TL;DR
Talk I — Oly combines a self-custodial hardware wallet with a Visa debit card to integrate on-chain assets with everyday real-world transactions.
Talk II — Monerium provides a bank account number (IBAN) for web3 wallets, enabling users to send and receive euros between any bank account and web3 wallet.
Talk III — dm3 protocol, a public good, aims to make web3 messaging practices interoperable.
ETHPorto 2023
Picture this: a beautiful coastal city with stunning architecture, rich history, and a vibrant atmosphere. Now picture it hosting 700 attendees, all eager to share their knowledge about the latest trends in web3.
That’s what happened at the first-ever ETHPorto conference (16–18/03/2023), an event that brought together many bright minds in the Ethereum ecosystem.
The city’s charm influenced the conference atmosphere, making it a delightful experience. The event featured an incredible lineup of projects, thought-provoking presentations, and side events.
Out of the 20 talks I attended, there were three that particularly caught my attention.
Get comfortable, grab coffee (or maybe port wine), and join me as we dive into the three talks.
By the way, I am Tim, Venture Analyst at brainbot.
Talk I — Bridging the gap to real-world payments with Oly.network
In this talk, Stefan George from Gnosis Chain discussed the challenges web3 faces related to use case adoption. He argued that web3 has not so much of a scaling issue, but rather a use case issue. Stefan contended that the real challenge lies in finding relevant use cases combined with an exceptional user experience that can bring decentralized technology’s benefits to everyday life.
He presented Oly.network, which could be one way to address this. Oly is a product that unites a self-custodial hardware wallet and a Visa debit card. The Oly card is a hardware wallet that holds the key to a self-custodial wallet on Gnosis Chain. Users can pay with the card anywhere Visa is accepted (licensed to pay at more than 60 million merchants worldwide). The card/hardware wallet can store any traditional crypto asset and execute transactions using wxDAI, a stablecoin pegged to the USD. This solution is excellent for integrating on-chain assets with everyday real-world transactions.
He stated that besides seamlessly integrating on-chain assets with everyday real-world transactions, such a product could also provide the rails for more advanced loyalty systems.
That made me think. An on-chain loyalty system integrated with Visa card payments could be an appealing solution for customers and businesses seeking a more efficient, rewarding, and engaging loyalty program.
Value adds from a customer perspective — With such a system, customers can effortlessly earn (loyalty) tokens or NFTs with every transaction. There is no need for an additional platform to register and monitor/redeem points. Everything is already integrated into the user’s wallet. In this way, businesses offer a loyalty system by default, likely creating more value for their customers. Furthermore, to reward customers, businesses could provide on-chain rewards like ETH, NFTs or token-gated experience on top of traditional benefits.
Value adds from a business perspective — With such a system, reward management for businesses is streamlined by plug-and-play process automation and analytics. Moreover, an on-chain loyalty system provides valuable insights into customer on-chain behavior, enabling companies to tailor their marketing strategies and drive engagement. It also allows to easily implement collaborative merchant ecosystems (partnerships, cross-promotions, and shared growth), further improving customer experience.
There are many friction points to overcome here, but the vision seems appealing.
My bottom line: Oly is a great step to dismantling the boundaries between on-chain and off-chain transactions. The widespread adoption of solutions like Oly could significantly shift how consumers and businesses interact with self-custodied assets and web3 daily, fostering mainstream acceptance and driving growth for the web3 ecosystem.
Talk II — Bank Account Number (IBAN) for Your Wallet by Gísli Kristjánsson
Following Stefan George’s talk about bridging the gap between the decentralized & real world, Gísli Kristjánsson, CTO of Monerium, presented another solution to connect traditional banking and web3.
Gísli introduced the concept of a bank account number (IBAN) for web3 wallets combined with Monerium’s EURe token, an authorized and regulated euro stablecoin (available on Ethereum, Polygon, and Gnosis chain). This combination allows users to send and receive euros between any bank account and web3 wallet.
Monerium’s service automatically mints EURe tokens on-chain when receiving a SEPA payment. Conversely, sending EURe from a wallet to a traditional bank account works by signing an on-chain transaction (EURe is burned, and the euro amount is sent via SEPA to any bank account).
Additionally, integrations and partnerships with Safe and Request Finance enable off-chain invoicing, payroll, and expense reimbursement on-chain. The EURe token is also tradable on Curve, which enables direct access to the broader web3 ecosystem. This allows for a frictionless interplay between digital and traditional assets, e.g., continually earning on-chain yield while quickly utilizing the off-ramping capabilities when needed.
Monerium’s EURe is more than a classic stablecoin. As an Electronic Money Institution (EMI), Monerium is regulated and authorized to issue e-money tokens on blockchains. Each EURe token is 102% backed and safeguarded, providing legal clarity and secure storage for user funds. The solution is available for individuals and companies in the European Economic Area, the UK, and Switzerland.
My bottom line: Monerium’s web3 wallet IBANs can drive mainstream adoption and simplify transitioning from on to off-chain and vice versa. This structure will unlock new use cases and create a more inclusive and accessible financial ecosystem.
Talk III — Interoperability initiative with dm3. Unified messaging across web3
In the third talk, Steffen Kux and Eduardo Vega-Patiño from Corpus.io/dm3 protocol discussed eliminating all the different messenger apps on our smartphones.
The talk focused on the dm3 protocol, a collaborative effort to build a public good for interoperable web3 messaging. The protocol is open-source and connects existing and new messaging standards.
The dm3 protocol can serve as a base layer to connect various communication standards and options, including website widgets, customer service embedded chats, group chats, or p2p communication. Such a solution will allow users to communicate across different ecosystems, applications, and services without compromising who they can communicate with. Such a frictionless user experience is superior to the currently siloed communication practices in web2.
Steffen and Eduardo also emphasized that avoiding silos is not the only core value of the dm3 protocol, it also prioritizes interoperability, decentralization, and encryption — all essential properties for a frictionless, secure, and privacy-preserving user experience.
My bottom line: The dm3 protocol could become critical infrastructure for unified web3 messaging. The widespread adoption of dm3 (as a public good) would add value to the entire web3 ecosystem.
Final thoughts
ETHPorto was an exciting event showcasing innovative solutions and developments in the Ethereum ecosystem. The three talks highlighted in this blog cover just a few of these developments. All ETHPorto talks will be shared online at a later stage.
As ETHPorto 2023 ended, there was a feeling of excitement in the air as attendees reflected on the talks, valuable connections made, and the potential for future collaborations. The closing party was a fun and lively event, with people from all over the world coming together to celebrate the success of the conference and hackathon.
As the night drew to a close, there was already talk of next year’s ETHPorto conference. As I left the party, I felt grateful for the opportunity to attend ETHPorto 2023 and experience the city's charm. The conference left a lasting impression, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for the ETHPorto community.
I would love to know your thoughts on these projects and trends. Comment here or message me on Twitter or LinkedIn.
I will soon release a blog post about the hackathon during ETHPorto. I look forward to sharing some of the most exciting projects with you.
Last remark — As a web3 venture builder, we are always open to building ventures with founders. Let me know if this blog post triggered a venture idea within you (or if you have one in general).
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