ETHDenver Returns for its Ninth Edition, Driving Web3’s Global Agenda for 2026

Denver, CO, January 20, 2026 – ETHDenver, the world’s largest Web3-focused innovation festival, returns for its ninth edition from February 17–21, 2026. Since its founding in 2018, ETHDenver has generated nearly $250 million in cumulative economic impact for Colorado and has served as a launch point for thousands of open-source projects and startups worldwide.

Building on the momentum of 2025 and the continued growth of its global community, ETHDenver’s organizers have curated full and half-day content blocks across the main event. These blocks feature back-to-back sessions aligned to specific tracks and communities, creating clearer pathways for attendees to engage deeply with the topics and builders most relevant to them.

For 2026, ETHDenver will take place on a brand-new, state-of-the-art campus-style venue designed to support focused programming, seamless movement between sessions, and integrated onsite side events that keep the community connected throughout the week.

This year’s summit-style format reflects ETHDenver’s expanding role as a convening ground for the industry’s most influential operators, capital allocators, and public-sector leaders.

“ETHDenver has always been about meeting builders where they are,” said John Paller, Founder and Chief Steward of ETHDenver. “When side events doubled because our community craved focused experiences, we evolved. The summit format gives every attendee curated pathways to the conversations that matter most to them.”

For nearly a decade, ETHDenver has functioned as a builder-led platform supporting open-source infrastructure, startups, and public-sector engagement worldwide.

“The culture that started in hacker basements is now influencing national policy and boardroom strategy,” Paller said. “We did not move toward the world. The world moved toward us.”

Blockchain technology is no longer an experiment but a global industry, and the United States is increasingly setting its pace and direction. At the center of that momentum is ETHDenver, where more than 25,000 builders, founders, institutions, and policymakers from 140 countries and all 50 U.S. states attend with the shared goal of shaping Web3’s direction.

ETHDenver operates as a community-owned organization run by SporkDAO, uses a patronage model that shares profits directly with the members who build and sustain the event. SporkDAO distributed more than $470,000 in community-generated profits from ETHDenver across two distributions: $52,800 in December 2024 and $420,000 in October 2025. The October distribution rewarded approximately 7,500 qualifying members based on their staked $SPORK, demonstrating a model where contributors directly participate in the value they help create.

ETHDenver 2026 offers opportunities for both first-time attendees and seasoned builders to explore, build, and contribute at the heart of a truly community-driven ecosystem where there is somETHing for everyone.

About John Paller

John Paller is a Denver-based blockchain entrepreneur and futurist who founded ETHDenver, the world’s largest Web3 and Ethereum-focused hackathon and festival, attracting more than 100,000 participants across eight seasons. He also founded Opolis, an innovative employment ecosystem for independent workers.

With over 20 years of experience in talent acquisition and HR before discovering Ethereum in 2014, Paller now serves on the SporkDAO Board, where he pioneers patronage token models to sustainably fund decentralized ecosystems. His work bridges traditional employment systems with decentralized innovation and has earned him recognition as one of Denver Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” (2014).

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