Ethereum 2030: Global Web3 Leaders Explore Innovation Amid Devconnect

Bing Ventures, a Singapore-based early-stage venture capital and research firm, hosted a major gathering of more than 300 blockchain and Web3 leaders and participants in an event titled “Ethereum 2030: Unraveling Tomorrow’s Innovations” on November 15, 2023, in Istanbul. 

Set against Devconnect 2023, a week-long gathering that features independent Ethereum events, Ethereum 2030 convenes both international and local experts to explore the next wave of innovations shaping the future of Ethereum and a new generation of crypto entrepreneurship. 

Here’s what global leaders had to say about Ethereum and the broader blockchain and Web3 ecosystem. 

TradFi Players to Increasingly Integrate On-chain Solutions 

In a panel discussion on decentralized finance (DeFi), speakers explored recent changes in the DeFi market structure and some promising new narratives. Dougie DeLuca, Investor at Figment Capital mentioned the fact that DeFi protocols are becoming MEV conscious, which could be a huge thing and make the whole system way more profitable. Anne-Grace Kleczewski, Co-Founder and Chief Legal Officer at Keom Protocol shared her opinion about why zero-knowledge proofs and account abstraction technologies have great potential in DeFi. Luca (Moss) Mossini, BD at Avantgarde and Enzyme Finance, emphasized the importance of having more traditional finance (TradFi) players integrating on-chain solutions because some could continue to be the last-mile access for users. 

They also talked about the rise of liquid staking derivatives and whether the current state of Ethereum staking had a concentration issue. Other topics covered include real-world assets, growing awareness of DeFi, restaking solutions, and the ongoing battle to reach the masses. 

The panel discussion was moderated by Daria Krasnova, Managing Editor at BeInCrypto and participated by Dougie DeLuca, Investor at Figment Capital, Luca (Moss) Mossini, BD at Avantgarde & Enzyme Finance, Anne-Grace Kleczewski, Co-Founder and Chief Legal Officer at Keom Protocol, Mete (Ali) Başkaya, Blockchain & Crypto Lecturer and Seraphim Czecker, Head of Growth at Ethena Labs. 

AI-powered Builder Identification 

Jack He, Co-founder of Aspecta shared how they are leveraging AI technologies like large language models (LLM) and image recognition to build an identity solution for builders to consolidate their behavior data across different platforms. 

Aspecta enables builders to create LinkedIn-like identity pages and credentials to showcase their skills, experience, and impact, which the team believes fills an important gap and helps to facilitate growth and collaboration among different developer ecosystems. 

Collaboration among Security Solution Providers Needed 

In a panel discussion on Web3 security, security experts from MetaMask Snaps, Matter Labs, Certik, DTS Project, and MetaTrust Labs shared their observations as to the current state of Web3 security and some of the emerging threats. 

From a technical perspective, they also shared some cutting-edge solutions designed to safeguard the Web3 ecosystem and the lessons learned from the high-profile hacks in the last year. 

Anıl Öz, Chief Technology Officer at DATS Project emphasized that he thought every cyber security service provider should collaborate and share their knowledge to build a safer and more secure Web3 future. 

Lastly, they talked about how individuals can effectively guard against personal losses by using tools such as browser extensions and Metamask’s Blockaid security alerts, an experimental function to be standardized in Q1 2024. 

The panel discussion was moderated by Sima Baktas, Web3 Attorney at GlobalB Law and Co-Founder of CryptoFemale, Anton Astafiev, VP of Security at Matter Labs, Christian Montoya, Senior Product Owner at MetaMask Snaps, Connie Lam, Head of Solution Architect at CertiK, Anıl Öz, Chief Technology Officer at DATS Project and TY Shao, Chief Business Officer at MetaTrust Labs. 

Crypto Entrepreneurs Gaining Valuable Experience during the Bear Market 

In a panel discussion on crypto entrepreneurship, global and local project leaders shared their firsthand experience of building cryptocurrency businesses. While they highlighted challenges such as user education, lack of service providers, lack of prior examples to draw upon as well as legal and regulatory uncertainties, they shared an opinion that building products that solve real-world problems, focusing on user experiences, and finding creative ways to collaborate with other players are critical strategies founders should prioritize to navigate through these challenges.   

Commenting on the phenomenon that many crypto entrepreneurs are pivoting to AI to capture venture capital’s interest, Bertuğ Oymak, Co-Founder and CEO of Utilify noted that entrepreneurs should build products for their customers instead of investors. He advised startups to “ride the hype” when necessary but always build the war chest for survival as founders will eventually have to face a bear market. 

Arif Kalem, Brand Ambassador of Turkey at BingX added to underline that marketing and communications is a non-stop process and should not be undervalued in bear markets. 

Commenting on Turkey’s crypto landscape, Erkan Gül, Founder of Moseiki App mentioned that the number of trader communities is too high compared to builder communities, but the transformation is underway. 

The panel discussion was moderated by Özge ERDEMİR, Web3 Advisor, Business Developer, and participated by Bertuğ Oymak, Co-Founder and CEO of Utilify, Erkan Gül, Founder of Moseiki App, Victor Yu, Co-Founder of Carv and Arif Kalem, Brand Ambassador of Turkey at BingX. 

A New Paradigm to Secure Protocols and LP Assets on Ethereum 

Yajin (Andy) Zhou, CEO of Blocksec launched Phalcon Block, an automated attack-blockchain system, at the conference. Phalcon Block offers an integrated solution that combines protocol monitoring, attack blocking, and incident response, ensuring secure operations of protocols after they go live. He introduced that Phalcon Block has been developed and internally operated for two years and during this period, it has blocked over 20 attack incidents and helped protocols recover over $14 million worth of digital asset losses. 

The event, also featuring keynote speakers including Volkan KORKMAZ, CEO and Co-Founder of Altcointurk, Azeem Khan, Head of Impact at Gitcoin, and Fatih Taşdemir, Co-Founder of Koin Bülteni, presented attendees with an impactful fall day of knowledge sharing, inspiration, and enthusiasm. 

In another demonstration of Bing Ventures’ commitment to hosting meaningful events empowering founders, Ethereum 2030 was organized in partnership with crypto exchange BingX and supported by partners including Bankless Ventures, Figment Capital, Gitcoin, OneKey, Cedro Finance, Aspecta, Alchemy Pay, CryptoFemale, Altcointurk, Cointelegraph, BeinCrypto, Voice of Crypto, Bitcoin Insider, Unlock Blockchain, PANews, Coinpedia, Koinbülteni, and Muhabbit. 

About Devconnect 

Devconnect is a week-long gathering that features independent Ethereum events, each with a unique focus. Unlike a usual conference, the goal is to facilitate the deep discussions and conversations that are needed to continue to improve Ethereum. 

About Bing Ventures 

Bing Ventures is a pioneering venture capital firm that backs startups and entrepreneurs driving the next wave of Web3 and blockchain innovations. Its team of crypto veterans and natives collectively brings decades of experience in investing in, incubating, developing, and marketing Web 3.0 projects. With a sector-agnostic, value-investing approach, it now has a portfolio spanning infrastructure, DeFi, GameFi, DAOs, Web3, and more.