EthCC 5 Paris – Conference Summary

About the EthCC 5 Paris Conference

Ethereum Community Conference is the largest annual European Ethereum event focused on technology and community. In 2022, the conference took place in Maison de la Mutualité, Paris, between 19th & 21st of July.

EthCC Paris’ primary purpose is to share and transmit knowledge in the most effective way to build a positive and flourishing ecosystem. Therefore, EthCC covered many subjects and touched on different levels of blockchain technology via conferences and workshops.

EthCC Paris Welcomed: 

• Over 1,200 attendees
• 40 annual sponsors
• Over 250 speakers
• 60+ side events 

Image credits: EthCC

EthCC Paris Speakers:

• Hsuan-Ting Chu from Furucombo
• A.J. Warner from Offchain Labs (Arbitrum)
• Mounir Benchemled from ParaSwap
• Natalie Chin from  Trail of Bits
• Christian Seifert from Forta Protocol
• Stani Kulechov from Aave / Len
• Vitalik Buterin from the Ethereum Foundation
• Christoph Jentzsch from Corpus Ventures – GasHawk
• William O’Rorke from ORWL
• Leopold Sayous from Sismo
• Kevin Lambert from Ledger
• Alejandro Miranda from The Infinite Machine
• Guillaume Tormo from Ubisoft
• Jacob Martin from JTM Tech Law / 2 Punks Capital
• Samuel Goldfaden from DLT LAW

Image credits: EthCC

EthCC Paris Agenda 

For those attending in real life or via livestream, the conference presented three intense packed days with 270+ talks. Day 1 and 2 both offered over 100 talks each, whilst day 3 gave a choice of ~70 talks to learn from.
The topics covered almost everything an Ethereum ecosystem member would need from Ethereum layers, legal, gaming, security & privacy, enterprise EthVC, Governance, Web 3.0, NFTs,  UX/UI, Decentralised Finance, UX/UI, Blockchain for good and many more..

The conference kicked off with an opening ceremony hosted by the EthCC team. Shortly after, everyone was getting ready to listen to the first-panel talk of the day, which was about DAOs. Hilary Kivitz hosted a panel talk about DAOs and other protective governance questions. 

The second day brought, among others, a helpful workshop about building secure contracts. It allowed participants to learn code invariants and get insights into what is behind the interface. 

The last day was highlighted by other workshops, panel talks, and the official after-party.

1st Day 19th July

Should DAOs have Poison Pills and Other Protective Governance Questions with Hilary Kivitz – Crypto/Web3 Investor and Advisor.

The first day at ETHCC Paris started with a talk about DAOs, which have value and possess valuable transferable assets.

Hilary Kivitz talked about how you can grow a robust DAO community while protecting it against exploitative behavior from short-term participants and what community members can learn from wall street governance.

Workshop: The problem with Cross-Chain Governance with Odysseas. Eth from Radicle.

This workshop covered how the multi-chain world is here to stay and how protocols deploy on many chains. For this, a decentralized and secure cross-chain governance is needed as a solution, but obviously, there is difficulty with optimal performance. 

There have been attempts for effective cross-chain control for DAOs, but at present, most of them have been insecure.

A best practice would be to introduce a secure messaging channel and a standardized interface for accepting cross-chain calls. 

Talk: Moonbeam: Combining Ethereum-Compatibility and Polkadot’s Interoperability Across Ecosystems with Derek Yoo from Moonbeam/PureStake.

As a top destination for multi-chain dApps, Moonbeam combines the familiar and easy usability tool of Ethereum and the ascendable structure of Polkadot.

During this talk, members of the Ethereum community learned about multi-chain see cases in development and deployment and dived into the interoperable deployments on Moonbeam.

2nd Day 20th July

Talk: Building Regenerative Culture with Beth McCarthy from Toucan.

The second day brings Beth McCarthy to discuss the regenerative finance and sustainability of Web3. Building regenerative culture across organizations represents a critical part of the regenerative finance/sustainable Web3 space. 

Beth McCarthy shares their commitment to designing additive systems at Toucan, which result in positive and virtuous cycles and generate extensible practices in their internal team. 

