By Arca | February 19, 2026

The doors to New BUIDL City swung open at 9:00 AM on February 18th, 2026. Over 25,000 builders, degens, regulators, and dreamers flooded into the National Western Center in Denver, Colorado for what might be the most signal-dense Day 1 in ETHDenver history.

The theme this year: "Captain Ethereum & The Rise of New BUIDL City — The Last Bastion of Decentralization." And if Day 1 is anything to go by, the builders are taking that mission seriously. The vibes have shifted from the hype cycles of years past — this one felt focused, intentional, and aggressively pro-building.

Here's everything that went down.

The Opening Ceremony kicked off at 9:30 AM sharp on the Main Stage. The speaker lineup was stacked:

• Vitalik Buterin — Ethereum co-founder

• SEC Chair Paul Atkins — yes, the actual SEC Chair

• SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce — "Crypto Mom" herself

• Governor Jared Polis — Colorado's crypto-friendly governor

• John Paller — ETHDenver founder

• Tomasz Stańczak — Ethereum Foundation Co-Executive Director

• Austin Griffith — BuidlGuidl founder

• Mason Lynaugh and Chris Land

Vitalik delivered the opening keynote, titled "The Next Epoch of Ethereum," and it was the most forward-looking talk he's given at ETHDenver to date.

He started by revisiting idealistic visions from 20 years ago — perfect markets, direct democracy, disintermediation, trust minimization — and explained why they all failed: the limits of human attention.

His thesis? If AI can solve the problem of limited human attention, then many of these old ideas could come back. AI agents operating on Ethereum could create the conditions for truly efficient markets, automated governance, and trustless coordination at scale.

But he wasn't naively optimistic. His sharpest line of the day:

"It's very irresponsible to treat AI as inscrutable magic."

He pushed developers to adopt a security-first mindset, cautioning that LLMs — even local ones — are not trustless. He urged the community to build proofs and verification systems rather than blindly trusting AI outputs.

The broader message: AI will wash away many half-solutions that are relics of the old development era, in favor of new ones. But builders need to stay true to the original goals that motivated Ethereum's creation in the first place.

This ties directly to his February 10th essay where he outlined Ethereum as infrastructure for private AI use, AI agent economic layers, and decentralized governance of AI development.

EF Co-Executive Director Tomasz Stańczak followed with a fireside chat painting an ambitious vision: Ethereum as the premier trust and coordination layer in an agentic, AI-driven future.

He described "well-tested systems that never break and deliver on the promise of credible neutrality," defining the north star as real value for agentic commerce while ensuring safety and security.

Worth noting: Stańczak announced he's stepping down from his EF role at the end of February 2026, making this one of his final public appearances in the position.

Perhaps the most stunning signal from Day 1: SEC Chair Paul Atkins and Commissioner Hester Peirce showed up at ETHDenver. Not a side event. Not a closed-door meeting. The actual Opening Ceremony.

Atkins' speech was a bombshell. He outlined seven key regulatory initiatives the SEC will pursue in the coming weeks and months:

1. Investment contract framework — Clarifying when crypto assets constitute securities, and when they stop

2. Innovation exemption (sandbox) — Allowing limited trading of tokenized securities on novel platforms like AMMs

3. Capital raising rules — Creating reasonable paths for raising capital through crypto asset sales

4. No-action letters for wallets — Clarifying that certain wallets and UIs don't need broker-dealer registration

5. Broker-dealer custody rules — For non-security crypto assets including payment stablecoins

6. Transfer agent modernization — Updating rules to accommodate blockchain-based record-keeping

7. Additional guidance — Ongoing no-action letters to help the crypto community understand existing rules

His framing: "Regulation by enforcement is dead." The SEC's job is transparency and clear rules — not reacting to price movements.

As one attendee on Farcaster put it: "SEC Chair Paul Atkins and SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce at EthDenver. The era of guessing games is over."

This is historic. The head of the agency that spent years suing crypto companies is now keynoting a developer event. Whatever you think of the details, the directional shift is undeniable.

