ETH Denver Recap: Dry, Dazed, and Delighted

This is probably the best, most biased recap you’ll read. Enjoy.

While some are already hating on this year’s ETH Denver, I had a damn good time. Chapped lips and itchy legs aside, the week was a whirlwind of meetings and merch, hugs and hotpot, dancing and drama.

If you missed it, or if you were here but want a different point of view, this recap is for you. Let’s dive in.

First things first — get Colorado-cultured.

While it’s easy to hyper-focus on our beloved blockchain bubble, to me, taking an extra day or two to explore the event location makes the memories all the more special.

Arriving two days ahead of ETH Denver, we assembled a small squad and decided to do some seriously local things. First, we got lost into the most incredible outdoors shop I’ve ever been to. It had a waterfall, an aquarium, and according to one of the comments on my X post, “more animal species than a natural history museum.” (And if you’ve been to the city before, or you’re American and heard me say “waterfall,” you can probably guess what I’m talking about.)

Allow me to introduce you to Bass Pro Shops.

Stocked with anything from fishing rods, fleeces, hiking boots and cowboy hats, to quad buggies, beef jerky, binoculars, and backpacks, this is the outdoor enthusiast’s paradise. It’s a mecca that makes you feel the quintessential American spirit as you stand under a massive USA flag flanked by a bear and a wolf.

I joked that only in America do you go inside a store for a bottle of water and come out purchasing a vacation to the Ozarks for two. We ran into the smoothest salesman in human history named Ken, and he gave us what legitimately sounds like an insane holiday deal.

This store is an experience in itself. Set aside two hours and go browse. Perhaps by the end, you’ll come out as a full-fledged camping connoisseur.

For our second cultural experience, we tried bison which is a local specialty. Not only was it not weird, it was actually amazing. From the meatloaf to the pulled bison — it’s a tender treat any foodie needs to try at least once.

Next up, we checked out the immersive Meow Wolf exhibit. This was without a doubt, the trippiest art experinece I’ve ever had. Five floors of floor-to-ceiling installations transport you to distant dimensions. You somehow feel as if you’re Alice in Wonderland and a galactic traveler at the same time as you wander through the cacophony of colors.

We topped off our evening with the ultimate sports showdown — the Denver Nuggets vs the Los Angeles Lakers.

For close to three hours (which I realize will sound shocking to any non-American), we were entertained by two excellent basketball teams, a halftime show of a calisthenics athlete and his dog balancing on top of shaky basketballs, a fully-male middle aged cheerleading squad called “the Average Joes,” and an assortment of snacks, from a loaded potato to popcorn, and cotton candy.

The arena roared with cheers. The jumbotron spotlit couples, cute babies, and crazy fans decked out in full gear. In the end, the Nuggets lost, wounded by 23 points, but the experience was worth it.

My best friend from college, Morgan, flew all the way from NYC to spend a day and a half together, and so did Jay’s friend Dallas from Canada. Taking a flight to see a friend is the gold standard in friendships to me. It’s annoying, expensive, and shows the utmost level of care. (If you want us to be besties — book that flight.)

This concludes my culture recap. I wanted to share because it’s easy to b*tch about the Denver dryness, how things are spread out, how it’s not aesthetic in the winter…but the reality is that there’s a lot to do if you make a small effort. And now —moving on to the insider event recap you came for.

Builders Brunch with Erica Kang

Erica Kang is the undisputed queen of brunch. In fact, her Builders Brunch is so popular, people straight up rip off the event marketing materials to replicate (not cool but yes, flattering). Since I’ve known Erica, I’ve seen her throw events on 3 continents looking effortlessly classy and elegant even while pregnant. It doesn’t get more badass than that.

My inner Scorpio loved that this event was invite-only. I was an instant yes. Erica had somehow located and managed to book one of the best brunch restaurants in town — Stowaway kitchen. Combining Japanese flavors and breakfast staples, the menu was right up my alley, and the coffee absolutely amazing.

Erica was a generous hostess, walking around and giving everyone plenty of attention. I got to hang out with the Hype girlies, Emily and Maria, and meet the infamous Murong — a crypto case study Emily was onboarding right at ETH Denver.