The primary focus of their work is on “cultural debt.” 

This talk session focuses on identifying, addressing, and creating solid systems for teams that want to increase the positive impact and reduce burnout and attrition.

Talk: Exploring “Legal Wrappers” for DAOs with Rodrigo Seira from Paradigm.

During this talk, there was a comparison between different legal structures projected on the Ethereum network and how the variety of addresses the potential liability of DAOs participants and their compatibility with decentralized governance.

Workshop: Building secure contracts: How to use fuzzing like a pro with Josselin Feist & Natalie Chin from Trail of Bits.

This workshop allowed participants to gain experience in Echidna, an open-source smart contract fuzzer.

Participants had the opportunity to learn code invariants, how to write them, and how to efficiently use Echidna to verify them. By the end of this session, participants understood how to write code security properties, how property testing works, and how to use fuzzer effectively.

3rd Day 21st July 

The conference’s final day brought more workshops and talks to wrap up the EthCC Paris Conference event. 

Workshop: Gamification of Utility-Building Public Goods with Joshua Lapidus from Opolis / SporkDAO.

Joshua Lapidus talked about Opolis and how they aim to build a global public utility for employment that offers members payroll and health insurance for cheaper while making the members owners of the cooperative. 

Joshua stated that even though this can be “boring” to some, it is critical to have this reliable infrastructure. 

Talk: The Merge – Bringing Ethereum to Proof of Stake with Sajida Zouarhi.

Image credits: EthCC

This talk offered an overview of the Merge architecture from the Ethereum client perspective and covered what will change and stay the same in Ethereum.  

What to expect and what will impact node runners on dApps users, and how to get ready for the Merge and contribute to its effort were covered during this talk. 

Talk: Web3 Won’t Be The Money Layer of the Internet if Consumers Think It’s an Earth-Destroying Scam: Four Ways to Change the Narrative with James Beck from ConsenSys.

The last talk of the final day was hosted by James Beck, who shared many insights. He spoke about how Web3 broke through in 2021. 

NFT started to be in trend, and more than half a million people purchased one; celebrities set their profile pictures to Bored Apes, and there were even crypto commercials at the Super Bowl- that is how much recognition was given to the Web3 in the past year and currently. 

Despite all the attention and money invested in the industry, the Morning Consult survey shares that 83% of people are familiar with crypto, but only 26% have a favorable opinion.

Image credits: Anphi Poissy

James Beck shared his views on how to continue the progress of Web3 in 2022. He firstly shared that there is a need to celebrate inspiring stories of creativity, entrepreneurship, and sovereignty enabled through decentralized technologies with real-life examples.

 Then James shared how ConsenSys conducts the first-ever survey to understand people’s opinions on Web3. Due to Ethereum’s Proof of Stake this year, focusing on the required energy reduction through partnerships with University researchers will aid in winning ESG-conscious consumers and companies. 

Lastly, ConsenSys’ work on MetaMask Learn is aimed at onboarding into Web3 as people rely more on educational resources on cryptocurrency than recommendations from friends and family.

Side Events

There were a variety of side events at Ethcc Paris. Here are a few of the side events before and after the conference:

• Defi Dev VIP Party
• StarkCon Mixer event 
• EthCC Rooftop Opening Party 2022 by DeFiYield
• Community & Drinks with Moonbeam, Boba, and Stella Swap
• Sunset Mirage – Yacht Party
• Smash Bros Tournament Paris 2022
• BNV Presents: Where Fashion Meets The Metaverse Party
• Invest, Collab & Research | Web3 Builder Party
• The EthCC Official After Party
• Paris Web3 Week and EthCC Hackathon Closing Party
• rAAVe Paris edition – one not to miss!

Before the EthCC

Defi Dev VIP Party

The pre-dinner party was hosted by Railgun DAO, a few minutes from “Place de la Bastille.” The party kicked off the festivities in Paris for the Eth Community Conference.

The event was full of shows, including hip-hop dancers and swing jazz.

