Welcome back everybody. Hope you had a great lunch, enjoyed some beautiful views. We're going to resume the rest of the afternoon show. We got nine more talks to go and we're going to start off with bringing on Joseph from the European Ethereum Institute to tell you and reaffirm that Ethereum is all you need. So, please give Joseph a big round of applause.
Thank you. Thank you, Karthik. Thanks everyone. Um so, let me let me start with reading a room bit. So, who here cares about policy?
Not a lot of hands. This It's kind of expected. Who Who here actually cares about Europe and what happens in Europe? A few more a few more hands. Who cares about Ethereum?
Right. Um so, I'm actually just like you. I I didn't care about policy all that much. I didn't care about um I didn't care about um the like European space and like European technologies and like European accelerationism or innovations um at all. Um I've been um in the space for quite a bit.
Um actually been on the opposite side. Uh I've been working DeFi, been working with the um the Bitcoin maxi communities at the Institute of Cryptoanarchy. Um and uh for the past decade, I've been trying to be a builder. So, I couldn't care less about regulations because like my uh my view always was we're just going to build stuff that didn't exist before. The regulation will eventually catch up, but let's not worry about it all all that much now because they will just slow us down.
And the processes there are super long. Like I couldn't couldn't kind of care less. I've actually been to multiple events in Brussels in like 2016, 2017. And I just felt that well, they're just talking about the buzzwords. They're just scratching the surface, not really understanding what it is.
And uh it will take some time before they catch up. But things have changed. Uh and I think everybody feels that, right? Um everybody uh here at the ETC and like all of these other conferences uh is talking about institutions coming on chain, uh institutions using this and that chain, like things are getting tokenized, like world is coming on chain. Um and uh I actually think that now is the opportunity to start caring about these things because um inevitably the the regulation has caught up slightly with the stuff that all of you guys have been building in the past like several years.
Uh so now they talk about DeFi. Now they talk about tokenization. And now they even actually started to care about things like MEV and uh they they publish papers on uh MEV and um they started caring about decentralization and and all of these things. Um so uh I thought we we have an opportunity now. It's it's now or or never.
Like either we start actually talking to the regulators and now start talking to the the people on the other side that will shape the um the kind of the rails uh in between which will be moving uh to get this token technology out there to people. Uh or we won't be at like sitting at the table, but we'll be on the table. Uh basically being eaten by centralized exchanges and like TradFi companies stepping into the the wonderful industry that all of you have created and uh just taking their share uh without actually contributing much to all of the hard work that happened previously. So a couple days ago, we finally launched the European Ethereum Institute. And um the the group um um, has the mission to to focus on um, promoting Ethereum, promoting DeFi, uh, promoting the the the the one chain that kind of makes sense to promote.
Um, um, in a way where the the regulators start actually understanding um, what what we are building and like um, we want to make them see what we see. We want to make them see the benefits that the decentralization stack is actually bringing to to the consumers, to them as um, as essentially governments and we want them to use the the open source stack that has been created in the past decade. And just want to package it nicely and like show it show it to them in a digestible form. But why? Why So, why now?
There is a lot of conversation going on around like permission chains. Uh, we we kind of like got back to like 2016, 2017 with all of these like private chains. Now they're not called private chains. Now they're called like permission then open. Uh, but they're essentially the same thing as they were in like 2016, 2017.
But one thing is clear. Um, even even BlackRock, even like all of the big institutions, they recognize the one thing, that there is a golden standard um, for sufficiently decentralized and credibly neutral chain and it's Ethereum. Um, and I think the fight has kind of ended on this uh, on this side. Like we we already know that. Like uh, all of us here know that.
We just need to make sure that also the guys sitting in their suits uh, in their like early early or late 60s understand this and are not sold a different different vision of the world where somebody says decentralization and blockchain and then sells them um, sells them essentially proprietary tech that no one else can use. Um, so in a sense, the same way the Bitcoin community who created this now perhaps like slightly outdated but beautiful immutable stack uh, called Bitcoin uh says that it's Bitcoin, it's not crypto uh to differentiate themselves from the rest of the crypto industry that, you know, often times is like labeled with um um speculation and like um like leverage and casinos. I would say, I would argue that uh we should also kind of carve out our our own space as the Ethereum community and start saying that it's Ethereum, it's not blockchain. It's like we no longer have to talk about um the different the different consensus models. We don't no longer have to talk about uh different versions of how the um how these chains and networks are created because again, there is a golden standard already.