I was craving a classy affair and this was it. Can’t wait for the next one.

ETH Denver: Main event

Big shoutout to Spork DAO for the free tickets. Even though I work in media for Cointelegraph, I attended as a guest with a free pass from the main event and navigated the conference floor at my leisure.

Fun fact: the venue for ETH Denver is actually a rodeo arena and is used to showcase cattle. I love contextual fashion, so this is what I wore:

Now, I have to admit… I didn’t sit on any sessions. I was much more interested in traversing the floor, checking out the merch, and saying hi to friends. This may be a spicy take but I only wear merch from Avara, Chipped nails (which is an actual product, so I wouldn't classify as merch), and Uniswap caps.

The Uniswap team came through with the best booth and letter D-themed merch (I’d like to think that the D stands for Dayana, not Denver). Thank you, Uniswap.

I finally got to hang out with Samantha Yap, the original YAPper and got my hands on one of her signature Yap caps. What I appreciate about her is that she covers ground. Because let’s be real — the “R” in PR stands for relations. And you can’t expect to build relationships from your office chair.

Other highlights of the ETH Denver floor included meeting the founder of POAP, Patrizio, who wore the most whimsical jacket.

Now, this is my personal observation but the actual ETH Denver venue was crazy dry. I swear. The rest of town was quite dry but this exact venue felt as if it was haunted by the ghost of dry. Luckily, I was armed with ample amounts of water and chapstick.

SheFi Summit

The SheFi Summit is my Super Bowl. This was my 4th summit as a graduate and my first as a speaker.

While Maggie Love was not able to attend as she is expecting any day now, Ela and Stef did a great job running the show — from making sure speakers and sponsors were comfortable to keeping programming humming along, (cowboy) hats off to them for their hard work!

The SheFi Summit is always a highlight for me at each major crypto conference because I love meeting my girlfriends in real life. I got to spend quality time with my aesthetic twins, Kat and Siannie, and my dearest Jacques (Community Manager at Orb).

I loved sitting down with Krystyna, the CMO of Cookie3 for a fun “Never Have I Ever” style interview. I said what I said. Watch it here if you like.

Toward the very end of the day, I made some brand-new girlfriends — Briony and Eli who watched my panel. We talked about the new season of The White Lotus, what it’s like to live as a digital nomad, and why we should all be leaving Instagram for Lens. Then I Orb-boarded them to our community.

Jessy Jeane and I had an iconic reunion for the first time since Lens’ AFK event in Brussels. She’s even hotter in person. I also got to meet Zen, another one of my Orb besties who took some analog photos of me in my cowboy hat.

In an epic run-in, I met one of my social media heroes — Linda, a.k.a LinDAO. She was just as I imagined her — poised, funny, and oozing swag. We had been Tweeting at each other for a little while so it was great to finally meet IRL.

Two of the highlights in SheFi’s programming included a spicy marketing panel featuring Emily Lai (CMO of Hype) and Tori, a.k.a Chairman Birb Bernanke (boss lady at Scribe) who, for the record, looked absolutely fabulous.

They had such great synergy on stage, leaving the audience thoroughly entertained while sharing actual, applicable marketing tips without fluff. There are mArKeTeRs and there are marketers who get results. Emily and Tori are the latter.

The award for most fun panel of the day undoubtedly goes to the “clout chaser” crew: QuasiMatt (Co-Founder of Scroll Tax), Kayla Trivieri (inventor of the Mob Wife aesthetic, Co-Founder of Scroll Tax), Rachel Sacks (Hype Partners), Miranda Martell (Boys Club), and Nia Johnson (Host of Party Ventures).

I’ll drop off an entire segment for you to watch below.

I ran into them backstage and Kayla let me wear her coat…except that the coat wore me. It was iconic. Believe me when I say that the coat comes with a personality of its own and the fur can fulfill any confidence gap. You should put wearing Kayla’s coat on your life goals list.

Our panel, moderated by Stef, wrapped up a fully-stacked day at SheFi. We each shared our stories, how we got into crypto and into the community, and offered tips for the girlies who want to build a blockchain career. I know for a fact that we inspired some new ladies to join the following cohort (because they approached me after and told me so).

