EthCC 2022: The French Dispatch

Published in

Flipside Governance

5 min readAug 3, 2022

Ok, I’m back, alive, and didn’t get COVID — phew. I went for you so you didn’t have to, you’re welcome :)

Dispatched for the latest installment of crypto conferences, Paris was a unique opportunity to focus on innovation amidst a slow and brutal bear market.

So what did I learn from EthCC? What am I excited about?

For starters, here was my schedule:

Monday 07/18/2022

Future of France Party: APWine, Paraswap, Paladin, Angle

Tuesday 7/19/2022

Lunch with MakerDAO delegates (FlipFlopFlap, Schuppi, and Doo)
Ledger HackerBoat in Paris
DAI Foundation Board Meeting
DAIvinity event

Wednesday 7/20/222

Real Work (Would Like To Keep my Job)
Paladin Contributor Event Wednesday 9/20
Cirque Du 1pounce (1inch Circus)

Thursday 7/21/2022:

Data Event featuring EPNS, KYVE, DeBank in Paris
Lunch with Aave Grants team
rAAVE on Thursday evening

Now let’s get into the details.

Protocols & The Dominance of Europe-Based Teams

Aave, Maker, APWine, and DYDX, dominated weekly events in terms of sponsorship and attendees. Pouring from London offices, or Paris itself — ETHCC was an opportunity to reunite Europe teams working asynchronously. Their attitude was inspiring — crypto wasn’t a hedge, or a bet on the downfall of democracy — but instead a new technology, akin to fintech. It attracted truly passionate builders and investors. Oh and it’s a D-A-O, not a DAō.

Parties

Where do we start? Well, there were lots of them — rAAVE, DAIvinity, 1inch — parties were abundant with some pretty impressive venues. Boats, bridges, caves, and circuses. Small to large protocols were forking over $200,000+ to fund parties which lasted through the early mornings. For better or worse, these parties started late and ended late — rAAVE lasting till 4:00 am… Thankfully my endurance did not keep me up that late.

Cirque Du 1pounce (1inch, in french ;)) full with a merry-go-round and all

People

All different types of products led to a myriad of people — but the French clearly dominated the guest list. From founders to investors, the most interesting people were the OGs.

These were the people who knew ETHLend better than they knew Aave; the folks who worked at Maker foundation before they worked for the DAO.

These perspectives were particularly captivating as someone newer in the space. I was immediately intrigued by how perspectives have changed.

My questions were about the problems that affect our industry — have they gotten better or worse? The ConsenSys (get it?) seemed to be we are trending in the right direction, but DAOs are a new, complicated beast.

One thing about the people — diversity is seriously lacking. Lots of men, white and Asian guys.

Gender diversity at the DAIvinity event

Women were the clear minority. If we want to be an innovative industry, we must look like one. At the same time — we are tributes for crypto, leaving an impression on the local population.

I’d like France to think highly about us…

Learnings

One, my French sucks, and I shouldn’t bother. My personality doesn’t carry well without the aid of my English. Oh, for the crypto learnings there’s plenty.

Merch:

Merch is a good and a bad thing. Some are extremely coveted (Aave) whereas others end up in the trash or as a gift to the local homeless population (see Harmony merch in Denver.) These pieces act as great advertising and souvenirs from abroad but add unwanted complexity.

Is that guy wearing a Polygon shirt a conference attendee or on the core team? Do I go up and talk to him?

These are the thoughts that permeate your head — but when it’s 50 people wearing Polygon gear, it’s most likely the former.

As protocols and networks compete over market share, we must be intentional in the products we are creating and the perception instilled on “normies”

Protocol Politicians:

Are alive and well — with some treated as celebrities. This was particularly apparent with large protocols such as Maker, where core units would currie the favor of large delegates.

Their agendas were clear — not dancing much during the parties.

But it gave me hope for the future of Governance. Could we carry significant ownership on the protocol, making kickass relationships along the way?

Could I be as famous as Doo? As El Pro? God, I hope so.

The Power of IRL:

IRL events afforded unique opportunities which are lacking in a remote-first dominated world.

Maybe this explains all the excitement and frequency of crypto events. It seemed like it was a valid opportunity to make up for the missed time. Who needs an office when you can rent out a venue in Paris, France?

Meeting avatars or friends which whom you’ve worked online is a trip; a fun and a scary one They are sometimes taller than you perceived, smaller, or more handsome.

That latter is most deadly. Say goodbye to any dreams of a chance with a cute french woman…

Some even have a great signature scent (sup Omkar)

These opportunities remind us of the humans supporting this industry, the users adding TVL, or owners creating wallets one day at a time.

DAOs:

ETHCCs seemed to be the catalyst for DAOs. Saying you worked at a DAO was cooler than saying you worked at a company. But they have their issues — we know that!

DAOs transcended the intense humidity and small-talk ubiquitous at large even as the north star. Forget infra, forget exchanges, DAOs seemed to be the next step in growing the industry.

But they sound like they hurt? And they do — that’s why organizations like Flipside exists.

To ease that burden. To add human rationality to DAO’s decision-making process.

Governance seems to have a future if the right people are involved.

So What’s Next?

Back to building. While the industry recovers and prepares for the next event, ETHCC laid the foundation for a refreshed perspective on the future of Ethereum.

If executed properly, this also means the future of Web3. Partnership opportunities abound.

Also, we got to pick one — is it Telegram or Twitter?