Look past the glitz and gluttony of 6-figure NFTs and Dogeclarens and you’ll find a wholesome, open community of builders (or BUIDLERs) dedicated to saving the world. Web3 has the potential to transform global finance, digital infrastructure, online communities and more. The non-profit I work for, Learning Economy Foundation, is working to bring the power of Web3 to education, starting with DAOs (here’s a quick primer on DAOs for education)

This community is a unqiue one. For those not in the know, ETHDenver is the world’s largest Web3 event, with hackathons, panels, parties and more. What separates ETHDenver from the rest of the conference/convention world is the fact that it is community-run and 100% free, funded entirely by donations and sponsorships.

At ETHDenver, I flitted between software demos with single-digit attendance, to surprise concerts featuring DJs deadmau5 and Tiesto, to an audience of thousands listening to Gitcoin founder Kevin Owocki make a moral appeal: ‘take the green pill’ and use generational crypto wealth to fund public goods (check out GreenPill.Party to make the pledge yourself).

Building Community

I went into this event already sold on the promise of Web3. I left with enough inspiration to hold me over until next year’s ETHDenver, and then some. In theory, the Web3 community isn’t geographically based. Yet at the launch of the Blood of Moloch, a Yeet-funded Russian Imperial Stout created by craft beer dedicated DAO RaidBrood, nearly every person I met was Denver-based. This community, by far the most open, excited, and knowledgable group of BUIDLERs I met over my week at ETHDenver. Much of that energy seemed to come from the group’s propensity for in-person community, with frequent meetups, hacking sessions and conferences throughout the year.

I just moved to Albuquerque from Salt Lake City. I love the city so far, its community of artists, entrepreneurs, burrito masters and adobe houses. In a place so singular and defiant, there must be folks dedicated to building a Web3-powered world. If I can meet this community, then maybe I can tap into the vital energy I experienced this last week at ETHDenver.

This blog will document my efforts to discover and celebrate the Web3 community of Burque, my new home. In the unlikely case that such a community doesn’t exist, I’ll do my best to bring it here.

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I’ll update this post with follow links and more, as I get things set up.

Photo by Rich Martello on Unsplash