On September 22, ETHShanghai 2026 officially kicked off in Shanghai, co-hosted by ETHPanda, PANews, and The Excited Few. This event received special support from GCC, Wanxiang Blockchain Lab, LXDAO, ETH HK Hub, Web3Buidler.Tech, SigMarket, and Nantang DAO.
This conference, themed "The Renaissance of Ethereum," gathered developers, builders, and thought explorers to re-examine the direction of technological evolution from the history and original intention of the crypto world and to extend discussions to AI, open-source collaboration, public goods, cryptography, and the future internet.
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, stated in an online speech centered around the topic of EIP-8288 that Ethereum is exploring the introduction of a recursive STARK memory pool mechanism to alleviate conflicts among quantum safety, privacy protection, and network scalability. Currently, the cost of quantum-safe signature verification could reach 100,000 to 300,000 Gas; transactions involving privacy proofs may consume hundreds of thousands or even millions of Gas. As the application of quantum-safe signatures and privacy technologies expands, the on-chain verification burden is likely to increase further.
The core idea of this proposal is to separate signature and proof verification from on-chain execution, allowing memory pool nodes to collect and aggregate relevant cryptographic objects before packaging transactions, ultimately generating a unified proof to be validated by the Ethereum main chain. Users still need to submit transactions along with corresponding signatures and proofs, but the main chain does not need to handle all complex objects one by one, thus reducing on-chain data and verification overhead. Vitalik sees this as a specialized computational scaling solution for signature and proof verification, alleviating the burden on the main chain by distributing some computations to network nodes for parallel execution.
This mechanism is expected to bring cost optimization for quantum-safe transactions, privacy transactions, and Layer 2 state proof submissions. Vitalik indicated that as the cost of proof verification decreases, the frequency of Layer 2 submissions to Ethereum is likely to increase, with intervals potentially shortening from several minutes to every minute, or even less. Additionally, developers can shift some high-cost computations to client-side execution and then submit the generated proofs for on-chain verification, expanding Ethereum's support for different computational architectures and external applications.
Vitalik believes this direction reflects a trend in Ethereum's architecture evolving from generalized computing to specialized, modular computing and mentioned that new instruction sets like RISC-V may gain more application space. Currently, the relevant mechanism is still in the proposal, simulation, and testing stages.
Dr. Xiao Feng, Vice Chairman of Wanxiang Holdings and Chairman of Wanxiang Blockchain, noted that his support for Ethereum was not merely a matter of investment judgment, but recognition of its concept of supporting third-party development of various applications through a new type of accounting system. He believes that the original intention of Ethereum is to build infrastructure for applications; despite some reflections during its development, its long-term value remains worthy of attention. Ethereum does not need a renaissance; he believes that as a highly market-share blockchain infrastructure, it still has a significant application foundation. The ultimate destiny of all infrastructures is to be forgotten. The deeper the infrastructure goes to the bottom level, the less users and application developers need to directly perceive its existence.
Regarding the development of the Ethereum Foundation, Xiao Feng believes that the idealized characteristics of the foundation are commendable, but its ultimate goal should be to gradually decentralize its role until the foundation is no longer needed. He pointed out that this year there have been more organizations independent of the foundation emerging in the Ethereum ecosystem, which is an important manifestation of Ethereum's maturity. One of the important growth spaces for Ethereum in the future lies in further expanding into significant markets such as the United States and China.
Speaking about Hong Kong's role in this round of the crypto cycle, Xiao Feng believes that Hong Kong benefits from the common law system and international financial center advantages, serving as a testing ground for the mainland, exploring practices in digital assets, stablecoins, and blockchain, and accumulating experience for future policy research. However, for Hong Kong itself, developing relevant industries is not merely an experiment but an important component of maintaining and enhancing its status as an international financial center. He also emphasized that the level of regulatory prudence in Hong Kong is related to the scale of the financial market and risk tolerance. Compared with the United States, markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and the European Union are usually more cautious when facing financial innovation because risks in a single project can have a more pronounced impact on a smaller local financial system.
In the fusion of crypto and AI, Xiao Feng believes the two are different aspects of the same thing and will further integrate in the future. He noted that payment tools for AI applications will involve stablecoins and other digital currencies, especially tokenized digital twin currencies based on real-world currencies. With the development of AI applications and intelligent agents, tokenized currencies are expected to become important tools for transactions and payments. Meanwhile, the AI industry chain faces risks like fluctuations in chip, electricity, and computing power prices, thus requiring corresponding financial tools for management. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange plans to launch computing power index futures this October; as the AI industry develops, price risk management for basic resources like computing power will become an important application direction in the financial derivatives market, including tokenized perpetual contracts.