And if you’re wondering “D, what about the merch?” SheFi did not disappoint. RARI came through with the cutest beanies while Polygon brought us fuzzy bucket hats and pink tees.

Espresso had a custom-made Chipped nail kit which was to die for, and Averi was absolutely glowing showing it off.

World of Women had limited-edition scarves, crop tops, Debi Soon’s book Digital Mavericks, and shirts that you could collect by minting NFTs (my faviorite was of Winny).

Boys Club: Tradwife Prom

When Boys Club wiped their feed white and announced a rebrand earlier this year…everyone bated their breath. They took an experimental path forward, turning their website into an interactive Google doc, hosting “Lunch Break” cookouts with a variety of hosts (the highlight of which is probably Natasha’s wallet getting drained — but don’t worry, she got it all back), and asking smart questions in “Dumb B*tch Hour.”

Tradwife Prom was their first live event since all that happened, and it did not disappoint. Even though Boys Club changed, the level of care, curation, and commitment to being the best hosts on the block did not waver. Most people dressed the part, some men in tuxes, a few girls in bridal-white dresses, lots of fur coats, and there were even prom-style corsages.

I love Boys Club because it brings together my best friends. I joined the community just over a year ago and have received so much love both from the founder and members. Thank you, Boys Club.

Stellar: Night at the Aquarium

Do you ever just become a fan of a project because of a friend? Lindsay and I met in Bangkok a few months back, on a bus to see Moo Deng with Lukso. We immediately hit it off and kept in touch. So when she said “come to the aquarium,” it was an immediate yes.

On a personal level, Lindsay stunned in a bombshell black dress.

Overall, Stellar went above and beyond, decking out the Denver Aquarium ballroom-style with poker and blackjack tables. Each guest received a chip to play and prizes included fresh winter merch. Since I’m not big on games, I popped my chip into Jay’s pocket and instead, embarked on an excellent evening adventure with the girls at the aquarium.

We marveled at a smiling manta ray, squealed with joy at the jellyfish, and took selfies with the Stellar sign carried by underwater divers.

Everything Social with Lukso

If Doja Cat paints the town red, then Louie makes it pretty in pink. He’s a thoughtful host who knows how to curate a good vibe from start to finish. Entering, I was delighted to receive a cute pink beanie (that I’ll actually wear).

I love Lukso events becuse they bring together such a fun crowd. I had a chance to chat with Bangkok besties and meet new friends face-to-face.

The panels did not disappoint either. Emily Lai moderated a privacy panel and clashing thoughts took turn in the friendliest way possible.

West Ham

“If you don’t come to my party, I’ll take it extremely personally,” Tori tweeted. I know it’s a joke but I actually feel the same way, so I had to go. It was my first West Ham and even though it’s not considereda rave-rave, it was a rave to me.

I loved that the collection of people I saw there was so diverse — from my VC friends to marketers, devs, and anyone inbetween.

Blockravers Mansion Madness

“Are you at the Frankfurt airport wearing a long white jacket right now? I think I see you.” Zoe and I were onboard the same flight to Denver and after following each other online for a while, this was the first time we met IRL.

Her team went all out and rented a mansion for the whole week. Reminiscent of a college frat house (Lord knows I spent a lot of time at those during my time at Trinity — the Hartford one, not the Dublin). The space was relaxed, cozy, and inviting. As we ascended one floor after another, I casually eavesdropped on conversations.

There was a lot of tech talk which was really nice to hear as most conversations I end up overhearing tend to be about sales (yawn). The WebZero team had even hired a private chef, and had music flowing all week, the grand finale being a DJ set by Manu Alzuru.

Reply Girls podcast

“I’m not a reply girl. I’m an ascendant Scorpio,” I wrote a few months back on X, putting my picky personality on full display. So when Katy invited me as a guest on her podcast, literally called “Reply Girls,” I was surprised. I like Katy. So I said yes.

