The EthCC[8] forum in Cannes has brought together more than 400 Ethereum innovators for a gathering that challenged the crypto community to move beyond buzzwords. At the heart of the event was co‑founder Vitalik Buterin, whose keynote set a new benchmark for what decentralisation must truly mean in practice.
Against the cinematic backdrop of the Palais des Festivals, EthCC[8] convened from 30th June to 3rd July, alongside a full week of side‑events, workshops and networking under the summer sun. With AI, privacy, DeFi, security and cross‑chain interoperability on the agenda, Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin’s keynote on Day three offered a visceral reminder: technological sophistication alone won’t guarantee a decentralised future.
Vitalik charts a course for meaningful decentralisation
Vitalik Buterin urged the community to abandon superficial decentralisation in favour of concrete user guarantees: the “walk‑away” test (can users retain assets if developers disappear?), the “insider attack” test and scrutinising the trusted computing base. He warned that many Layer‑2s and DeFi systems hide centralised controls, upgrade keys or privacy vulnerabilities. Privacy must be default, not optional, and code should be simpler to resist systemic fragility
Web3’s next chapter hinges on trust and resilience
Marking 10 years since Ethereum’s genesis block, Buterin’s message was clear: the ecosystem stands at an inflection point. He implored builders to confront centralisation vectors—from hidden backdoors to opaque bridges—and build systems that “create openness, freedom, and fair, permissionless access”. Without this reckoning, Ethereum risks becoming “a generational thing… [that] passes like a lot of other things” .
Cannes showcases the full spectrum of Ethereum innovation
Away from Buterin’s keynote, EthCC featured a rich programme of technical deep dives: AI‑powered developer tools, blockchain indexing with Kafka, MEV mitigation, cross‑chain liquidity, zero‑knowledge legal frameworks and transparent signing protocols. Sessions ranged from Gwen Martin’s exploration of AI coding assistants to Charles Guillemet’s Ledger-backed user safeguards. These sessions underscore Ethereum’s multidimensional growth.
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Photo of Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin speaking at the EthCC event, credit Nico Timmermans