ETHDenver: dates, who attends, and how founders get in
“ETHDenver is the world’s largest and longest running blockchain-powered #BUIDLathon (fka hackathon).” The 2026 program included a $130,000 prize pool (2026) and an ETHVC & BV Pitchfest. The organizer moved the Genesis Party and Opening Ceremony to 2026-02-18.
Verified ·35 official sources·Organised by SporkDAO (community-owned; ETHDenver, LLC is a SporkDAO subsidiary)
- Next edition
- Dates not yet announced
- Where
- LVC at the National Western Center, Denver, United States source
- Format
- in-person · 4 days (2026 main event)
- Startup pass
- No startup-pass price published; the general ETHDenver ticket was free (2026). source
- Cadence
- Annual, during the week before Presidents' Day Weekend; the 2026 main event ran February 18–21.
Crypto & web3FintechAIDeeptechDevelopersFoundersInvestorsStudents
Next edition
The organiser has not published dates for the next edition; historically it annual, during the week before Presidents' Day Weekend; the 2026 main event ran February 18–21.. We re-check weekly and list dates only when the organiser prints them with a year.
Deadlines that matter to founders
- Feb 1, 2026 — ETHDenver 2026 ETHVC Summit + Pitchfest application (passed) · apply
Ticket tiers as published
| Tier | Price | Includes | Edition |
|---|---|---|---|
| General ETHDenver ticket source | Free (2026) | General ETHDenver ticket required to enter the venue; it was also required to attend the ETHVC Summit. | 2026 |
| ETHVC Summit Audience Pass source | Free add-on (2026) | RSVP required; guaranteed seat, live voting, and networking; no backstage access. | 2026 |
| ETHVC Summit Founders/Builders Pass source | — | Network, exhibit, and vie for live demo-pitch spots at the summit. | 2026 |
| ETHVC Summit VIP Pass source | Free; invitation (2026) | For VCs/KOLs/media; front-row jury seats, backstage lounge, pre-event briefing, and logo placement. | 2026 |
| ETHVC Summit Investors Pass source | — | Listed for angel investors, qualified investors, and VCs seeking teams and founders. | 2026 |
| ETHVC Summit Media Pass source | — | For journalists, bloggers, and content creators; includes media seats, speaker interviews, press kits, and behind-the-scenes access. | 2026 |
How founders get in
For ETHDenver 2026, the organizer described four onsite BUIDLathon days, a virtual bounty kickoff beforehand, five thematic tracks, and community connection through Discord. Founders could also apply to pitch at the ETHVC Summit, where selected startups received stage time and investor exposure. The organizer’s terms say fees are generally non-refundable unless stated otherwise.
- To compete in the 2026 BUIDLathon, register through its ETHDenver Devfolio page; the published team size was 1–4 (2026). The page directs builders to the SporkDAO Discord. The 2026 application is now closed.
- For the optional ETHDenver 2026 ETHVC Summit + Pitchfest, submit the startup product on AKINDO and separately obtain a general ETHDenver ticket; both steps were required. The final published deadline was 2026-02-01. Eligibility called for an early-stage Web3 startup with a working product and less than $3 million in total funding (2026).
- Selected Pitchfest founders had to attend in person and give a live pitch and Q&A. The published format was a 5-minute pitch (2026) followed by Q&A, in front of investors and ecosystem leaders.