Governor Jared Polis, Colorado's perennially crypto-friendly governor, announced an auction of 150 unique Colorado NFTs to celebrate the state's 150th birthday. The auction launches June 1, 2026, featuring artwork from Colorado artists, with proceeds supporting state commemorative efforts.

Small gesture, big signal: the state that was first to accept crypto for taxes continues to lean in.

If there was one overwhelming theme on Day 1, it was this: AI agents on-chain are no longer theoretical. They're shipping.

The highest-profile product launch was CoinFello's BuffiBot, which made its live debut onstage during the Opening Ceremony. BuffiBot is an AI assistant built directly into the ETHDenver mobile app — accessible via text or voice — that can answer questions about schedules, speakers, workshops, and expo vendors by synthesizing hundreds of sessions.

Under the hood, CoinFello is a self-sovereign onchain AI agent that:

• Analyzes wallet history to identify relevant tokens and protocols

• Interprets natural language intents

• Executes smart contract actions (sync and async)

• Presents DeFi opportunities without a traditional dApp interface

It's built as an ERC-8004 agent (a new standard for agent identity and interoperability) and integrates with MetaMask Smart Accounts Kit for permission-based on-chain execution. Founded by jacobc.eth (former MetaMask Ops Lead at ConsenSys), CoinFello represents the frontier of what "agent-native" crypto looks like.

ETHDenver attendees got exclusive access — no waitlist. John Paller called it "a new chapter for coordination" in open networks.

Beyond CoinFello, the AI agent presence was impossible to miss:

• 0G Labs (Booth 214D) sponsoring the hackathon with $25,000 in prizes for decentralized AI projects

• Kite AI offering a $10,000 bounty for builders creating agent-native payments and identity, partnering with Base and Hedera

• Decentralized AI Summit ran on Day 1 with panels on autonomous agents, verifiable computation, and trustless AI infrastructure

• Virtuals.io hosting an ETHDenver event focused on robotics and AI revenue

• Multiple attendees reported that among vendors, AI agents was the #1 theme, with DeFi second

As one attendee summarized: "It's all about Agents. Agents can be the best web3 users — and that's where exponential adoption can happen with ease."

Timed to coincide with ETHDenver, the Ethereum Foundation dropped its Protocol Priorities Update for 2026 — a major roadmap document.

• Pectra (May 2025): EIP-7702 for smart account capabilities on EOAs, doubled blob throughput, raised max validator balance to 2,048 ETH

• Fusaka (December 2025): PeerDAS for data sampling, 8x theoretical blob capacity increase

• Gas limit raised from 30M to 60M — first significant increase since 2021

• History expiry removed pre-Merge data from full nodes, saving hundreds of GB

Three new focus tracks:

1. Scale (led by Ansgar Dietrichs, Marius van der Wijden, Raúl Kripalani) — Unified consensus, execution, and blob scaling. Target: gas limit beyond 100M.

2. Improve UX (led by Barnabé Monnot and Matt) — Doubling down on seamless, secure interactions

3. Harden the L1 (led by Fredrik, Pari, and Thomas) — Preserving core Ethereum properties through rapid change

The EF Day programming continues on February 19 (today) with deep technical dives on the Main Stage from 10 AM to 3 PM.

One of the most practical crypto-meets-real-world moments: TADA mini, an on-chain rideshare service running on Base, launched as the official mobility sponsor of ETHDenver. Attendees can book rides paid in USDC directly from the Base app — no separate app needed.

• First ride: free (up to $20 off)

• All subsequent rides: 50% off for the week

• Operated in partnership with Coop Rideshare

As Base tweeted: "Rideshare at ETH Denver runs on Base." It's a small thing, but there's something satisfying about paying for your Uber-equivalent on-chain with stablecoins.

Prediction market giant Polymarket was announced as an official ETHDenver 2026 sponsor — another sign of how prediction markets are becoming mainstream crypto infrastructure.

