GM ETHChicagoans,
In our attention deficit-fueled bubble, we have a tendency to question our purpose and the existence of our digital playthings. Ethereum's "raison d'etre" comes up quite frequently. Is ETH money? It can be such a polarizing discussion that even core Ethereum contributors have recently added fuel to the fire.
But if you step back and look at why Ether the asset is valuable, it fills the definition of money quite easily:
Medium of Exchange: ETH is paired in 7 of the 10 most liquid trading pairs on Uniswap. Put simply, when it comes to trading within the Ethereum economy, tokens are priced against ETH.
Store of Value: Since the ETH 2.0 upgrade, Ethereum has drastically reduced its annual token issuance (aka monetary inflation) to less than 1%. Further offsetting this inflation is the implementation of EIP-1559, which introduced the "burning" of gas fees. You can think of these monetary and fiscal policies as efforts to enhance its store of value properties.
Source: ultrasound.money Unit of Account: In the heyday of its speculative mania, the NFT market on Ethereum was (and still is) almost exclusively priced in ETH. OpenSea, Blur, and other NFT marketplaces primarily list sales in ETH and traders commonly debate prices on social media in ETH terms. As crypto payments become cheap and easily accessible, real world purchases using ETH will only grow as well.
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It's important to recognize that this is not a unique feature of Ethereum. The moneyness of crypto assets is an ongoing debate. As emergent ecosystems like Solana grapple with the allure of what their native token accruing "monetary premium" means for the economic security of their networks (and the potential to create ofauxiliary services that leverage it), the practice of crypto-economics is bound to become increasingly important.
Remember, anon: we are building internet-native economies. Vitalik came up with the idea of Ethereum when a centralized digital economy "nerfed" his in game-assets. We are fixing the original sin of the internet.
Come join us build and keep dreaming big.
Here are your headlines for the month:
Spotlight: Introducing Cyberjam 2024
Upcoming Events
Spotlight: Introducing Cyberjam 2024
by Tippi Fifestarr
What do you call it when Creators, Technologists, and Wild Card teammates collide in the Phygital World? ETHChicago’s 2024 Cyberjam!
It’s happening next month @ 1871: Five teams of Jammers come together to build immersive art experiences and win prizes in this next level hackathon IRL next month, October 19-27!
Hi everybody, I’m Tippi Fifestarr. [Pause for applause] You may remember me as the Host of last year's Cyberjam <imnotHackathon BETA (alpha)>, where no fun was had. Or perhaps we met this year while I was co-facilitating ETHDenver's #BUIDLathon or Arbitrum's GovHack Brussels.
Please notice that I’m wearing two hats: ETHChicago’s Hackathon Head and Cyberjam’s Sponsorship Cybernaut. That’s what this is all about.
ETHChicago is hosting a hackathon experience this October! We call it a Cyberjam because it’s not just for developers. Music and Visual Artists, Software and Hardware Engineers, and self-identified Wild Cards combine as Jammers and work together to build something awesome in about a week.
Dates: October 19 - October 27
Location: 1871 (12th floor of Chicago’s Merchandise Mart)
Links: Volunteer | Apply to be a Jammer | Sponsor Deck | Website
Cyberjam 2024 is kicking off October 19 (Saturday) downtown at the 1871 Auditorium (sign up here!!). Then, the 5 teams of Jammers will have a small budget to build an immersive art experience until the Closing Ceremony on October 27 (Sunday).
FAQ:
Each team must have five verified Jammers and will be composed of Creators, Techologists, and powerful Wild Cards. Such diversity of skill is our magic sauce.
Each team will combine two of five Themes to build a physical and digital experience: Fashion, Sports & Gaming, Governance, Privacy & Identity, and AI
To Jam with us as a Creator, Technologist, or Wild Card, you need be Cyberjam Verified after joining our waitlist.
This hackathon is capped at five teams of five Jammers (maximum 25) due to the fantastically experimental and unique nature of the event. There will be a waitlist (sign up here!) and we will have backups for our backups.
Cyberjam has been spotlighting a Creator or team of creatives from our community in the monthly ETHChicago for a while now (https://paragraph.xyz/@ethchicago); if you’d like to nominate someone (or invite them to join as a Jammer) tag https://x.com/Cyberjam_Art on Twitter or reach out to cyberjam.art@gmail.com!
Upcoming Events
Gear up for a week of learning, coding, and connection with ETHChicago! Whether you're a dev ready to tackle technical challenges in our Starknet-themed capture-the-flag shmoozefest (with awesome prizes up for grabs), or simply looking to volunteer, help out, or hang with like-minded innovators at our community coworking day, there’s something for everyone. Join us and be part of the action!
Sept 24 - Building at Starknet Speed
Sept 25 - Community Cowork Day
For a full list of upcoming community events and to submit your own event, check out our Luma calendar below:
Until next time,
The ETHChicago Core Team
Stay up to date with us on social:
X: (@0xETHChicago)
Instagram: (0xETHChicago)
Warpcast: (ETHChicago)
