ETHDenver 2024: The Opportunities and Future of Open Source in Blockchain World

The crypto world offers a wealth of subjects for study and learning everyday, coupled with continuous development. This presents a significant opportunity, especially for individuals interested in Web3 and Blockchain. One remarkable event in this industry is ETHDenver 2024, a prominent gathering focused on Web3. This event provides a platform for developers, investors and enthusiasts from diverse industries to learn, collaborate and innovate within the Web3 community by SporkDAO who is a primary supporter of ETHDenver.



                                                                                Image credit : www.ethdenver.com

This article explores the ETHDenver event, its role within the community, and looking for insights into open-source support in the Crypto world.

Get to know ETHDenver

ETHDenver is one of the world's largest Web3 events, featuring a #BUIDLathon hackathon focused on Ethereum. This event brings together Web3 developers and blockchain protocol enthusiasts to collaborate, learn, and build innovative projects on Ethereum.

ETHDenver's unique aspect lies in its community ownership. Founded in 2018, it has become known as a Community Innovation Festival. The event brings together the blockchain technology community, decentralization research, art and unique cultural experiences.

Beyond the popular #BUIDLathon, ETHDenver offers an Open Source environment for anyone interested in building (#BUIDLing) decentralized applications (dApps) or other projects. Participants can contribute to writing white papers, designing UX/UI, creating infographics, or simply learn, connect and become part of the vibrant Web3 community.

ETHDenver 2024 event schedule was divided into 3 sections

• Kicking off with #BUIDLWeek, ETHDenver offered a packed schedule of live workshops on blockchain and Web3, along with bootcamps, mini-summits, and community networking parties.
• Arriving at The Main Event, a gathering of over 20,000 SporkDAO community members, provided a chance to showcase creations, learn from each other, and collaboratively build innovation in Denver.
• ETHDenver concluded with the MTN Retreat, a relaxing and social activity for participants in Colorado. This offered opportunities for skiing, enjoying food and drinks as well as engaging in discussions about blockchain topics.

ETHDenver and Possibility for Ethereum Ecosystem

ETHDenver organizes a dedicated #BUIDL Festival zone, which fosters the Ethereum ecosystem by bringing together supporters, creators, and developers. It also features an educational area for those interested in learning more.

For instance, the SPONSOR SHILLAGES zone provides a platform for supporters and developers in the blockchain world to showcase their creations. These creations can take various forms, including:

• Defi, NFTs & Gaming in Futureverse
• Infrastructure & Scalability in DevTopia
• Identity, Privacy & Security in Privacyville
• Impact & Public Goods, covering SDGs and Refi in Regenlandia
• DAOs & Communities in Daotown

Providing MakerSpace to offer a unique opportunity for attendees to learn, experiment, and create through various crypto projects. This includes exploring Crypto Art and VR Spaces and even prototyping innovative combinations of blockchain and art through workshops and Hackathons held within the event.

The MakerSpace fostered interesting projects like "AI // Error Art Experiments," where Italian artist Mattia Cuttini shares his opinion of artistic endeavor and the potential for failure in AI-generated art. Another highlight was "The Art of Chaos," a workshop by Bruno Skvorc of RMRK.app, for participants seeking the skills to mint NFTs on Kusama.

ETHDenver also features a dedicated Blockchain Arcade zone for Web3 gaming. This space welcomes game developers and anyone interested in experiencing and experimenting with cutting-edge Web3 games developed in ETHDenver’s community. It also serves as an educational hub, showcasing the evolution and possibilities of Web3 gaming.

Examples of some exciting games being showcased include Aavegotchi, which allows players to collect and earn crypto by staking NFT avatars in the Aavegotchi metaverse. Another highlight was Cellula, an on-chain life simulator game where players strategize for survival. Additionally, Chibi Clash offered a unique experience by blending AI technology with Web3 gameplay.

ETHDenver, recognizing the growing interest in artscene, also featured a captivating Art Gallery. This space blurred the lines between the physical and digital worlds, showcasing various art forms with a cyberpunk aesthetic. Participants could even scan QR codes and view NFTs on giant screens too.

SporkDAO, The Supporters of ETHDenver

SporkDAO is the driving force behind ETHDenver's evolution into a decentralized community-owned event. SporkDAO’s ecosystem allows members to utilize the $SPORK token for various functionalities, including participation in governance and potentially using it for ETHDenver investments.

SporkDAO's ecosystem extends beyond ETHDenver. Comprising 4 subsidiaries, known as Prongs, that operate in various domains within the SporkDAO ecosystem.

In addition to ETHDenver, SporkDAO also supports other events such as:

• The ColoradoJam, Sandbox, and Incubator project collaborates with Governor Jared Polis of Colorado to identify and cultivate Blockchain and Web3 innovations for the state's infrastructure.
• Bufficorn Ventures, a venture capital firm supporting community and Hackathon participants advancing to the Seed stage.

ETHDenver, a community-owned innovation festival powered by SporkDAO, has a mission to #BUIDL (build) Denver, Colorado into a hub for Ethereum and blockchain innovation. In support of the Web3 community, SporkDAO raised over $10 million through investments in projects that emerged from ETHDenver 2024.