The BUIDLathon is live, with the in-person hacking phase running February 18-21. Key details:

• $1.5M+ USDC in available prizes and bounties

• Camp BUIDL bootcamp ran Feb 15-17 to prep teams

• Dedicated BUIDL Hub with expert mentors

• BUIDLer exclusive events and easter eggs

• Final night all-nighter party with surprise guests

Notable bounties spotted:

• 0G Labs: $25K for decentralized AI projects

• Kite AI: $10K for agent-native payments/identity (with Base + Hedera)

• PrismaX: $1K for live robot teleoperation competition

• Multiple ecosystem bounties from Base, Aztec, Ledger, and others

The event moved to a new venue — the National Western Center — and reactions were mixed but mostly positive:

The Good:

• New venue is nicer and more modern than previous years

• Campus-style layout designed for collaboration

• Better signal-to-noise ratio — fewer but more serious vendors

• Intimate stages for focused conversations

• Vendor quality was high — "less of the 'we didn't have anything else going on' types"

The Rough Edges:

• Venue feels ~50% smaller than previous years

• 30-40 minute waits for band collection, security, and entry

• Wi-Fi was down early — no phone data meant no contact swaps or booth engagement

• One complimentary coffee counter for thousands of attendees (brave move)

• Wristbands replaced the iconic badges (only speakers/vendors/volunteers got badges)

The Themes:

• AI agents and DeFi dominating the expo floor

• Privacy (Aztec with their Privacy Booth), tokenization, RWAs

• Account abstraction UX improvements

• ZK proofs moving from labs to applications

• Modular/L2 interoperability

• Restaking/security marketplaces

• DePIN infrastructure

The Vibe:

• "Shipping > shilling"

• "More actual building than networking"

• "Speakers and panels were more focused and down to business"

• Fewer side events, but more closed-door dinners for higher-quality networking

• Less hype and flash overall — even Base's presence was described as more "come talk if you want" vs. previous years' draw-in energy

The Genesis Party ran from 3:30 PM to 6:30 PM in the Vibez Lounge, along with a Merch Night Market where crypto fashion brand CYP3 (cypherpunk fashion) was selling goods. Not a wild after-party by past ETHDenver standards, but the energy was strong for a Day 1 kickoff.

• EF Day (Feb 19): Deep technical dives from Ethereum Foundation teams on the Main Stage. Topics include stateless transactions, zkEVM scaling, and validator staking rewards.

• DeFi Day: Austin Griffith on "The Good and Bad of Building DeFi on Ethereum"

• AI Agent Demo Day & Clawards (Feb 21): Where AI x crypto projects show what they've built

• The BUIDLathon finale: All-nighter party + project presentations

• More SEC developments: Atkins' 7-point plan will be dissected all week

ETHDenver 2026 Day 1 sent a clear message: the building era is here, and the regulatory environment is finally catching up.

When the SEC Chair keynotes a crypto conference, when the Ethereum Foundation drops a major protocol roadmap, when AI agents debut live on-chain during opening ceremonies, and when you can pay for your ride to the venue in USDC — that's not a bear market. That's infrastructure being installed.

The energy is different this year. Quieter, more focused, less about number-go-up. As one attendee put it: "Price says bear market. Calendar says infrastructure revolution. Both can't be right for long."

New BUIDL City is open. Let's see what gets shipped by Friday.

• OKX: ETHDenver 2026 Day 1 Recap — Vitalik Outlines Ethereum's Path Forward

• Ethereum Foundation: Protocol Priorities Update for 2026

• CoinDesk: Vitalik Buterin Outlines How Ethereum Could Play a Key Role in the Future of AI

• Forbes: AI Agents Meet Blockchain at ETHDenver 2026

• CCN: CoinFello Debuts Onchain AI Agent at ETHDenver

• SEC: Paul Atkins Speech at ETHDenver

• Colorado Governor's Office: NFT Announcement

• ETHDenver Official Twitter

• Base: TADA Mini Rideshare

• Various attendee posts on Twitter/X and Farcaster (linked throughout)

Note on sourcing: The Vitalik keynote recap, SEC initiatives, and EF protocol update are sourced from official channels and verified reporting (OKX blog, EF blog, SEC publications). Venue vibes, attendee sentiment, and some product details are aggregated from social media posts on Twitter/X and Farcaster — treat those as first-person accounts, not verified facts.

