Proposal for ETHDenver 2025 Attendance

[nblogist]

Proposal for ETHDenver 2025 Attendance

Context

I am eager to represent Darwinia Network at ETHDenver 2025, scheduled from February 23 to March 2, 2025, in Denver, Colorado. This will be Darwinia's first major conference of 2025 and first one in the US in recent times, following our successful participation in Cosmoverse 2024 in Dubai. ETHDenver presents a strategic opportunity to strengthen Darwinia’s position in the broader blockchain ecosystem.

Importance of Attendance

ETHDenver 2025 is crucial for Darwinia Network to:

• Expand Beyond the Polkadot Ecosystem: Engaging with the Ethereum community and its Layer 2 solutions—including Optimism, Arbitrum, zkSync, Base, and Starknet—will allow Darwinia to diversify its associations and integrate with a broader range of blockchain projects.
• Attract Developers and Applications: ETHDenver provides a high-impact environment for showcasing Darwinia’s interoperability solutions, helping us onboard new developers and decentralized applications into our ecosystem.
• Explore Opportunities for DeGov.ai: ETHDenver is a prime venue for identifying potential clients, partners, and projects that could leverage DeGov.ai.
• I am open to accepting requests from the members of the DAO to look and connect with any one specific they know will be there whether a person or a brand.

Budget Request

To facilitate my participation, I propose the following budget:

1. Event Pass:

   • Full Event Pass: $599 USD (ETHDenver Tickets)

2. Flights:

   • Salt Lake City (SLC) → Denver (DEN) → Salt Lake City (SLC) (One Bag): Estimated cost: $150 USD

3. Accommodation (February 22 - March 3):

   • Hotel in Denver: Estimated at $150 per night (including random taxes they usually add), totaling $1,500 USD for 10 nights.

4. Local Transportation:

   • Uber/Lyft or Public Transit: Estimated at $45 per day, totaling $450 USD for 10 days.
   • Justification: Covers transportation to and from the hotel, conference venue, and important side events.

5. Meals and Daily Expenses:

   • Estimated at $50 per day, totaling $500 USD for 10 days.

6. RING Price Fluctuation Buffer:

   • $300 USD allocated to adjust for potential RING price fluctuations.

7. Unexpected Expenses:

   • $500 USD allocated for unforeseen costs such as last-minute transportation needs, emergency expenses, or additional networking opportunities.

Total Budget Request: $3,999 USD

Justification for 10-Night Stay

Although ETHDenver runs for 8 days, my stay is planned for 10 nights because:

• One night before the event (February 22): Attending warm-up and pre-conference networking events to build early connections
• One night after the event (March 3): Participating in post-conference activities, and follow-up meetings, and side events, which are critical for solidifying connections made during the event.

Importance of Early Booking

• Cost Savings: Booking early secures the best rates for flights and hotels.
• Ticket Availability: The ETHDenver pass is in high demand, and early purchase ensures secured access to the full event.

Reporting Commitment

I commit to providing transparent reporting of activities and outcomes, following the same standard as the Cosmoverse Dubai report. This report will include conference highlights, key partnerships, developer engagement metrics, and strategic takeaways.

Strategic Conference Participation

For Q1 2025, we are limiting our participation to 1-2 major conferences, with ETHDenver being the primary focus. This ensures resource efficiency while maximizing Darwinia’s exposure and return on investment.

Conclusion

ETHDenver 2025 presents a high-value opportunity for Darwinia Network to broaden its ecosystem, attract developers, and establish key partnerships within the Ethereum and Layer 2 communities. The investment in this event is expected to generate significant long-term benefits in ecosystem expansion, developer adoption, and multi-chain interoperability.

---

Note: All cost estimates are based on current available information and are subject to change.

[Laki389]

In general, I am always FOR attending significant web3 events and making connections with other teams, ecosystems.

My feedback is whether this should perhaps go through RingDAO?
Checking https://www.tally.xyz/gov/ringdao I see that DCDAO has not yet applied for Q1 2025.

In the already voted application for Q4 2024, there is no funding for such events/conferences.

Therefore, I will wait for the opinions of Denny and Nada to decide how or if I will vote. 👍

[nblogist]

CC : @hackfisher

[hackfisher]

I think apply via DCDAO is fine, there might be remaining funds from Q4, @furoxr know details.

For budget around $3000-$4000, I feel it's barely acceptable, but I won't accept any further funding requests after the event fact.

[hackfisher]

@nblogist
Considering the funds presure on DCDAO side,
I told eve about your plan, there is possibility that Helixbox can sponsor $1000 for the proposal if you can help eve to grow Helixbox brand awareness and user comminity there.

In this we can reduce something to $2999 on the DCDAO side.