NEARCON ’23: A Deep Dive into Web3 Innovation
NEARCON ’23, the flagship event of NEAR Protocol, took place in the vibrant city of Lisbon, Portugal, from November 7–10. This grand assembly was a spectacular showcase of innovation, collaboration, and revolutionary announcements. From hackathon and insightful panels to the unveiling of fresh projects, NEARCON ’23 was a testament to the vibrant spirit of the Web3 community. The NEAR Balkans Hub was one of the projects spicing up the conference with its special menu.
TL;DR
· NEARCON ’23: The pinnacle event for NEAR Protocol, held in Lisbon from November 7–10, showcased innovation across three dedicated venues.
· NEAR Balkans at NEARCON: As proud sponsors, the NEAR Balkans team engaged with an incredible agenda, presented Tekuno and Pathfinder, participated in the Hackathon, and connected with industry leaders.
· Tekuno Activation: Tekuno, the official Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP), engaged attendees with a rewarding scavenger hunt and a chance to claim exclusive rewards.
· Pathfinder Showcase: NEAR Balkans unveiled Pathfinder, a decentralized file-sharing solution, receiving valuable feedback from the community.
· Speaker Highlights: NEAR Balkans CEO Ida Pandur, among other notable speakers, emphasized the role of regional hubs in effective developer onboarding and community building.
· Testimonials: Insightful feedback from some of the speakers, sponsors, and organizers of the conference.
· Ecosystem News: Major announcements included NEAR’s evolution to Starsight, the launch of NEAR Data Availability (NEAR DA), Illia Polosukhin’s insights on AI integration, fast finality on Ethereum, and LayerZero integration for cross-chain messaging.
NEARCON’23
NEARCON stands out as the premier annual event for NEAR Protocol, and this year’s edition unfolded from November 7th to 10th in the charming city of Lisbon, Portugal. The event featured three distinct venues, each chosen to provide a unique and tailored experience for every participant. The NEAR HQ emerged as the primary venue, hosting captivating talks and panels that delved into the latest advancements in the NEAR ecosystem. Meanwhile, the Hacker HQ was exclusively reserved for the high-energy Hackathon, fostering an environment conducive to innovation and collaborative coding. Complementing these, the Community HQ served as a hub for networking and collaboration, creating spaces for the community to connect and synergize.
As proud sponsors of NEARCON ’23, the NEAR Balkans Hub actively contributed to the event’s success, by bringing a booked agenda with a rich and rewarding experience for the attendees.
NEAR Balkans at NEARCON
The NEAR Balkans Hub booth at NEARCON ’23 buzzed with energy as they collaborated with the Banyan Collective and the NEAR Vietnam Hub. Together, they proudly stood as representatives of the official Regional NEAR Protocol Hubs, creating a vibrant space for meaningful interactions. Engaging with an array of incredible community members, the team not only had the chance to connect with them but also to showcase the innovative products of the NEAR Balkans Hub. The booth became a dynamic platform where two standout products were unveiled, Tekuno, and the fresh Pathfinder.
The NEAR Balkans team forged connections with outstanding projects, including the teams of Calimero Network, Popula, Sender Wallet, Aurora, NEARWEEK, RZLT, Jutsu, and the NEAR Protocol team. This exchange of ideas and collaborations further enriched the NEARCON experience, contributing to the collaborative spirit that defines the NEAR community.
Tekuno Activation
In collaboration with NEAR Protocol, Tekuno proudly stepped up as the official Proof of Attendance Protocol(POAP) for NEARCON ’23. Here’s the scoop: Attendees just had to whip out their phones, scan a QR code, and voilà, they claimed their POAP.
But hold on, the adventure didn’t stop there! Tekuno, being the cool sidekick it is, teamed up with some of the projects at NEARCON to cook up the NEAR Lisbon Adventure. A scavenger hunt, but Web3 style! Attendees received a quest to collect flags while discovering projects. And the efforts were not in vain. By collecting the flags, they not only earned rewards from the projects but also bagged NCON tokens. And that was not all — the pièce de résistance was a raffle on the grand finale day of NEARCON, where 4 lucky winners hit the jackpot with rewards from the projects taking part in the NEAR Lisbon Adventure.
Pathfinder Showcase
NEAR Balkans Hub unveiled the Pathfinder waves during NEARCON ’23, offering attendees an exclusive experience of the premium version of this decentralized file-sharing solution built on NEAR Protocol. Engaging discussions brought the technology closer to the community, gathering valuable feedback. The premium version remains open for a limited time for those who missed the chance to experience Pathfinder during the conference.
Speakers Zone
The CEO of the NEAR Balkans Hub, Ida Pandur was one of the speakers at the Web3 Frontiers: Insights From Global NEAR Regional Hubs panel, which was hosted by Raili Liiva from NEAR Foundation, joined by leaders from the other NEAR Regional Hubs: Cameron Dennis from Banyan Collective, Scott Lee from NEAR Korea Hub, and David Nguyen from NEAR Vietnam Hub. On the panel, the CEO of the NEAR Balkans Hub highlighted the importance of the regional hubs and the role they play in successful developer onboarding and effective community building. This discussion offered valuable insights into understanding approaches employed in different regions and showcased the product development initiatives of NEAR Balkans that are helping with the blockchain adoption and utilization of the NEAR Protocol.
Testimonials
To bring the spirit of the conference closer to you, we have gathered testimonials from some of the speakers, sponsors, and organizers of the conference.