Open Source as the Backbone of Cryptocurrencies World

Events like ETHDenver pave the way for a stronger open-source movement.  By fostering community participation and supporting the development of a decentralized world on the Ethereum ecosystem, these events contribute to a more robust and innovative future.

In the realm of Open Source, individuals may already be familiar with its uses across various decentralized platforms operating on blockchain technology. Open Source serves as the public domain in the online sphere, granting everyone the ability to code, modify, design, and create diverse works using decentralized applications, programs and platforms, all without charge. It stands as the backbone of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and numerous other cryptocurrency tokens.

Open source software stands out from traditional, proprietary code. In open source, the code is publicly available, allowing “anyone” to use, modify, and create their own projects. This fosters an equal collaborative environment, similar to cryptocurrencies where token creators retain control of their creations. Unlike traditional fiat systems, where users rely on centralized institutions like banks, open source empowers individuals and fosters innovation in the cryptocurrency space.

Many people are familiar with Open Source in terms of Software, often abbreviated as OSS ( Open Source Software), which refers to software developed collaboratively by programmers worldwide. This development happens publicly, with the source code readily available for anyone to improve or optimize according to specific needs. Blockchain also builds upon this open source philosophy by creating a space where anyone can join a community and contribute to various projects. This includes decentralized applications (dApps), programs, platforms, innovative solutions, and decentralized products. Therefore, Open Source serves as the backbone for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, along with others.

Open Source offers several advantages for development in the world of crypto, including: 

• Verifiable: Because the code for cryptocurrencies written with Open Source is publicly available, any developers can examine it for vulnerabilities to make corrections and optimize it, addressing the risk of stolen tokens and a single person controlling the blockchain.

• Transparent and Secure: Since public code allows anyone to verify functionality and understand operations, fostering credibility. Additionally, a global developer community can better scrutinize the code for vulnerability and bugs correction, leading to a more secure system.

• Allow Fork Modification: Fork is an act of splitting protocol on Blockchain, deviating into a new system using the original Blockchain protocol but modifying it for new directions. For example, Ethereum protocol was forked after it was hacked in 2016, resulting in the current usage of Ethereum on updated protocol.

• Innovative Creation: Forking a blockchain fosters innovation, enabling the creation of new protocols like Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin SV (BSV), both developed to address the demand for faster transactions and higher volumes compared to Bitcoin.

Open Source’s Challenges and Collaboration within Community

Even though Open source aids decentralization by fostering equal collaboration. The products on the Blockchain landscape face a growing tension. The involvement of large corporations and short-term speculation by investors can lead to centralization, creating instability within the crypto ecosystem. This raises a concern for various individuals asking if the crypto world truly lives up to its decentralized ideals?

However, the Ethereum team aims to take decentralization a step further and create a truly decentralized internet. In the current model, large corporations like Facebook, Twitter (X), TikTok, and Google control most applications, user data and even dictate the boundaries within their own online communities.

While financial products are a major driver of blockchain innovation. We're seeing established TradFi players like JPMorgan, Fidelity and even central banks of various nationalities exploring its applications. Additionally, prominent centralized finance (CeFi) platforms like Coinbase and Binance are actively shaping the world of cryptocurrencies.

Similar to social media platforms, Centralized Finance (CeFi) controls and regulates user data and transactions which often results in higher fees. This has propelled the popularity of Decentralized Finance (DeFi), which offers transparency through Smart Contracts and empowers users with autonomy over their data.

Nevertheless, the growing number of DeFi users also attracted bad actors, leading to an increase in scams, stolen assets, investment fraud and ransomware attacks. These incidents have resulted in significant financial losses, with Chainalysis reporting over $31 billion and $11 billion in stolen assets from DeFi platforms in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Solution to these issues lies in a collaborative effort from the community and regulators to assist in the safety of the system.

While innovative products like DeFi are constantly evolving, their growing popularity comes with a downside. Increased usage has attracted scammers, leading to incidents of asset theft, investment fraud, and ransomware attacks. These recent events have resulted in millions of dollars in losses.

Events like ETHDenver go beyond showcasing talented crypto developers. They foster collaboration between regulatory organizations and crypto communities, sparking discussions on legal frameworks, safety measures, regulations, and sustainability. Additionally, these events highlight the potential for secure software and products emerging from the blockchain community itself.

Beyond ETHDenver, SporkDAO collaborates with the State of Colorado through the ColoradoJam project. This initiative also supports the legalization and regulation of Web3 businesses and blockchain technology within the state.

In addition to SporkDAO and ETHDenver, the Hyperledger Foundation also stands out as another significant open-source platform. This non-profit organization supports the blockchain ecosystem by offering an open-source platform for developers worldwide, fostering a secure and regulated environment for collaborative blockchain development. This initiative is conducted in collaboration with the Linux Foundation.

Furthermore, various Open Source landscapes provide abundant resources for developers to contribute to the broader blockchain ecosystem. With projects developed in Python, C++, and Java, there are enticing opportunities to learn, experiment, and showcase diverse projects.

Sources: ETHDenver, DAOCentral, CoinDesk, SecurityIntelligence, ECB, Hyperledger, BeInCrypto, Masterthecrypto, Rocket.chat