Xiao Feng finally pointed out that AI infrastructure development requires huge financing, with future funding needs potentially reaching trillions of dollars or even larger scales. Relying solely on existing capital market structures may not fully meet this demand. Therefore, the United States is exploring further connections between global funds, investors, and liquidity through financial asset tokenization and all-weather trading. He believes that if a more globalized capital market that supports 24/7 trading can be built, it will help meet the massive financing needs for AI infrastructure development.
At a roundtable discussion themed “What Are We Losing?”, several crypto OGs discussed changes in looking inward at their original intentions, the impact of looking outward towards AI, and other perspectives.
Juxie, a partner at Waterdrop Capital, mentioned that among early blockchain project founders, there are many excellent software architects, but technical capability does not necessarily mean adherence to decentralized principles. Taking EOS founder BM as an example, she believes that BM made too many compromises during project practice, causing some designs to deviate from the original intention of decentralization. However, many ideas can ultimately land thanks to the continuous participation and promotion of community developers. Discussing industry development, she believes that it is not easy for Ethereum to replicate the rapid development of early projects; it is crucial for young people to choose fast-developing industries, and the crypto industry has already passed its early rapid growth stage. She feels that Ethereum's exploration of implementing democratic mechanisms on-chain still reflects a unique significance of the industry, but the close link between Ethereum and finance also makes it easy for the outside world to view it as a “big casino.”
Zhang Yuanjie, co-founder of Conflux, stated that the charm of blockchain lies in providing an open financial infrastructure that allows people from different backgrounds, educations, and abilities to participate. The early crypto industry was highly inclusive; although it followed market competition mechanisms, it also nurtured significant innovations like stablecoins and DeFi, providing new options for groups that traditional financial services overlooked.
Zhang Yuanjie recalled that around 2018, the bar for entrepreneurship in the crypto industry was relatively low, allowing small teams to try innovation and quickly launch products. Compared to many traditional industries, crypto entrepreneurship provided a greater margin for error for small teams. However, as the industry gradually integrates with traditional finance, the costs for technology development, capital investment, team management, and compliance are rising, and the bar for entrepreneurship has also increased. The current startup environment has changed significantly, making it difficult to replicate the early model of quickly launching projects with a small number of people. Meanwhile, emerging technologies like AI are bringing new direction choices to entrepreneurs. Faced with industry changes, entrepreneurs need to reassess their abilities, interests, and market needs. However, in Zhang Yuanjie’s view, the crypto industry still retains a certain openness compared to many fields, providing opportunities for exploration and participation for entrepreneurs.
Sun Ming, the legal advisor for Distributed Capital, discussed the compliance process of the crypto industry from the perspective of law and financial systems. He believes that the crypto industry is exploring a new generation of financial development models; as the industry develops, the regulatory environment is also changing, shifting from an early relatively vague state to clearer administrative norms and system explorations.
Sun Ming mentioned that the practices of the U.S. SEC regarding the approval of crypto-related financial products reflect that regulatory agencies are starting to respond to emerging assets and transaction models through existing financial systems. However, regulatory recognition does not mean that all crypto businesses receive equal acknowledgment; specific projects still need to be judged based on their asset characteristics, issuance methods, and business models. In his view, compliance is an unavoidable topic in the development process of the crypto industry.
During an AI-themed roundtable, Heyang Zhou, co-founder of AFK AI, Lauging, Asia-Pacific business director of Kite AI, and Ian Xu, co-founder of OpenBui, exchanged ideas on measuring and incentivizing open-source contributions, collaboration models between commercial companies and open-source communities, and the integration of AI and blockchain. They believe there is still a lack of effective solutions for quantifying and incentivizing open-source contributions, as simply calculating points based on code submissions and article publications is not sustainable. In contrast, the shared values and common goals of the community are essential factors for retaining long-term contributors.
Regarding AI open source, they believe ordinary developers find it difficult to directly engage in core tasks like model training, while directions such as toolchains, documentation, and ecological applications offer more participation space. Although they attempted to use blockchain to record different contributors’ contributions to specific tasks, they found it difficult to accurately determine which contribution led to the final outcome, thus adjusting their exploration direction accordingly.