Image credits: Eventbrite

StarkCon Mixer event 

StarkCon organized an informal evening to meet the StarkNet community on the eve of EthCC Paris!

StarkNet fans have shared stories and experiences with a panoramic view of Paris in the background.

The event was also organized to socialize with builders, protocols, founders, and investors of the fastest-growing ecosystem on L2!

The party was supported by:

1. ZKX Protocol
2. StarkWare
3. zkLend
4. Braavos
5. Orange DAO
6. Quantstamp

Image credits: Eventbrite

EthCC Rooftop Opening Party 2022 by DeFiYield

The event was an incredible opportunity to connect with thought leaders, investors, and founders in the DeFi space, Crypto, Blockchain, and Web3.

EthCC Rooftop Opening Party was an event not to be missed!

 Those who managed to purchase the ticket had the opportunity to connect with other crypto fanatics who are leading some of the most innovative projects in the crypto and DeFi space.

The finest food and beverages were served to participants during this event. Everything was accompanied by a rooftop view of Paris and an environment full of activities and cryptic vibrations.

Image credits: Eventbrite

July 19th

Community & Drinks with Moonbeam, Boba, and Stella Swap

The event was a fun evening of networking and drinks. This event was co-hosted by Boba, Moonbeam, and StellaSwap teams.

Image credits: Eventbrite

Sunset Mirage – Yacht Party

The event allowed seeing the sunset during a cruise on the Seine on the first night of the EthCC, more precisely on Tuesday, the 19th of July! 

During the cruise around Paris, there was the opportunity to see famous monuments and listen to the city’s DJ – Numan, NFT & Music Artist, creator of Gumbino (->@NumanUK).

Image credits: Eventbrite

July 20th

Smash Bros Tournament Paris 2022

Did you bring your console? Participants had the opportunity to compete against the best players of the EthCC with Pods Finance! 

The winners were awarded an NFT.

Image credits: Eventbrite

BNV Presents: Where Fashion Meets The Metaverse Party

The event, held in the venue’s infamous Cinema Hall, had the unique screening of the latest digital fashion as its main activity items of BNV in collaboration with some of the most renowned brands today.

It was a Phygital event, bringing Web3 and fashion culture together. There were some Giveaways and special surprises, from AR Filters, POAPs, and a showcase of Clone X avatars dressed in style!

Image credits: Eventbrite

July 21st

Invest, Collab & Research | Web3 Builder Party

After the interesting but tiring speeches and workshops, there was the Web3 Builder Party.

This was framed by a beautiful view of the sunset over the Eiffel Tower and the opportunity to meet investors, analysts, developers, and other builders from around the world Web3!

This event is organized by Cipholio & BitMart and sponsored by STEPN, GEMS Esports 3.0 & Syscoin.

Image credits: Eventbrite

The EthCC Official After Party

The EthCC After Party took place on Thursday, the 21st of July, sponsored by Polygon, Ledger, and Anoma.

The event started at dinner time and was free and accessible to all the EthCC participants. The after-party took place on the roof of Wanderlust, a 15-minute walk from the EthCC meeting point.

Here you can find the official after-movie.

After EthCC 2022 

Paris Web3 Week and EthCC Hackathon Closing Party

The last party of the EthCC Paris took place on the 24th of July.

The event was organized by Zora and was held in a secret location.

All sponsors and the Hackathon winners also attended the party during the EthCC Paris Week.

Image credits: Eventbrite

Final Thoughts

EthCC 5 had the vibe for learning and gathering all the knowledge of latest innovations of Web3. 

EthCC conference has become a place for the smart contract community to gather and discuss their favorite topic: Ethereum. This year, the conference attracted various other Ethereum-adjacent communities, who held their own events related to the main event.

On the other hand, the 5th annual conference of Ethereum did not disappoint with the variety of side events and afterparties. 

This being said, EthCC is a conference plays a pivotal role for the Ethereum community and the crypto ecosystem, that can’t be missed.  We will surely be back next year!

We hope you enjoyed this article. If you are curious to explore other conference summaries, check out our top crypto conferences of 2022 article!