To keep things spicy, I proposed that we both wear black turtlenecks. For a solid half hour, we chatted about Lens, creating content, taking X “by storm,” black lists and unnecessary backstabbing. Once the camera stopped rolling, we kept the conversation going. Katy is a great interviewer and I’m so glad we did this. I hope you like the episode.

Event Girlies Meetup

“The group chat became an event!” I texted Jay. While I’m part of (way too) many Telegram chats, this one I actually love. The Event Girlies group was founded a little while ago and has some 124 invite-only members at the time of writing.

Serotonin took the initiative to throw us a brunch at the Catbird hotel which was very cute, contemporary, and aesthetic. They even printed us custom merch and I proudly snagged the last S (I’m sorry)!

The truth is that organizing events is a BIG task and we could use all the help we could get. Having a community to point you to the best brunch spots, print shops, and production companies is everything.

The Loft with Chipped and the Bera Baddies

Towering over Downtown Denver, the Loft was a much-needed respite from the chaos of the conference. I rocked up with Naomi and Jessy Jeane, drop-top, wind-in-our-hair style.

A bright, spacious, 25th floor space, this mile-long waitlist event managed to bring together some of the best girls in town. The event was hosted by Chipped (Winny, Flo, and Liam), with activations from the Bera Baddies and Berachain throughout.

Chipped debuted a few new nail styles (my favorite set is In the Trenches), and let the girls relax and do their manicures together over coffee and lunch.

The Chipped quest of the week involved winning a bunch of cool things including this Tippy Type keyboard — which I have to say I need as a writer. (Tippy Type, if you read this, send one so I can keep writing these recaps without going back 56 times to fix typos).

On Thursday, Cami gave a technical workshop and in all honesty, I’ve never seen someone look so cute and so worked up when teaching (I say this as a compliment). She’s a badass.

Since it was the Bera Baddies’ first birthday, Keisha took the “stage” to deliver a short speech and blow out the candles. For anyone who doesn’t know Keisha — I’ve spent time with her and I can tell you that she’s an incredibly thoughtful, smart girl with a crazy lore. She’s spent many sleepless nights alongside Sophia working their Bera butts off, and I respect that.

Outside, Sophia and Alex were preparing hand-made Tees, hot off the press with the eventual casualty of one burned fur coat.

And inside, Amelia was tucked into a corner overlooking the Colorado skyline, with her Soulmates activation where you could send literal flowers (small, hand-wrapped bouquets complete with sage) to someone you love or to yourself (more on that in a second).

On Friday, I straight up made the loft my layer. I showed up at opening and stayed until closing time. So many of my favorite girls came through to say hi, grab some nails, and meet new friends.

I loved being at the loft because it was a permission to lie on a sofa with my slippers on, sip coffee, talk sh*t with the girls, and take photos.

This might just be me being a very Scorpio personality but my favorite part of the day is when all the guests leave and we clean together. The noise is gone, the adrenaline of socializing begins to fade, and we bring back order to the chaos. Also, we get to gossip (+100 points).

Soulmates

As a person who’s romantic to the core, this project reasonated with me big time. If you came to ETH CC last year in Brussels, you may have participated or seen others join the matchmaking process that Amelia Guertin created.

This was a continuation in a step ahead of a brand-new, and honestly unique project. Soulmates is a data-based company operating in Web3 but positioned for mainstream that helps you connect with compatible humans, whether that is for friendship, romance, sex, fun — think the 7 love languages. They do that through an AI agent called Cupid (I mean how cute is that!)

For this activation, you could send “flowers” — literal bundles of beautiful sage to someone you admire or to yourself, visibly or anonymously. Hundreds of people came through; it was so lovely to see and it looks like this is just the beginning.

Longevity with Avinasi Labs

A myth in my family is that a great uncle on my dad’s side lived to be 112. And I, being the competitive little freak that I am, decided to beat that record. All jokes aside, I’ve prioritized wellness since I was 17. And I was really excited to hear about AI and its potential implications that would allow us to live not just longer but better.

