On July 2nd & 3rd 2026 there was a conference held in Munich, Germany entitled:
ETHis: Ethereum For The Real World
Trust, Coordination, Ownership, Verification, & Settlement For Real-World Systems
The conf was held in parallel to the “Festival der Zukunft” (Festival for the Future), which happens every year at the Deutsches Museum, the world’s largest science and technology museum.
This is a different setting to the usual Web3 conference circuit. Science, industry, and real-world systems interconnect in a massive building that houses the machines and technology that helped shape the modern world.
The conference website is superbly designed with replete information and an interactive programme that enables users to earmark talks they intend to attend.
The sessions were divided into thematic domains including:
Real-World Productive Assets: Productive assets, credit, and infrastructure are moving on-chain as programmable ownership and settlement rails.
ZK Privacy: Privacy-preserving proofs for identity, compliance, verifiable data, and institutional workflows without unnecessary data exposure.
DePIN & Hardware: Physical networks, sensors, energy systems, robotics, and hardware connected to Ethereum-native coordination and settlement.
DeFi & Stablecoins: Settlement, liquidity, treasury, and payments moving toward always-on rails that institutions and users can actually use.
AI & XRisk: Defensive acceleration in practice: open, accountable, privacy-aware systems that protect agency as AI capability increases.
Governance & DAOs: On-chain coordination for shared resources, protocol stewardship, public goods, and institutions that need credible decision-making.
The Thursday was devoted to Expert Circles, small groups of panelists gathered in a semicircle that enabled audience participation. The topics were:
DePIN: From Experiment to Industrial Infrastructure
Real-world Coordination and Network States
The Lessons from Decentralized Autonomous Organizations
Value Management and Venture Strategy
Frontier of Public Goods and DeSci
Applied Trust and Decentralized Applications
Let’s Talk About Privacy Now!
A sprightly discussion in the “Real-world Coordination and Network States” circle included: Ashton Keys (Society Protocol), co-organizer Kris Millar (VDAO), Matteo Tambussi (Spaghetti ETH), co-organizer Una Wang (ETH Zurich), Nikoline Arns (Hubs Network), and Felix Fritsch (Commons Hub Austria).
The day finished with beer! 🍻 And spritzes, and other beverages, and a catered meal in the museum’s beer garden along the Isar River. It was high-signal networking.
The Expert Circles continued into Friday morning:
Institution and Democracy
Defi and Stablecoin
State of DePIN
The Friday was packed with a roster of talks, panels, and a Lightning Talk track. These screenshots display the sessions, all of which were recorded.* Full descriptions can be viewed on the site.
Some sessions were held on the Dome Stage, a lofty hall where Festival der Zukunft projected an animation on the dome ceiling.
During the “Applied Trust and Decentralized Applications” panel, moderated by co-organizer Donny Lewis, AI definitions from a local LLM, derived from the discussion, were projected onto the dome.
(I was volunteering and spent the day in the Lightning Stage space, bartending and start/stopping the video, and totally enjoyed it!)
In one Lightning Talk Kris Millar from VDAO explained how “local communities and Ethereum-aligned infrastructure can build resilient, antifragile systems in the face of institutional, economic, and technological shocks”.
At the end of the day came a finale, a fireside chat between Vitalik Buterin on remote video and Amir Taaki live. It was a feisty, far-ranging session, a riveting exchange that went overtime, lasting an hour and 20 minutes.
The broadcast is viewable on X and a transcript is on Fileverse.
The conference concluded in the courtyard of the museum with drinks and food. It was summertime, with utterly pleasant weather that enlivened the convivial atmosphere.
*Sessions were recorded and the videos are currently being processed. They’ll soon be published on the ETHis website.
† Kudos to ALL the conference organizers: Donny Lewis, Josef Köhl, Kris Millar, Raphael Spannocchi, Una Wang 🙌
‡ Thanks to the sponsors: Anode, Etched, Fileldgr, Society Protocol, Solar Punk, Swarm, Tradvest, Viridis 👍