· Ida Pandur, CEO of NEAR Balkans Hub
“This year’s NEARCON was really a transitory one. With Illia coming back as CEO of NF, lots of news including strong focus on AI and multichain, for us in NEAR Balkans Hub, it feels exciting to be part of this story and drive the open web on a wider scale together with all the brilliant people from the NEAR eco-system.”
· Luka Sučić, Co-Founder of NEAR Balkans Hub
“NEARCON ’23 was a bearish delight, quite a shift from last year. This time, it was all about Web3 development, blockchain interoperability, and AI integration. With scars from the bear market, we proudly showcased our work and our products Tekuno and Pathfinder, symbols of our unyielding commitment to building the future. Catching up with familiar faces from the ecosystem brought a refreshing vibe, and linking up with new projects laid the groundwork for exciting future collaborations. Till next year!”
· Alen Meštrov, CEO of Pathfinder and Senior Dev at NEAR Balkans Hub
“I had the pleasure of participating in the NEARCON conference hackathon, and it was an exceptional experience. The event was impeccably organized, featuring insightful speakers, abundant networking opportunities, and a highly engaging hackathon that surpassed my expectations.”
· AVB, Host — Wild User Interviews Podcast
“There’s never been a better time to build. Conferences tend to be great for networking and raving, but NEARCON was different. Hackers HQ — where I spend most of my time — was packed with people building 24/7. There was a surreal feeling of building while watching talk after talk dropping insane tech and partnership announcements. I FOMOed the talks and I was there! Been catching up with the recordings on Youtube at 1.25x speed. Large, but felt intimate. Feels good to be part of these early stages — Mass Adoption in NEAR”
· Sandi Fatić, CEO and Co-Founder of Calimero Network
“The third edition of NEARCON was the best one yet! Everything was organized so well. We set up our booth and introduced everyone to our Calimero Chat. It was awesome to see how many people are interested in privacy these days. Catching up with old friends from the ecosystem and making new ones was a highlight. I really appreciated the focus on projects this year at NEARCON. It’s exciting to think about the potential partnerships that could come out of this event.”
· Cameron Dennis, CEO of Banyan Collective
“NEARCON 2023 was the perfect bear market conference. It was full of really exciting technical announcements, everyone was talking about building products that actually solve problems, and I didn’t hear the words “token” or “price” once. I love the direction NEAR is going as a monolithic yet modular blockchain to serve as the entry point to the open web and I can’t wait until next year!”
· Kent, member of GFI/NEAR Vietnam Hub
“NEARCON23, to me, is the builder-focused conference that takes place during the depths of the bear market. It is brimming with technical developments and announcements that address both web3 problems (data availability, zkVM, web3 identity solution, the decentralized frontend…) and web2 problems which highlighted by the impressive showcase of Sweat and Kaiching, bring millions of real users into the world of the Open Web! Meeting fellow NEAR builders in person after years of collaboration make me super happy and I can’t wait for the next NEARCON!”
· Marcus Ribeiro, Ecosystem Relations Lead at NEAR Foundation
“This year’s NEARCON we went for a more value driven approach, while also utilising the tech to have as much on chain activity around NEARCON as possible. The NEARCON app and the seamless transacting w/ NCON was amazing to see, I also loved the energy of all the hackers and it was great to see so many teams from outside the NEAR ecosystem come in to learn about the tech and build some really cool things on NEAR!”
- Kayleigh Svensson, Operations at Jutsu
From the Jutsu side, it was so special to see NEARCON23 come to fruition! Though we’re within the bear market, the conference was teeming with genuine curiosity and innovative ideas, which speaks to the sincere passion of the developers and members within the NEAR ecosystem.
Biggest News from the Ecosystem
NEARCON ’23 was the stage for major announcements shaping the future of NEAR Protocol and the broader Web3 space:
1. NEAR’s Evolution from Nightshade to Starsight: Bowen Wang from Pagoda outlined NEAR Protocol’s evolution, teasing the upcoming Starsight project set to revolutionize blockchain in 2024.
2. NEAR Foundation launches NEAR Data Availability (NEAR DA): A revolutionary move aimed at improving data availability for Ethereum rollups, NEAR DA promises to be a secure and cost-effective solution for developers.
3. Illia Polosukhin on AI’s Role in NEAR’s Future: NEAR co-founder and CEO delved into the integration of AI with blockchain, emphasizing AI’s potential to enhance efficiency within decentralized systems.
4. NEAR and EigenLayer enable fast finality on Ethereum: Collaboration with Eigen Labs aims to develop a “fast finality layer” for Ethereum rollups, promising swift and economical transactions.
5. LayerZero integrates with NEAR for cross-chain messaging: Integration with LayerZero Labs on NEAR’s EVM layer, Aurora, enables NEAR to connect with over 40 blockchain networks, expanding NEAR’s interoperability and user experience.
6. NEAR Foundation and Polygon Labs zkWASM partnership: Illia Polosukhin spotlighted a new NEAR and Polygon Labs partnership, zkWASM, which fuses ZK proofs with Web Assembly for enhanced blockchain scalability and decentralization.
NEARCON ’23 was not just an event; it was a celebration of progress, collaboration, and the boundless potential of Web3. As the echoes of NEARCON ’23 resonate, the journey into the heart of Web3 continues, and NEAR Protocol remains at the forefront of shaping the decentralized future.
