devcon

I spent 7 days in Bangkok.

Apart from meeting people, enjoying food (the red curry was seriously spicy), and taking the BTS Skytrain — which was much faster than my friends' taxis…

I had a fantastic time at Devcon. As I head back to Zurich, I wanted to share my 13 takeaways👇

Developer 🤓 build, develop and operate Farcaster solutions @ dtech.vision also love tech, decentralization, fitness and oldschool rap 😎

1) The vibe: Devcon is truly the largest gathering of Ethereum builders — with over 12500 attendees. During the event, crypto was soaring to new all-time highs but I barely noticed it.
What I did notice, however, was the sense of connection at the conference —  the smiles, warm hugs, and the chance to rekindle old friendships while forming new ones. Loved the energy!

2) Registration worked perfectly. The entire talk schedule was visible on the web app. Food was great — again, that red curry was definitely too spicy! The venue was easy to navigate, with clear labels and signs. Everything was smooth. Huge thanks to the Devcon team! Great job!

3) “Oh, I am not a dev.” I met so many non-technical attendees saying this.  Some were here because their friends were and most were eager to build something. This made me think how Devcon attracts people with the builder mindset — regardless of the technical background.

5) The question “When can you buy coffee with Ethereum?” came up frequently. In the past, this was about solving technical issues like fees and transaction speed. Now, the question is more about adoption. How can we make Ethereum a daily part of consumers’ lives? This is great!

6) Stablecoins are still the key: Stablecoins has been a driving force in pulling people into Ethereum — nothing new here but this was discussed again and again. Why? Because they are the easiest in accounting (foreign asset — not capital asset) and provide a 1:1 mapping to a value both consumers and businesses are used to — whether it is their local currency or the US dollar.

There was so much going on — so many tracks, so many sessions, and so many people moving around at Devcon this year. Between all this, I felt some important topics were left unaddressed: 👇

7) On “showcasing” Ethereum: It still surprises me that no one was talking about "showcasing" at the conference. What was missing from the discussion was how to actually build the apps, where to build them, and, most importantly, how to get them into the hands of consumers? How do you showcase them? How can we showcase the unique features in a way that it resonates with the users?

8) The App Store challenge: Even in 2024, Apple and Google — the two dominant players — still don’t play nicely with crypto. Yet we celebrate whenever a crypto app makes it to the App Store or Google Play Store. The reason is simple: a large concentration of consumers are in these app aggregators. So the challenge is: How can developers successfully get into these major app aggregators?

9) The App Store challenge: Even in 2024, Apple and Google — the two dominant players — still don’t play nicely with crypto. Yet we celebrate whenever a crypto app makes it to the App Store or Google Play Store. The reason is simple: a large concentration of consumers are in these app aggregators. So the challenge is: How can developers successfully get into these major app aggregators?

10) How to build a sustainable app? Currently, many Web3 ecosystems rely on “bribing” consumers with incentives but this approach is short-lived. To build lasting engagement, we need to rethink how we create value for users beyond just financial rewards. This is the real challenge that was unaddressed: How to build apps that are sustainable in the long run?

11) Telegram is the default “contact” exchange: While Telegram's TON blockchain might be viewed skeptically in the Ethereum world, the numbers don’t lie. Telegram is also a tool everyone uses. It has become the default platform for communication and contact exchange at these crypto events. Why not leverage it to onboard users? This is worth thinking. In fact, this also brings me to my next point:

12) The Power of mini apps. In many ways, most of the things we saw — from the challenges of “showcasing” to onboarding large chunk of users — can be resolved by taking the mini app route. Beyond Telegram’s mini app, platforms like Farcaster, Lens, and XMTP are also worth exploring.

Farcaster, in particular, stands out with full web app support within the main client, boasting over 50,000 daily active users. Additionally, its lightweight app standard, Frames, allows for quick and easy app development. Both Frames and Mini Apps on Farcaster allow transactions and message signing to bring Ethereum and the whole onchain world to consumers. Maybe I will write more about this later.

13) Putting Faces to Names: Lastly, the highlight for me was to reconnect with people and having the chance to meet others face-to-face for the first time. It was a special moment to turn online profiles into real-life connections and strengthen these relationships.

Hugely appreciate @horsefacts.eth and @ted leading the Farcaster booth and motivating me to fly out to Bangkok! Definitely looking forward to Devcon next year!

4) Devcon introduced the Real World Ethereum track for the first time. What stood out to me was how Ethereum is set to move beyond just finance. It will be evolving into a technology that will resemble a more classic tech adoption — rather than a bubble.