I had the incredible opportunity to attend the largest Ethereum conference ever, thanks to the #LATAMRoadToDevcon Scholarship offered by SEED Latam this year. From the beginning, the experience was challenging: my first international trip, my first solo trip abroad, and my first time in Asia—from Argentina. It was a true cultural shift with countless hours of flying.
Felicitaciones a los ganadores: @LuchoSca, @d4rm_, @gonzaotc, @lematecat, @carlos_israelj, @valenluciana, @jistro, @thiagorochatr1, @mrwildcat7 y @nathbarreiros
I arrived in Bangkok one week before the event, and from that moment, I was surrounded by incredible people. Thanks to Tadeo, who, although didn’t travel with us, helped us form a group called "Panas Devcon," and they were the best companions for the trip. On the first day, I met Santi, my partner in exploring tourism and culture. Together, we visited many temples and tried our first Pad Thai (mine with chicken and no spicy 🙏🏻).
After these first few days, I arrived at the Panas House with an amazing crew: Alexis, Esteban, Gonza, and Nacho. I'm so thankful to them because they treated me like we had been friends forever. I really value their advice, as it comes from peers who have experienced what I will go through in the coming years, and it has been incredibly enriching.
On the last official day at the Panas House, Luz joined us, and with Gonza, we went to Governance Day to volunteer. It was an incredible side event—the SEEDGov crew picked a great date for it, which was reflected in the top-tier attendees and speakers. I learned about Aragon, governance conflicts, and related topics. Meanwhile, I met amazing people, like the Wonderland crew, the SEEDGov crew, and the entire scholarship group.
After the event, I went to pick up my luggage, and in the evening, I settled into Kismet Casa, my home for most of the trip. Thanks to Lea and Luciano for making that amazing home possible, and to Parsley for referring me to the organization to allow me to stay there ❤️. At the casa I met amazing artists with a lot of creativity and covering different disciplines, like music, painting or decentralized clothing. Their created an amazing Devcon Collection on Zora! You can mint it to support the initiative => Kismet Casa DEVCON 2024 @ Zora.
After my first night at Kismet, I spent two days filled with side events: Aggregation Summit, World Computer Day, Uniday, and the Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress. The best part was learning about cutting-edge topics like real-time blockchains, interoperability, privacy, and products like MegaETH and Unichain. I also met people I admire and shared moments and conversations with them.
Finally, after the side events, Devcon started. The quality of everything was AMAZING: a first-class (and massive) venue, workshops, stands, people, and food. My favorite tracks were Applied Cryptography, Cypherpunk & Privacy, Real World Ethereum, Security, and Developer Experience. I attended great workshops and my first CTF! Thanks to Oxizo and Alexis for being my teammates; I learned a lot from them ❤️.
My favourite talks:
Introduction to hash-based proof systems by Diego Kingston (Aligned)
OpSec for the Dask Forest by Pablo Sabbatella
Firefly - Build your own hardware wallet by Richard Moore
I read every single 1990s Cypherpunk email. Here's waht you should know. by Porter
Security Frameworks by SEAL by Matta (The Red Guild)
The Next 700 EVM Languages by Frangio
Lessons learned from Tor by Roger Dingledine (Tor Foundation)
The best part of this conference is undoubtedly the access you have to the greatest minds in the industry; you can ask your questions to the top experts in the field. Most of my time at the conference was spent talking to incredible minds I could never have met anywhere else. The networking potential is unlimited. Devcon is the best place to bootstrap your career, and I believe initiatives like SEED scholarships are crucial for helping builders thrive.
My last trip experience was ETHGlobal Bangkok, my first hackathon ever, and the biggest hackathon in Ethereum history. I had an amazing team—thanks, Luz and Santi, for being the best teammates and friends! Our focus was on working with interesting technology besides prize hunting, which was so much fun. We learned a lot about Optimism Superchain interoperability and SuperchainERC20, and we had amazing mentors like Parti and Protolambda.
We built Yerba! An experience showcasing how SuperchainERC20 can enhance user experience. We didn't win any prizes, but Yerba was amazing.
That was a little piece of my Devcon experience! The last few days were about relaxing and discovering the last tourist spots on our list. Thanks to SEED for the opportunity, and a shoutout to everyone who was part of this amazing experience. I'm thankful forever.
d4rm
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lots of love, u r amazing !
u too 🫶