When discussing trends in developer movement, the three guests mentioned that in recent years, some developers are shifting from Web3 to AI. Teacher Ye believes that there is still room for combining AI and blockchain, especially concerning privacy protection needs for institutions like hospitals and applications built around open-source models.
Regarding the integration of AI and blockchain payments, they pointed out that in the future, there may be high-frequency and small-amount API calls and service payment requirements between intelligent agents. Blockchain and smart contracts can impose refined constraints on the use of funds by intelligent agents by setting call permissions, single expenditure limits, and total budgets, providing an exploratory direction for related payment scenarios.
At the roundtable themed "Cryptographic Sanctuary," Guo Yu, founder of Ample Lab, stated that cypherpunk is a way of life in the future digital world, with the core principle being not to easily transfer personal information and rights while retaining the right to choose. Cypherpunks not only emphasize self-protection but also empower more people to protect themselves through inventing and promoting cryptographic protocols and tools. He pointed out that the cryptographic war has not truly ended; as software becomes increasingly open-source, issues of security and privacy arising from hardware centralization and on-chain transactions remain worth attention.
Xavier, co-founder of Primus Labs, mentioned that privacy protection is a capability many Web2 systems have not fully realized yet and is also an important safeguard for individuals maintaining their rights in the digital world. He believes cryptography is a relatively pure technology, but security is a complex systemic issue that cannot rely solely on cryptographic algorithms. It needs to combine with specific application environments like blockchain to clarify the applicable scope and capability boundaries of the technology. Once security vulnerabilities appear in cryptographic algorithms, timely upgrades and iterations are necessary. Additionally, challenges still exist between the cypherpunk ideology and commercialization, with projects like Zcash continuously exploring the application scenarios of privacy technology.
Petri, an advocate of fully homomorphic encryption, discussed from the perspective of technology and power boundaries, emphasizing the importance of balancing personal rights and public power during technological development, and avoiding diminishing cryptographic protection mechanisms through backdoor arrangements.
In the roundtable discussion about future applications, Gus, Chairman of Starlink AI, noted that the main application scenarios of the current space economy still focus on communication and computing power. Satellite remote sensing can provide real-world data support for financial institutions, predictive markets, and more. In the future, as satellite and related infrastructure develop, how to integrate scattered satellite resources and build an open collaborative network will also be a direction worth exploring. Among them, communication is an important application direction of the space economy. Satellite communication is expected to provide connectivity capabilities for areas with insufficient ground station coverage and weak network infrastructure, further supporting scenarios like internet services, AI applications, and digital payments. He believes that the development of the future space economy should not be limited to replicating large enterprises' satellite deployment models but could also explore connecting scattered resources through multi-party collaboration, forming a more open and autonomous space infrastructure network.
Regarding the application of stablecoins, Shawn Pang, CEO of All Scale, shared experiences from serving overseas creator economy enterprises. These companies had previously employed a large number of content creators in regions like Southeast Asia and Brazil for content production and promotion, but cross-border payments involved Declaration processes, fund arrival timeliness, and local payment infrastructure issues. Opening and using US dollar accounts also has high barriers in some regions. Stablecoins can provide USD-denominated and cross-border payment channels for some overseas users. Especially in regions where local currency exchange rates fluctuate significantly and USD acquisition channels are limited, the demand for stablecoins arises not only from crypto asset trading but also from business operations and everyday payments. In the future, with the development of programmable payments, stablecoins may be used in machine payments and new digital economy scenarios.
Miles, founder of Sigmarket, pointed out that prediction markets have strong hedging functions. An important distinction between prediction markets and traditional gambling is whether the trading subject has a direct connection to the real world and possesses real-world spillover effects. At the same time, prediction markets have derivative attributes, and predictions formed around real events like politics, wars, and economies may connect with risk management and financial markets. Additionally, the project is also leveraging AI to explore the potential causal relationships between different events, which may bring new differentiated directions to prediction markets.
In the last digital nomad community roundtable session, builders from Nantang DAO, The Mu, GCC, Rural Construction DAO, and 706 Youth Community exchanged ideas on the long-term development of public goods, charitable donations, and social innovation projects. They emphasized that community development requires not only technical and commercial resources but also humanistic feelings and trust connections among members. Moreover, promoting the long-term development of related projects requires attention to resource allocation, project selection, execution efficiency, and long-term value and cannot rely solely on short-term profits or stage indicators as measurement standards.
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