ETHDenver 2024 was outstanding, with over 15k attendees swimming in a landscape filled with presenters, networking opportunities, a roaming giant squid (there was an aquatic theme), and — of course — side events galore (more on that in a minute).

Coinage, Blockworks and CoinDesk all had great coverage worth checking out.

The momentum is coming back to Ethereum – and not in a frothy way. The hype was actually relatively muted at ETH Denver this year. It was still way more “build” and way less “when Lambo.”

— Zack Guzman, Coinage

From the Unlock side of things, the focus was on real use cases for real events and bringing developers and creators onchain through mentorship and grants.

Events! Events! Events!

Unlock brought nearly two dozen events onchain at ETHDenver 2024! These included:

Pizza Castle with PizzaDAO

The Pizza Castle event hosted by PizzaDAO at ETHDenver 2024 took place on February 28th at The Sports Castle, including pre-event activities such as "How to DAO" and the Bored Silly Comedy Show.

Lots of pizza and lots of great conversation with nearly 1,000 of our best friends, entertainment, skateboard stunts and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — what wasn’t there to like?

Law at the Limits with Metacartel and LexDAO

MetaCartel and LexDAO convened a day of legal panels, discussions, and attendee driven workshops. Topics included the future of DAO governance, DAOs as human/AI coordination, infosec and exploit law, Network States vs Nation States, and other relevant areas for the DAO ecosystem.

The venue for Law at the Limits was ah-maze-ing…

The Sixth Annual ETHDenver Poker Tournament

An ETHDenver tradition, this year’s tournament had 18 poker tables and room for up to 162 players to compete for their share of prize pool, with a 0.5 ETH buy-in.

The event was powered by Virtue Poker, which implemented the buy-in and registration process for all participants using Unlock Protocol.

Innovator x Creative Social from SparxLabs

The Innovation x Creative Social event from SparxLabs broke down the silos between technology and the arts, and created a vibrant space for collaboration, inspiration, and forward-thinking dialogue. Unlock Ambassador Lana Dingwall participated in a spirited discussion around creativity.

Glass and Legal Advice Day at The Furnace

The hottest offsite event at ETHDenver 2024 (literally) was the Glass and Legal Advice Day at The Furnace, Denver’s premier glass blowing and creative space.

Experts from around the industry gathered to discuss a wide variety of legal topics in an incredibly unique environment. Topics and participants included discussions of:

• Marshall Island entities with MIDAO

• Legal engineering with LexBlock

• Donor-advised-funds with Endaoment

• Tax advantaged retirement capital with Athenic

• On-chain governance with Q.org

Meetups with Privy and CharmVerse

Friends and family from Privy and CharmVerse met at respective events celebrate building together onchain.

EduDAO Gatherings, Brunches and VIP Events

EduDAO curated a week-long series of gatherings, brunches, and VIP events that gave builders exclusive access, ensuring they were in the company of like-minded individuals deeply passionate about blockchain and Ethereum.

Connect, Fuel Up, and Recharge with Scroll

Scroll hosted an all-day event lounge at Edge City Denver to energize ETHDenver attendees for the nonstop conference days with coffee, coworking, workshops, and even an ice bath to Connect, Learn, and Recharge.

Decentralized Dialogues: A New Era of DAO Governance with Daobase

Daobase hosted "Decentralized Dialogues: A New Era of DAO Governance," a meetup that explored the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in DAO governance.

Around the rest of ETHDenver 2024

In addition to the events that Unlock brought onchain noted above, the Unlock crew participated in many other presentations and activities as well.

Highlights included the Farcaster meetup, and a notable panel featuring Base’s Jesse Pollak, Coinage’s Zack Guzman, and Optimism’s Tess Rinearson. This year’s focus on substantial, in-person interactions represented a shift from previous conventions, moving towards more meaningful community engagement.

The contributions of Unlock ambassadors, such as Captain Southpaw’s mentoring during BUIDL week and Lana Dingwall’s active participation in Sparx and Schelling Point, showcased the protocol community’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of blockchain enthusiasts and builders. Lana and Captain Southpaw's involvement highlighted the importance of mentorship and direct participation in events that drive the Ethereum ecosystem forward.

In all, ETHDenver 2024 was a remarkable event featuring a wide array of activities and experiences for attendees, and the Unlock team was glad to play a role in various presentations, mentorship sessions, and bringing events onchain.

The focus on substantial, in-person interactions signifies a shift towards more meaningful community engagement, and without qualification, ETHDenver 2024 was an unqualified success, showcasing the growing momentum within the Ethereum ecosystem.

Looking forward to ETHDenver 2025!