Jasper, an Early Generative AI Winner, Cuts Internal Valuation as Growth SlowsRead more

Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin on stage at EthDenver. 
Photo by Alexandra Masihy, EthDenver.
Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin on stage at EthDenver. Photo by Alexandra Masihy, EthDenver.

In Denver, an Ethereum Conference Overflows With Burning Man Vibes and Anti-VC Sentiment


One attendee said in shock: “No one expected crypto to get this big.”

Feb. 24, 2022 10:00 AM PST

“You can’t help but walk around here and go, ‘What the fuck is this?’”

John Paller is sitting in a small, white-walled meeting room somewhere inside the century-old Denver Sports Castle, a six-floor, 35,000-square-foot former Chrysler showroom that’s overdue for a renovation. The longtime Denver entrepreneur says that the venue is a “total pile of shit,” barely equipped to handle an 8,500-person tech conference. But for the thousands milling around, taking in the immersive art installations, puppy-petting areas, live music, non-fungible token art galleries, and “zen zone” for sound baths, massages and oracle readings, the building’s griminess is an afterthought. "People come here for the vibe, man,” Paller tells me. “They come here because it’s chill as fuck and people want to be a part of it.”

Paller, sweaty and breathless as he sips on a yerba mate, is the founder of EthDenver, a nearly two-week-long gathering for devotees of the Ethereum blockchain. The conference began last week with seven days of technical workshops and fireside chats with Ethereum founders like Vitalik Buterin and crypto-adjacent celebrities like Andrew Yang and Kimbal Musk (brother of Elon), and continued this week with a retreat to the nearby ski town of Breckenridge, Colo. Paller organized the first Ethereum-focused conference in 2018, envisioning it as a mix of Burning Man, South by Southwest and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, all themed around Ethereum, the blockchain that paved the way for the rise of NFTs and helped birth the Web3 movement. EthDenver, he said, is an “experience of the future.”

Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.
Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.
Former Apple design chief Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photos by Getty.
Exclusive
Designer Jony Ive and OpenAI’s Sam Altman Discuss AI Hardware Project
Jony Ive, the renowned designer of the iPhone, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have been discussing building a new AI hardware device, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
From left to right: Blair Effron, Robert Pruzan and David Handler. Photos by Getty; Tidal Partners.
Exclusive Finance
Disputes, Employee Misconduct Rattle Centerview’s Silicon Valley Dreams
The San Francisco Bay Area–based bankers at Centerview Partners, the investment bank that advised Silicon Valley Bank’s owner and Credit Suisse through recent turmoil, got two doses of bad news last week.
Art by Clark Miller
Exclusive startups entertainment
MasterClass Takes a Crash Course in Frugality
MasterClass had a problem with the shoot featuring its latest star instructor, Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photos via Getty
Exclusive microsoft ai
How Microsoft is Trying to Lessen Its Addiction to OpenAI as AI Costs Soar
Microsoft’s push to put artificial intelligence into its software has hinged almost entirely on OpenAI , the startup Microsoft funded in exchange for the right to use its cutting-edge technology.
From left: Paul Graham, Garry Tan and Michael Seibel. Photos by Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan.
Exclusive startups ai
Y Combinator’s Garry Tan Goes to the Mat
Garry Tan was in his happy place. Surrounded by food trucks and techies basking in San Francisco’s September sun, the CEO of Y Combinator snapped selfies with entrepreneurs as he meandered through a crowd of 2,700 attendees at the startup accelerator’s annual alumni event.
Dave Rogenmoser, cofounder of Jasper. Photo via Getty.
Exclusive startups ai
Jasper, an Early Generative AI Winner, Cuts Internal Valuation as Growth Slows
Jasper AI, an early darling of the generative artificial intelligence boom, has cut the internal value of its common shares 20%, according to former employees who were notified by the company.