ETH Denver 2025 — Signals from the Ground at Crypto’s Crossroads
ETH Denver 2025 was less about Ethereum and more about where the industry is heading next. Amid a noticeable lack of energy, the MV Global team immersed itself in over 25 side events to assess the evolving sentiment and sector trends. What we found was an industry recalibrating — moving away from speculative excess and returning to fundamentals, with renewed focus on real-world assets (RWAs), the Bitcoin ecosystem, AI integration, and DePIN growth. While venture capital deployment slows and timelines compress, the path forward is clear: build real products that deliver lasting value.
The MV Global team made our annual pilgrimage to Denver for the year’s largest Ethereum-focused event, prepared to take the pulse of the ecosystem and identify the trends shaping its future.
While the official ETH Denver conference delivered opportunities to meet emerging teams and projects, our focus remained on the side events — where the real, unfiltered conversations happen.
Across over 25 side events and countless discussions with founders, investors, and builders, we tracked a series of critical signals that reveal both where the industry stands today and where it must go next.
Not Ethereum Denver
Perhaps the most striking realization of the week was how little ETH Denver 2025 was actually about Ethereum.
On-stage content featured vocal Ethereum critics, like Max Resnik, and alternative ecosystems staking their claims. The exhibition space and sponsorships were dominated by competing L1s — Solana, Move, Monad, Sui, and NEAR — while side events leaned heavily toward their respective ecosystems.
This shift raises an important reflection: Ethereum’s decentralized nature has always been a source of strength, but its lack of clear leadership and coordination is increasingly leaving space for alternatives to capture attention and developer mindshare.
At MV Global, we believe that a strong, focused Ethereum community remains essential for the health of the broader crypto ecosystem. Strengthening leadership and coordination within Ethereum should be an industry-wide priority.
A Noticeable Lack of Enthusiasm
Conferences often serve as a sentiment gauge for the broader market, particularly retail. In bull cycles, free-to-attend events like ETH Denver overflow with retail participants and crypto tourists. This year, the contrast was stark.
Empty halls. Panelists outnumbering audiences.
The energy? Muted.
In conversations with fellow investors, this wasn’t seen as a reaction to short-term price movements. Instead, there was a more existential questioning of the industry’s direction.
Are stablecoins and memecoins really the apex of what we’re building? Where is the next wave of groundbreaking products that deliver real utility?
This level of self-reflection may signal the start of a healthier phase — one less driven by speculative hype and more by purpose.
Return to Fundamentals
One positive trend stood out: a collective shift back to fundamentals.
Teams are increasingly focused on tangible metrics — revenue, user growth, and sustainable business models — over inflated valuations and theoretical total addressable markets.
We observed a growing emphasis on Real-World Assets (RWAs), as teams seek to anchor blockchain solutions to real economic activity. Tokenized treasuries, supply chains, and on-chain finance products point toward a future where blockchain applications serve practical, high-value use cases rather than speculative narratives.
At MV Global, this is the foundation we believe the next cycle will be built on: teams solving real problems for real users.
Sector Trends: Bitcoin, AI, and DePIN
Several key sectors dominated the conversations and side events:
1. Bitcoin Ecosystem
The most established blockchain is experiencing a renaissance. New protocols are unlocking yield opportunities around Bitcoin, introducing innovative financial products that leverage its security and ubiquity to finally build a thriving on-chain economy.
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI’s crossover with blockchain was another major theme. Discussions spanned distributed computing models, AI agents operating at the application layer, and ways to decentralize AI infrastructure. While optimism is high, so are the challenges. Scaling reliable, decentralized AI systems remains a difficult technical problem.
3. DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks)
DePIN projects, in contrast, are already demonstrating real-world traction. By incentivizing the development of physical infrastructure — like wireless networks, energy grids, and IoT sensor deployments — these protocols are showing concrete growth in users and revenue.
Of these, DePIN remains the most grounded and immediately promising sector in our view.
Funds Are Deploying Sparingly
While VCs were present in Denver, active deployment was rare.
Most funds raised in the 2021–2022 cycle are either fully or nearly deployed. Returns on recent token launches have been underwhelming, delaying liquidity events and pushing back returns to LPs. This has created a bottleneck: LPs are hesitant to re-up without seeing distributions, and new fundraises are stalling.
Crypto venture capital, once celebrated for its accelerated liquidity compared to traditional VC, is now facing a reality check. Distributions are delayed. Patience is thin.
The result? Fewer deals, stricter diligence, and a prioritization of projects that can quickly demonstrate value.
Impatience Is Real
This funding landscape has compressed timelines across the board.
Investors want liquidity. Advisors push for launches. Founders feel the heat.
But meaningful adoption doesn’t adhere to these timelines. Rushed launches often result in underdeveloped products or unsustainable growth hacks that burn out quickly.
Right now, many projects are stuck. They have viable technology, but they’re waiting for the right moment to ship — a window that often feels like it’s constantly shifting.
The market must reconcile these mismatches between product readiness and capital cycles if we’re to build lasting, impactful solutions.
Conclusion
ETH Denver 2025 was a mirror reflecting a maturing industry.
Ethereum’s reduced dominance, waning retail enthusiasm, and tighter capital flows underscore that the speculative era is fading. What’s emerging in its place is an industry realigning around fundamentals: real products, real users, and real economic impact.
The Bitcoin ecosystem, AI integration, and DePIN growth demonstrate that innovation remains strong — but it’s shifting towards practical applications and sustainable business models.
About MV Global
Established in 2019, MV Global has emerged as a force in the Web3 landscape focused on early-stage investments and venture building. Our mission is clear: to partner with mavericks, visionaries, and free thinkers to leverage blockchain-enabled technologies to build for the future.