Uh there is the one network that has tens of thousands of nodes running worldwide by multiple um multiple different stakeholders. Obviously, there's still a lot of work to be done um like on block builder side or uh or the the client development side, but Ethereum is is further down the road than most of the other technologies and the likelihood that for them to catch up is actually fairly dimming um because in my period in my in my opinion, Ethereum already has this Lindy effect, already has this network effect uh that was needed. And again, coming back to the quote um by Laura Shin like even the institutions that have way uh that are way closer to regulators, they they've recognized it. So, what's the what's the actual end mission of the institute? We want Ethereum specifically and I I don't mean eat.
Like I don't forget the asset for a moment. Uh and I don't mean the the only the the one chain, but I mean the entire technological stack being built around this to be recognized as strategic public infrastructure. The same way the internet or the electric grid is is recognized as strategic infrastructure um and to be considered essentially a public good. I know that that term has been, you know, waved around a lot, uh but the the world that I want to live in is the world where um people get access to to RPCs and to this like historical data set that's living on Ethereum the same way they get access to the internet and to the web in their public libraries. Uh because a lot of services that can actually have very meaningful impact on people's lives like like basic timestamping or data verification uh will be living on those chains.
Like And I'm I'm not even touching the financial the the financial aspects of this, right? Um so this is the goal of the institute. Uh my goal and like my motivation for getting involved with the institute is to get Ethereum as a technology to to actually make it to even even the EU Innovation Act and like to to actually have EU to recognize that the the open source code and all of the work being put behind these technologies is in their own best interest and um they shouldn't be they shouldn't be afraid. They should actually embrace this. Uh my point and like kind of um my argument is that if we if we just if we are too afraid and if we constrain this ecosystem too much, uh then Europe and like not only EU but also also UK and Switzerland will end up in a similar situation as we did end up with the web.
Like all of the web companies, all the internet companies being created in Silicon Valley um and the only way you or Europe being able to influence them is through um regulation that just like catches up with them making ton of money on your private information uh and on like people living living in Europe. And if in my opinion if they don't recognize it soon enough, if we don't help them to recognize this soon enough, uh then we are screwed. It will It will just be the same thing over and over. And in 20 years, uh all of the all of the business creation, all of the all of the validators, all of the all of the stakes, uh will be elsewhere than in Europe. And currently, um and this isn't like a national issue.
Currently, a lot of the stack is actually being created in Europe. Like a lot of the lot of the projects that we all are using um has been created in Europe, uh but oftentimes like the the companies and kind of the the headquarters of those companies, they they leave. So, looking looking at this from EU's perspective, they leave to either like UK uh or Switzerland. In the better cases, the worst cases, they leave to like Cayman Islands or uh or US or uh anywhere anywhere else. Wrong button.
So, what do we want to do exactly? Uh first part, it's kind of a one of the missing components, uh we want to provide evidence. Um I think a lot of the people in the room will agree with me on the fact that Ethereum is the golden standard. Um but the regulators don't see it. We see it in our own bubble because we like to share, you know, good news to our friends.
Um but um the people who actually calling the shots, they don't have access to the same information. Um oftentimes, they just get like summaries of of papers and like summaries of some buzzwords. Uh and then eventually, they they meet a guy uh from a permission chain uh at the conference uh or uh get invited to lunch and then they they think that that person represents the the industry. But no, they they just meet the sales guy, right? They don't They don't meet the rest of the community.
So, what we want to do is that instead of trying to catch up with papers being published by the commission, papers being published by the ECB, we actually want to help them to get the information before they actually start caring. So, we want to start writing papers, create infographics, uh with data, um and of course, like sources of those data, uh where they can start recognizing the differences in the ecosystem because it's it's not just one crypto, it's not just like one DeFi, but uh there are different shades of gray, right? Um and this touches on tokenization and kind of the reasons for for why tokenization should be happening on Ethereum L1 and uh not on like very insecure like other options. Uh same goes for stable coins and the whole stable coin stack. If you you guys are following the the kind of the ECB take on how how uh euro stable coin should look like.
Um and the same goes for DeFi projects. So, we want to What we we want to do is making them realize that there isn't like one DeFi, but that there actually is a is a part which could be considered something like true DeFi, things that are actually decentralized, things that actually have those properties that protect the consumer and start working with the these projects um on increasing their uh increasing their public perception and like getting people to see the benefits and actually helping to increase increase their security rather than trying to constrain them the same way they would and should be constraining projects that just call themselves DeFi, but are actually just mimicking uh what the rest of the industry is doing um calling themselves DeFi. So, projects that have like simple admin keys, that have single points of failure, etc. Um and the last part, again coming to the fact that Ethereum isn't just the blockchain, right? Like Ethereum is this entire ecosystem of different technological stacks that are touching on things like identity, um um voting systems, things like ZKPs, um we're we're at the stage where European institutions are looking at like Microsoft world or like office the office stack, realizing that well, yeah, they're all running on proprietary software, which they all pay for.