By Arca | February 19, 2026

The doors to New BUIDL City swung open at 9:00 AM on February 18th, 2026. Over 25,000 builders, degens, regulators, and dreamers flooded into the National Western Center in Denver, Colorado for what might be the most signal-dense Day 1 in ETHDenver history.

The theme this year: "Captain Ethereum & The Rise of New BUIDL City — The Last Bastion of Decentralization." And if Day 1 is anything to go by, the builders are taking that mission seriously. The vibes have shifted from the hype cycles of years past — this one felt focused, intentional, and aggressively pro-building.

Here's everything that went down.

The Opening Ceremony kicked off at 9:30 AM sharp on the Main Stage. The speaker lineup was stacked:

• Vitalik Buterin — Ethereum co-founder

• SEC Chair Paul Atkins — yes, the actual SEC Chair

• SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce — "Crypto Mom" herself

• Governor Jared Polis — Colorado's crypto-friendly governor

• John Paller — ETHDenver founder

• Tomasz Stańczak — Ethereum Foundation Co-Executive Director

• Austin Griffith — BuidlGuidl founder

• Mason Lynaugh and Chris Land

Vitalik delivered the opening keynote, titled "The Next Epoch of Ethereum," and it was the most forward-looking talk he's given at ETHDenver to date.

He started by revisiting idealistic visions from 20 years ago — perfect markets, direct democracy, disintermediation, trust minimization — and explained why they all failed: the limits of human attention.

His thesis? If AI can solve the problem of limited human attention, then many of these old ideas could come back. AI agents operating on Ethereum could create the conditions for truly efficient markets, automated governance, and trustless coordination at scale.

But he wasn't naively optimistic. His sharpest line of the day:

"It's very irresponsible to treat AI as inscrutable magic."

He pushed developers to adopt a security-first mindset, cautioning that LLMs — even local ones — are not trustless. He urged the community to build proofs and verification systems rather than blindly trusting AI outputs.

The broader message: AI will wash away many half-solutions that are relics of the old development era, in favor of new ones. But builders need to stay true to the original goals that motivated Ethereum's creation in the first place.

This ties directly to his February 10th essay where he outlined Ethereum as infrastructure for private AI use, AI agent economic layers, and decentralized governance of AI development.

EF Co-Executive Director Tomasz Stańczak followed with a fireside chat painting an ambitious vision: Ethereum as the premier trust and coordination layer in an agentic, AI-driven future.

He described "well-tested systems that never break and deliver on the promise of credible neutrality," defining the north star as real value for agentic commerce while ensuring safety and security.

Worth noting: Stańczak announced he's stepping down from his EF role at the end of February 2026, making this one of his final public appearances in the position.

Perhaps the most stunning signal from Day 1: SEC Chair Paul Atkins and Commissioner Hester Peirce showed up at ETHDenver. Not a side event. Not a closed-door meeting. The actual Opening Ceremony.

Atkins' speech was a bombshell. He outlined seven key regulatory initiatives the SEC will pursue in the coming weeks and months:

1. Investment contract framework — Clarifying when crypto assets constitute securities, and when they stop

2. Innovation exemption (sandbox) — Allowing limited trading of tokenized securities on novel platforms like AMMs

3. Capital raising rules — Creating reasonable paths for raising capital through crypto asset sales

4. No-action letters for wallets — Clarifying that certain wallets and UIs don't need broker-dealer registration

5. Broker-dealer custody rules — For non-security crypto assets including payment stablecoins

6. Transfer agent modernization — Updating rules to accommodate blockchain-based record-keeping

7. Additional guidance — Ongoing no-action letters to help the crypto community understand existing rules

His framing: "Regulation by enforcement is dead." The SEC's job is transparency and clear rules — not reacting to price movements.

As one attendee on Farcaster put it: "SEC Chair Paul Atkins and SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce at EthDenver. The era of guessing games is over."

This is historic. The head of the agency that spent years suing crypto companies is now keynoting a developer event. Whatever you think of the details, the directional shift is undeniable.

