Written by: Patryk Krasnicki

Chicago has always been a city with prowess in the financial and tech sectors. A mix between New York City and San Francisco, filled with the kindest and most hard-working folks. Our core team started with the vision of building on this history by creating Chicago’s first-ever blockchain technology conference and hackathon. Throughout 2023, this was made possible with the help of individuals coming from a variety of backgrounds and from all over the Chicagoland area. We are so excited as we near the inaugural ETHChicago event in September!

What differentiates ETHChicago?

ETHChicago aims to escape the echo chambers that often encompass the crypto industry. New DeFi protocols, Layer-2 scaling solutions, and liquid staking products have been going live left and right over the past year. The aim of ETHChicago’s hackathon is to heavily focus on real world use cases for blockchain technology:

• How can a family-run pizzeria in Chicago benefit from blockchain technology?

• How can our iPass toll system run more smoothly?

• How can our local governments coordinate with each other and their constituents more easily?

• How can the city's sports organizations use blockchain to increase fan engagement?

• How can we make boat rentals a more liquid market during the summer in Chicago?

• How can we package all the “back-office” legos together in a digestible manner to allow small businesses no/low-code full-service crypto payments/salary/accounting-as-a-service?

• How can Abbvie and Abbot use blockchain technology to facilitate healthcare research?

• How can Boeing, United Airlines, and American Airlines leverage blockchain technology to improve efficiency at O’hare, one of the world’s top five busiest airports?

We are energized by the possibilities and know ETHChicago’s hackathon/conference will generate ideas that help answer these types of questions. In subsequent years, we envision prominent Chicagoland companies like those mentioned above (and smaller ones too!) coming in to collaborate with our hackers and creatives. This participation will inform legacy businesses about the possibilities of blockchain technology and do good for the Chicagoland area.

ETHChicago is For You!

ETHChicago is for any individual, traditional business, developer, student, creative, policy maker, or Web3 project interested in how crypto and blockchain technology can produce a real-world impact. The event is being held from Friday, September 15th, to Sunday, September 17th, at Chicago’s historic Willis Tower on its beautiful 66th floor. The event will be split into two distinct parts:

• Hackathon: A three-day hackathon geared towards a unique mix of builders (developers and technologists) and creatives (designers, artists, and creators). Participants will have the opportunity to compete for bounties generated by our partners and work with individuals from contrasting backgrounds while working amidst striking Willis Tower views.

  • Hackathon Participants: Apply by purchasing a ticket (early bird is just $75!) or joining a ticket sponsorship waitlist.

  • ETHChicago Partners: If you would like to support ETHChicago and sponsor a bounty, you may express your interest here.

• Conference: A two-day conference filled with panels, workshops, and guest speakers from various backgrounds spanning blockchain development, regulation and policy, and real-world applications. Individuals new to the space and those just learning will both stand to benefit through the learning and networking opportunities presented by the conference experience.

  • Conference Attendees: Purchase a ticket with crypto or USD.

  • Speakers and Workshop Hosts: Apply by providing details related to your proposed talk, panel, or workshop, and any past experience.