Um but in parallel there is this like wonderful open-source uh stack of uh LibreOffice or OpenOffice. Um and this is just this is like very basic thing, right? It's like one tool that they're using. Uh and then they didn't even like consider that um the Ethereum stack is is much wider and can actually touch on many many of the public services such as um uh privacy-preserving identity systems of voting or basic timestamping for validating things like um news outlets and and news sources. Um and the institute is here to teach them that.
The institute is here to show them what was created, what you guys have created in the past years, um and make them realize this is for for them to take and for them to embrace and work with. In my opinion, there are many associations on um like in the industry already. Uh there are there are many groups. Um there are many alliances. And my take on this is we just don't need another one.
Like we we don't need another standard. So, what I would like to call the institute I would I don't know I don't want to call it a so an association, I want to call it a task force. Uh I want this to be turned into a proactive outreach uh group uh where we will proactively reach out to not only the regulators, but also the projects and try to bring them to the table. Uh so they wouldn't be overshadowed by someone else or some like centralized project that just pays more for being in the room. And we want to be the voice of the true DeFi and the the true pioneers in decentralization.
Um So, uh before I finish, um uh I want I want to tell you a little little story. So, um I think we we have something something new which the the previous attempts on making a difference on the policy spectrum um in crypto didn't have. Um we actually have one of the regulators now working directly with us. Um and it wouldn't happen without the the amazing uh Ethereum community to to get this person to um to to recognize that Ethereum is really built different than the rest of crypto. Um so, besides this, uh I also I also help uh host Eth Prague.
And we actually started kind of proactively reaching out to regulators, bringing them bringing them to us. And I By the way, I think And this is a prompt to all of the conference organizers, I don't think we we should be waiting for them to join these rooms, uh even though we can be as open as we are about like them being invited, I think we actually have to do the work. We have to knock on their doors and we have to get them engaged, invite them over. Um uh we shouldn't ask them for much. Like we we should just ask them to be in the room.
So, please, if you if you know if you know a regulator, if you know someone sitting in a parliament or one of the ministries on your in your nation-state, like please, just send them a ticket to a conference. Uh let them let them be here among us to to just get engaged in a in a conversation. And this is exactly what we did last year at the Eth Prague. Uh we invited one of the one of the people involved in um uh in MiCA. Um I like to kind of label him as as a person who uh who removed DeFi from the scope of Mika on the basis of the the regulators actually not understanding sufficiently what the DeFi actually is.
Um and uh this is what we did. We invited him over because we wanted to hear their their story. We wanted to hear um their point of view and kind of get in their shoes. Um so he she showed up to the conference. Um we had a long conversation around kind of the the benefits that he sees or or kind of the the concerns that he has around crypto.
And to my surprise, those concerns were actually very similar to the concerns that I had and uh he kind of saw the saw the benefits. Um So uh we were just casually chatting and then I I asked him if he if he was willing to to actually help us to convey that message to the other regulators because he he was a person actually like was sitting on the other side. And uh yeah, to my surprise he said yes. So now officially and this was announced uh 3 days ago, uh we have one of the former uh members of the European Parliament, Ondřej Kovařík, joining our ranks and he's going to help us uh proactively work on the regulatory side in Europe. Regarding the team, some of you may may know the group called UCI, the European Crypto Initiative.
Uh the institute essentially is a is a new re-labeling and refocusing of that group uh with uh Marina uh at the forefront and several other people from the individual uh member states. Uh now finally uh also with one of the guys that uh came from the other side. Um The group is also supported by um uh several of the of the ecosystem champions. So we got some initial funding from Ethereum Foundation. Uh we got a ticket from uh Mihai Alisie of Akasha including the the wonderful domain domain name ethereum.
institute and also from Gnosis. If you're interested in supporting this initiative, again, this isn't a like a membership ask, but you can definitely reach out to us and if you if you resonate with the with the mission and the mandate that that we focus on then please use this QR code and reach out over over Telegram. Give us a week if you want to reach out officially over email. This is not set up yet. I just essentially white coded the website last weekend.
But in a week the contact@ethereum.institute will work as well. Well, this was this. Thank you so much and yeah, I don't I don't know if we have time for questions or not. No, there's no time.
Well, thank you again. And yeah, see you around.
Automatic transcript — names and jargon may be misspelled.