5 Thoughts Following ETHcc In Cannes
“We don’t want just to succeed. We want to be worthy of succeeding.” — Vitalik Buterin, ETHcc 2025.
I’ve been an Eth bull since my first ETHDenver in 2019, when I saw what was, and remains, the best community in all of crypto. The builders weren’t chasing the next bull run, they were laying the groundwork to make Ethereum home for the next billion users, and they were making the world a better place.
In February, when ETH sentiment seemed to be in free fall, I wrote a post “THE Problem With Ethereum.” I noted that Ethereum was far from perfect, but nothing fundamental had changed, IMHO, other then the narrative and sentiment. And I was pretty sure that pendulum was going to swing the other way at some point. I wrote:
… after Bitcoin, I’m far more bullish on Ethereum than anything else, because the Ethereum community is, by a WIDE margin, the strongest community in crypto. That’s what I viscerally felt when I went to my first ETHDenver in 2019, and every ETHDenver after. Not to mention every ETHcc and Devcon. More of the best and the brightest are still coming to Ethereum, because to many, it’s about more than money. It’s about making the world a better place. A fairer place. In addition to the money. And the best, attract the best.
Happily, by the time ETHcc rolled around at the end of June, Eth was up 55% from it’s bottom in April. ETHcc included 6,400+ participants, a 30% increase from 2024,. Here are my five takeaways:
1. There’s Widespread Belief That The New Leadership At The Ethereum Foundations Is Succeeding
The sentiment re the Ethereum Foundation has notably improved, winning praise from industry thought leaders:
Notably, people are excited about the launch of Etherealize as the new marketing department with a focus on “Connecting Institutions to the Ethereum Ecosystem.”
2. RWA Reamins A Dominant Theme
We all know that financial assets are coming onchain. It’s always been more of a question of “when” not “if”. And while we’ve all been watching the astonishing rise in the amount of Tether and USDC outstanding, the IPO of Circle and its 6X+ rise from its IPO price, has further focused the spotlight on RWA.
3. Robinhood’s Announcement Was The Talk Of The Show
On Monday, the opening day of ETHcc, Robinhood announced it would be offering 200+ tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs across Europe, using Ethereum’s Arbitrum L2. Robinhood also announced staking in the U.S. (on Ethereum & Solana), perpetual futures for eligible EU traders (via Bitstamp), and a new Layer 2 optimized for real-world asset settlement and 24/7 trading. Post the announcement, Robinhood shares hit a record high.
Other tokenized stocks announcements included BackedFi’s launch of , xStocks on Solana, enabling on-chain access to a slew of stocks.
4. Ethereum Is Maturing
ETHcc felt more mainstream. The establishment of clearer regulations is enabling more businesses and investors to engage with Ethereum. All the RWA is bringing the worlds largest financial institutions to the community. The infrastructure is becoming more intelligent. The venue in Cannes felt both higher end and more professional. At 10 years old, Ethereum’s not a kid anymore.
5. Cannes Was A Great Venue
The Palais Des Festivals is a perfect venue, and the red carpet entrance was a nice nod to the Cannes Film Festival. The city is spectacularly beautiful and a dramatic improvement from Brussels the previous year. Most of the events were walkable, and the French Riviera is crypto friendly, with 80+ merchants accepting crypto payments, and noting such highlighting via special storefront stickers. Beach towns are simply the best venues. And Cannes also has plenty of mansions. The rAAVE party at Villa Montana was a highlight. The vibe all week was magical. Ethcc will be back in Cannes next year!
