starknet smart wallet overview 03:09 Defining embedded wallets and use cases 05:18 Embedded wallets vs interoperability 06:59 Friction in onboarding beyond wallets 08:04 Global vs siloed wallets: pros and cons 10:14 Use cases where global wallets don’t matter 11:29 Why universal identity still matters 12:34 Segmentation vs privacy in wallet identity 14:09 Tradeoffs of topping up balances across dapps 15:18 The problem with business-driven wallet silos 16:22 Smart accounts as a solution to fragmentation 18:04 Embedded wallets and the custody trade-off 19:15 Trust assumptions vs technical custody 20:55 Smart accounts for upgradeability and UX 21:56 The need for shared infrastructure and standards 23:03 Shoutout to EIP-6963 browser wallet standard 24:05 How Starknet achieved 100% AA adoption 25:11 Why Ethereum hasn’t prioritized UX upgrades 26:21 L2s are key to driving account abstraction 27:38 Audience Q: Thoughts on EIP-7212 and passkeys 28:57 Passkey pros, cons, and infrastructure hurdles 30:07 Clarifying what passkeys are and are not 30:38 UX vs risk: How users really lose their funds 31:15 Closing remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇬🇧 *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 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 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Aqeel Mohammad

Conflux - Web3 UX Unconference · Nov 16, 2023

No description The video features an opening speech from a conference in Istanbul addressing the UX community. Despite regional challenges and the absence of some colleagues, the speaker appreciates attendees' presence at DevConnect and encourages them to enjoy the additional activities available, including Turkish ice cream and coffee. The speech explains that the UXLand conference is an "un-conference," where participants create the event by discussing topics of interest to them. The conference has no sponsors or volunteers but is supported by the Ethereum Foundation and DevConnect. The speaker emphasizes that the success of the event depends on attendee participation and stresses that it's a collaborative environment rather than a platform for promoting individual projects. Attendees represent various professional backgrounds, with product development, engineering, and design being prominent. Key topics for discussion include account extraction, user onboarding, Web3 design principles, and general adoption within the ecosystem. Working groups will form to delve deeper into these areas in a collaborative setting with provided tools like FigJam for documentation. The speaker also mentions a goal of creating memorable ways (memes) to communicate complex UX concepts outside of the conference to foster broader understanding and excitement. An example given is "4337," which has gained attention despite many not fully understanding it. The video outlines rules for speakers, including strict time limits,