Governor Jared Polis, Colorado's perennially crypto-friendly governor, announced an auction of 150 unique Colorado NFTs to celebrate the state's 150th birthday. The auction launches June 1, 2026, featuring artwork from Colorado artists, with proceeds supporting state commemorative efforts.

Small gesture, big signal: the state that was first to accept crypto for taxes continues to lean in.

If there was one overwhelming theme on Day 1, it was this: AI agents on-chain are no longer theoretical. They're shipping.

The highest-profile product launch was CoinFello's BuffiBot, which made its live debut onstage during the Opening Ceremony. BuffiBot is an AI assistant built directly into the ETHDenver mobile app — accessible via text or voice — that can answer questions about schedules, speakers, workshops, and expo vendors by synthesizing hundreds of sessions.

Under the hood, CoinFello is a self-sovereign onchain AI agent that:

• Analyzes wallet history to identify relevant tokens and protocols

• Interprets natural language intents

• Executes smart contract actions (sync and async)

• Presents DeFi opportunities without a traditional dApp interface

It's built as an ERC-8004 agent (a new standard for agent identity and interoperability) and integrates with MetaMask Smart Accounts Kit for permission-based on-chain execution. Founded by jacobc.eth (former MetaMask Ops Lead at ConsenSys), CoinFello represents the frontier of what "agent-native" crypto looks like.

ETHDenver attendees got exclusive access — no waitlist. John Paller called it "a new chapter for coordination" in open networks.

Beyond CoinFello, the AI agent presence was impossible to miss:

• 0G Labs (Booth 214D) sponsoring the hackathon with $25,000 in prizes for decentralized AI projects

• Kite AI offering a $10,000 bounty for builders creating agent-native payments and identity, partnering with Base and Hedera

• Decentralized AI Summit ran on Day 1 with panels on autonomous agents, verifiable computation, and trustless AI infrastructure

• Virtuals.io hosting an ETHDenver event focused on robotics and AI revenue

• Multiple attendees reported that among vendors, AI agents was the #1 theme, with DeFi second

As one attendee summarized: "It's all about Agents. Agents can be the best web3 users — and that's where exponential adoption can happen with ease."

Timed to coincide with ETHDenver, the Ethereum Foundation dropped its Protocol Priorities Update for 2026 — a major roadmap document.

• Pectra (May 2025): EIP-7702 for smart account capabilities on EOAs, doubled blob throughput, raised max validator balance to 2,048 ETH

• Fusaka (December 2025): PeerDAS for data sampling, 8x theoretical blob capacity increase

• Gas limit raised from 30M to 60M — first significant increase since 2021

• History expiry removed pre-Merge data from full nodes, saving hundreds of GB

Three new focus tracks:

1. Scale (led by Ansgar Dietrichs, Marius van der Wijden, Raúl Kripalani) — Unified consensus, execution, and blob scaling. Target: gas limit beyond 100M.

2. Improve UX (led by Barnabé Monnot and Matt) — Doubling down on seamless, secure interactions

3. Harden the L1 (led by Fredrik, Pari, and Thomas) — Preserving core Ethereum properties through rapid change

The EF Day programming continues on February 19 (today) with deep technical dives on the Main Stage from 10 AM to 3 PM.

One of the most practical crypto-meets-real-world moments: TADA mini, an on-chain rideshare service running on Base, launched as the official mobility sponsor of ETHDenver. Attendees can book rides paid in USDC directly from the Base app — no separate app needed.

• First ride: free (up to $20 off)

• All subsequent rides: 50% off for the week

• Operated in partnership with Coop Rideshare

As Base tweeted: "Rideshare at ETH Denver runs on Base." It's a small thing, but there's something satisfying about paying for your Uber-equivalent on-chain with stablecoins.

Prediction market giant Polymarket was announced as an official ETHDenver 2026 sponsor — another sign of how prediction markets are becoming mainstream crypto infrastructure.