Francesca invited me to MC an event at the Denver Art Museum with Avinasi Labs — the first AI-native layer 2 for longevity. The speaker list was well-curated, including legends like as Aubrey de Grey (Founder of Longevity Escape Velocity Foundation) and Laurence Ion (initiator of Vitalia and Founder of Viva City). A combination of panels and fireside chats, we spent a half day learning and debating.

The auditorium at the gorgeous museum was full of longevity experts and enthusiasts alike. Albert Yin, Co-Founder of Avinasi Labs and leading Harvard medical school researcher took the stage, giving practical advice on how to measure aging.

I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Anant Vinjamoori’s presentation (CMO of Modern Age and CLO of Superpower). He talked all about personalized health strategies but interestingly enough, when asked by an event guest, explained that we shouldn’t overly focus on protocols or get too nitty-gritty about or Magnesium intake but rather look at the big picture and find balance.

I particularly loved hearing Winnie Qui’s story (Co-Founder of Avinasi Labs) in her fireside chat with Elena Obukhova (Supermoon Ventures). She shared her experience with cancer, and dove into DeFi and how we can find an intersection between financial models and longevity.

The merch at the event was so functional — we walked away with a squishy face mask you can throw in the microwave or fridge to soothe your face when needed.

By the end of the day, when Francesca asked “who would be down to join a pop up city?” Most of the crowd raised their hands. Maybe you’ve heard about longevity through Bryan Johnson (like me), but the reality is that there is so much more that goes on in that space besides plasma transfusions and lentil burgers, and the consequences are groundbreaking with the potential of extending lifespans some 20 years in the very near future.

The day with Avinasi was my first longevity event but will certainly not be the last.

Going deeper, not wider

“This time, I want to focus on deepening relationships,” Flo texted inviting me to dinner. It was an immediate yes (duh). I love Chipped. Winny (Founder and CEO), Flo (COO and my favorite spicy queen), and Liam (CTO and a man on a quest for enlightenment — according to his Tarot reading), are just wonderful people.

I’ve known Winny since the first-ever Chipped prototype at Devconnect in Istanbul and I met Flo in person in Bangkok. Hanging out with them is always a breath of fresh air for me. When they say they love you, they mean it. They call things like they are, no BS, and have high standards as entrepreneurs for their product, merch, events, and activations.

We had half of the restaurant all to ourselves, and ended up closing down the place, too. I’m the kind of person who loves 1:1s and small gatherings. I’m willing to invest a lot into relationships once I’ve confirmed that the person is right and would put in an equal effort, so this was incredibly aligned.

The following morning, Flo and I went to a Pilates class with a chirpy instructor and not a single crypto person in the room (heaven). It was my first-ever Pilates class and I am obsessed. Sign me up to the cult, please.

After day one at the Loft, we hit up a local hotpot spot and ate until we couldn’t breathe anymore (or maybe it was the altitude, lol).

Although we had met and spent a little time last year in Brussels, Siannie and I had a true girlhood moment. Just two girlies sipping on coffee, talking about people and places, intuition and instinct, and recording casual content. We ended up creating quite a bit of content together which was one of my highlights.

My closest friends know this — there’s nothing I love more than 1:1 time. Sitting in each other’s company, Siannie and I both noticed how relaxed, at ease, and energized we felt. And that — is how relationships should feel. The space can be really sh*tty at times. Having good, genuine friends makes all the difference.

Conclusion

Even though last year I did the almost entire European ETH circuit, this was my first ETH Denver. “Was it depressing?” My friend Paula DM-ed linking a tweet someone posted.

The market has been all over the place. Electing the president we thought would fast-track crypto has not been panning out the way we all thought so far. I can fully understand how people who have been in crypto 5+ years are feeling jaded and annoyed. But to me, it’s about the long game.

What we’re building here is almost incomprehensible to the regular normie. But I do believe in the tech and that this is the future. Even if there were no groundbreaking unveilings this week, nothing beats having that human connection so you don’t have to feel like you’re in an echo chamber. In all honesty, I come to these events for my friends which is why to me, the week was wonderful.

And this concludes the recap. I’m on my way to Oregon to wear flannel and mount a snowmobile all the way to Canada. I hope you enjoyed, shoot me a DM with your thoughts, and I’ll see you in Cannes.