Recap: High-Altitude Innovation at the Pit ETHDenver

February 24–March 4, 2023

Twenty-five thousand attendees took to the Mile High City for ETHDenver, and more than 1,000 made their way to the Pit to build alongside industry leaders, level up in co-working spaces, and attend expert workshops, panels, and social gatherings.

The Locale

Developers, artists, founders, and everyone in between came together across two multi-story floors in the heart of downtown Denver to connect with and learn from fellow builders at the Pit. Powered by snacks, endless coffee, and each other’s creativity, attendees took advantage of the fast WiFi, high-caliber speakers, and bustling atmosphere to dream up the next wave of Web3 possibilities.

The Program

From February 24-March 3, 2023, the full-day sessions featured talks and panels from crypto all-stars like AAVE’s Stani Kulechov and DeGod’s Frank, and included a LearnWeb3 Day, Launch Web3 Day, Polygon Day, and Web3 Careers Day.

Whether new on their crypto journey or accomplished experts, ambitious builders were drawn to the Pit to create, learn about, and discuss projects that are pushing Web3 forward.

Gaining Momentum: Learn Web3 Day and Launch Web3 Day

During the first few days, our co-working and office hours sessions were the place to be as attendees used the space to get to know one another.

On February 27, things started to heat up with our stacked LearnWeb3 Day, complete with speakers from Lava Network, Push Protocol, Ledger, Metamask, Wallet Connect, Trust Wallet, Vayner, Solana Foundation, Aptos, Polygon, Biconomy, and Fleek.

During a dedicated Algorand Hour, we were joined by Ryan Fox and Joe Polny, who led “Intro to Algorand” and “Intro to Algorand Development” workshops.

Exhilarated from the day’s high-level overviews, technical workshops, and panels, we officially kicked off the event socially with a cross-chain Avocado Party, a private event for our friends in developer relations. Then it was all devs on deck for the official Pit Opening Party, where everyone enjoyed drinks and snacks with a side of Web3 innovation.

On Tuesday, February 28—Launch Web3 Day—we dove into more advanced topics, from building and launching projects to fundraising. Jump Crypto’s Maher Latif hosted a Fireside Chat with Aave and Lens co-founder Stani Kulechov, who chatted all things Web3, including mass adoption, working in the industry, advice for founders, and more.

The inspiration continued with workshops with Web3 founders and investors from Jump Crypto, Aave/Lens, Oasis Network, Hyperlane, Injective, Celo, Biconomy, Airfoil, Dialect, Livepeer, Gelato, Open Zeppelin, Big Brain, Lemniscap, Galaxy Digital, and OtterSec.

A Polygon Takeover

Polygon was in the house on March 1, offering attendees a mix of networking opportunities that included a Product Vision workshop and panel on Blockchain & Social Impact.

In addition to Polygon speakers, we were joined by brilliant minds from Axelar, Fractal ID, Kaleido, Giant Protocol, Gatekeeper, Nume Crypto, Chainlink, ScalingX, Unstoppable Domains, SheFi, QiDAO, and Metacrafters.

To cap the Wednesday lineup, an Apres Ski Soiree was sponsored by our friends at Polygon Labs, Fireblocks, and Alchemy.

Fine-Tuning Careers: Web3 Careers Day

Whether you’re just starting out or well on your way to something worth sharing, Thursday was all about building a successful career in Web3.

To guide the Web3 enthusiasts, speakers from 1inch, Jump Crypto, Matter Labs/zkSync, Scroll, Web3Auth, Maven11, Celestia, Nansen, Up Top, Certik, Aragon, Mantle, Metis, Neon, Evmos, Moonbeam, Aurora, Visa, Galaxy Digital, and Wintermute shared their insights, tips, and best practices.

President of Jump Crypto Kanav Kariya also joined us for an enlightening fireside chat. It was a tough act to follow, but a Web3 Careers panel delivered thanks to David Micley (BD at Wintermute), Catherine Gu (Head of CBDC and Protocols at Visa Crypto), Zach Segal (Head of Listings at Coinbase) and CJ Huntzinger (Crypto Venture Marketing & Comms at Galaxy).

The Grand Finale

We took things slightly slower on March 3, facilitating co-working opportunities and office hours slots brimming with chances to connect and network.

We closed the week out by dedicating the Pit to anyone looking for some last-minute inspiration, including the finalists of Builder Tribe’s ETHDenver Demo Day, who pitched live to an audience of crypto VCs.

The closing party commemorated the energy and enthusiasm that characterized the week, complete with music, drinks, and even more networking. We couldn’t have done it without the passionate collective of speakers, sponsors, and builders who came together to keep Web3 moving forward.

For the full breakdown, you can read more here.