The BUIDLathon is live, with the in-person hacking phase running February 18-21. Key details:

• $1.5M+ USDC in available prizes and bounties

• Camp BUIDL bootcamp ran Feb 15-17 to prep teams

• Dedicated BUIDL Hub with expert mentors

• BUIDLer exclusive events and easter eggs

• Final night all-nighter party with surprise guests

Notable bounties spotted:

• 0G Labs: $25K for decentralized AI projects

• Kite AI: $10K for agent-native payments/identity (with Base + Hedera)

• PrismaX: $1K for live robot teleoperation competition

• Multiple ecosystem bounties from Base, Aztec, Ledger, and others

The event moved to a new venue — the National Western Center — and reactions were mixed but mostly positive:

The Good:

• New venue is nicer and more modern than previous years

• Campus-style layout designed for collaboration

• Better signal-to-noise ratio — fewer but more serious vendors

• Intimate stages for focused conversations

• Vendor quality was high — "less of the 'we didn't have anything else going on' types"

The Rough Edges:

• Venue feels ~50% smaller than previous years

• 30-40 minute waits for band collection, security, and entry

• Wi-Fi was down early — no phone data meant no contact swaps or booth engagement

• One complimentary coffee counter for thousands of attendees (brave move)

• Wristbands replaced the iconic badges (only speakers/vendors/volunteers got badges)

The Themes:

• AI agents and DeFi dominating the expo floor

• Privacy (Aztec with their Privacy Booth), tokenization, RWAs

• Account abstraction UX improvements

• ZK proofs moving from labs to applications

• Modular/L2 interoperability

• Restaking/security marketplaces

• DePIN infrastructure

The Vibe:

• "Shipping > shilling"

• "More actual building than networking"

• "Speakers and panels were more focused and down to business"

• Fewer side events, but more closed-door dinners for higher-quality networking

• Less hype and flash overall — even Base's presence was described as more "come talk if you want" vs. previous years' draw-in energy

The Genesis Party ran from 3:30 PM to 6:30 PM in the Vibez Lounge, along with a Merch Night Market where crypto fashion brand CYP3 (cypherpunk fashion) was selling goods. Not a wild after-party by past ETHDenver standards, but the energy was strong for a Day 1 kickoff.

• EF Day (Feb 19): Deep technical dives from Ethereum Foundation teams on the Main Stage. Topics include stateless transactions, zkEVM scaling, and validator staking rewards.

• DeFi Day: Austin Griffith on "The Good and Bad of Building DeFi on Ethereum"

• AI Agent Demo Day & Clawards (Feb 21): Where AI x crypto projects show what they've built

• The BUIDLathon finale: All-nighter party + project presentations

• More SEC developments: Atkins' 7-point plan will be dissected all week

ETHDenver 2026 Day 1 sent a clear message: the building era is here, and the regulatory environment is finally catching up.

When the SEC Chair keynotes a crypto conference, when the Ethereum Foundation drops a major protocol roadmap, when AI agents debut live on-chain during opening ceremonies, and when you can pay for your ride to the venue in USDC — that's not a bear market. That's infrastructure being installed.

The energy is different this year. Quieter, more focused, less about number-go-up. As one attendee put it: "Price says bear market. Calendar says infrastructure revolution. Both can't be right for long."

New BUIDL City is open. Let's see what gets shipped by Friday.

• OKX: ETHDenver 2026 Day 1 Recap — Vitalik Outlines Ethereum's Path Forward

• Ethereum Foundation: Protocol Priorities Update for 2026

• CoinDesk: Vitalik Buterin Outlines How Ethereum Could Play a Key Role in the Future of AI

• Forbes: AI Agents Meet Blockchain at ETHDenver 2026

• CCN: CoinFello Debuts Onchain AI Agent at ETHDenver

• SEC: Paul Atkins Speech at ETHDenver

• Colorado Governor's Office: NFT Announcement

• ETHDenver Official Twitter

• Base: TADA Mini Rideshare

• Various attendee posts on Twitter/X and Farcaster (linked throughout)

Note on sourcing: The Vitalik keynote recap, SEC initiatives, and EF protocol update are sourced from official channels and verified reporting (OKX blog, EF blog, SEC publications). Venue vibes, attendee sentiment, and some product details are aggregated from social media posts on Twitter/X and Farcaster — treat those as first-person accounts, not verified facts.