Devcon is an intensive introduction for new Ethereum explorers, a global family reunion for those already a part of our ecosystem, and a source of energy and creativity for all.
We host Devcon to educate and empower the community to build and use decentralized systems. It is a conference for builders of all kinds.
Our goal is to push the boundaries of possibility in our mission to bring decentralized protocols, tools, and culture to the world. Programming covers content ranging from the deeply technical to the profoundly human.
DEVCON
DEVCON
Devcon always had a heavy technical focus to it, and this will remain true this year and into the future (it’s the DEVelopers CONference after all!). Though Ethereum is a technological breakthrough in its own right, its applications reach much further, into digital economy, research, community, art, and beyond.
Devcon is not only for developers, it is for builders of all kinds: engineers, designers, researchers, infrastructure operators, community organizers, social economists, artists, and more. So we want to invite everyone who is looking to build and create to improve our existing world using Ethereum and decentralized systems.
Ethereum Foundation Values
Aya Miyaguchi, Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation, discusses the values, philosophy, structure & purpose of the EF, as well as her history & thoughts on decentralization, and urges us to remember why we continue to build Ethereum.
Aya Miyaguchi
The Web We Want
Brewster Kahle discusses the Internet Archive's history & attempt at decentralization, the technology that's currently in place, and what's needed from the community. He also discusses the benefits of decentralization, the steps that will need to be taken to get there, and the challenges we'll need to overcome on the way. The presentation is followed by a Q&A session.
Brewster Kahle
We could host Devcon in the same place every year, sure! But we’re working toward achieving a goal of bringing Ethereum to communities around the world, and to places where it can have real impact today.
“The difference between Argentina and some of the wealthier countries is that in wealthier places, there are people who are excited about crypto ideas and theory, but people here deeply understand that crypto is solving real problems.” — Vitalik Buterin
Ethereum isn’t merely a technical solution, but a community. While blockchain communities in Europe and North America are already strong and vivid, we can have a big impact today in newly developing communities.
Living On Defi
Living in Argentina but getting paid in Dai, I can access financial systems that are usually not available to us. I want to show how Ethereum's DeFi movement has been working fine for the last 2 years, by leveraging Dai and secondary lending platforms, and how that is changing the financial reality for people in developing economies. Someone in South America getting paid in crypto can access more stable currencies than their local ones, with better interest rates, and this is all happening right now, and scaling right now.
Mariano Conti
Money At The Edge: How People Stay Afloat in Venezuela
The Open Money Initiative has gone into the field to understand how Venezuelans survive in the midst of heavy capital controls, criminalization of free markets, and hyperinflation. We'll share stories from places like Cúcuta, where worthless bills are used as art and home decor, and Caracas, where individuals are saving in bitcoin, trading it for local currency only at times of essential purchases. We'll discuss concepts for products and services in places where regimes have a tight grip on society, and how they relate to cryptocurrency.
Alejandro Machado
Money is the killer Ðapp: crypto in Venezuela
We want to talk about real-world cryptocurrency use in avoiding forex controls, preserving one's wealth while fleeing an authoritarian regime, and escaping hyperinflation. Venezuela is in a deep economic crisis of its own making: relentless money printing and disastrous fiscal policies have brought the country to the edge of collapse. Eduardo will tell his own story of people using cryptocurrency as an unstoppable store of value and medium of exchange. Alejandro will recount how the crypto community, including projects like Zcash, BitcoinVenezuela.com, and MakerDAO, are researching how to allow Venezuelans to gain access to open money that, unlike the dying bolívar, will not consistently depreciate 50%+ each month, and that anybody could use.
Alejandro Machado, Eduardo Gomez
Share your ideas & improve Devcon
We are always striving to improve Devcon for everyone, and we love dogfooding Ethereum projects. The "Devcon Improvement Proposals" (DIPs) are your opportunity to share your ideas, and make a proposal on how to improve Devcon!