| Startup price | No startup-pass price published; the general ETHDenver ticket was free (2026). source |
|---|---|
| Includes | The general ticket was required for venue entry and attendance at the ETHVC Summit. No distinct startup-pass inclusions were published. |
| Scholarships / free passes | ETHDenver promoted free general admission for 2026. No separate scholarship, diversity-pass, or named free-pass award program was published in the official materials consulted. Camp BUIDL was also described as free (2026), but was a training program, not a scholarship. |
| Sponsoring | ETHDenver invited prospective sponsors to request the 2026 sponsorship book through an intake form. Published tier names and prices were not shown on the sponsorship page. |
| Investor pass | An Investors Pass category was listed for summit registration; no separate qualification or approval procedure was specified on the listing. source |
| Investor eligibility | The 2026 ETHVC Summit listing described this pass for angel investors, qualified investors, and VCs seeking teams and founders. |
| Press | The ETHVC Summit listing described a Media Pass for journalists, bloggers, and content creators, with media seats, speaker interviews, press kits, and behind-the-scenes access. This was a summit pass; no separate general-festival press-accreditation instructions were published in the materials consulted. |
| Application required | Yes, attendance is by application |
ETHDenver 2026 ETHVC Summit + Pitchfest
| Format | ETHDenver 2026 ETHVC Summit + Pitchfest: selected startup teams pitched live onstage for 5 minutes (2026), followed by Q&A, with exposure to VCs and ecosystem leaders. The summit also included investor sessions and ecosystem showcases. |
|---|---|
| Eligibility | The ETHDenver 2026 application described early-stage Web3 startups with a clear Web3 component, a real product rather than only a concept, and less than $3 million in total funding (2026). Founders pitching had to attend in person. |
| Application deadline | Feb 1, 2026 source |
Winners
- ChainCraft Games — Etherspace track (2026) — Individual award not specified; overall 2026 BUIDLathon prize pool: $130,000 source
- Stake Clash — Etherspace track (2026) — Individual award not specified; overall 2026 BUIDLathon prize pool: $130,000 source
- Tabula — Devtopia track (2026) — Individual award not specified; overall 2026 BUIDLathon prize pool: $130,000 source
- Umbra Gateway — Devtopia track (2026) — Individual award not specified; overall 2026 BUIDLathon prize pool: $130,000 source
- EventGraph — New France Village track (2026) — Individual award not specified; overall 2026 BUIDLathon prize pool: $130,000 source
- ParlayVoo — New France Village track (2026) — Individual award not specified; overall 2026 BUIDLathon prize pool: $130,000 source
- OnlyGains.ai — Futurllama track (2026) — Individual award not specified; overall 2026 BUIDLathon prize pool: $130,000 source
- Necto — Futurllama track (2026) — Individual award not specified; overall 2026 BUIDLathon prize pool: $130,000 source
- ClawMon — Prosperia track (2026) — Individual award not specified; overall 2026 BUIDLathon prize pool: $130,000 source
- Clean Slate Agent — Prosperia track (2026) — Individual award not specified; overall 2026 BUIDLathon prize pool: $130,000 source
- Memethology — EF Pitchfest (2026) source
- Autheo — EF Pitchfest (2026) source
- Satsume Protocol — EF Pitchfest (2026) source
- EVVM.org — EF Pitchfest (2026) source
- Unicorn.eth — EF Pitchfest (2026) source
- Loyyal.Network — EF Pitchfest (2026) source
- Hive3 — EF Pitchfest (2026) source
- bond.credit — EF Pitchfest (2026) source
- Lane3 — EF Pitchfest (2026) source
- Vanna Protocol — EF Pitchfest (2026) source
- Intelligence Cubed i³ — EF Pitchfest (2026) source
- Nemesis — EF Pitchfest (2026) source
Judges
- Jarred Winn source
- Yan Ma source
- David Alemany source
- Arseny Klekovkin source
- Eron Li source
- Jack Simison source
Meeting investors there
The organizer presented the ETHVC Summit as a gathering for investors and founders, with investor sessions, ecosystem showcases, and a selected-startup pitch competition. Pitchfest applicants could receive investor exposure and potential funding consideration from Bufficorn Ventures; investment was not guaranteed. No general curated investor-matching program was specified. source
| Formats | ETHVC Summit investor panels, debates, and fireside chats (2026). · ETHDenver Pitchfest: selected founders gave a 5-minute live pitch (2026) and Q&A to investors and ecosystem leaders. · Ecosystem showcases at the ETHVC Summit (2026). · The summit listing described networking and a founders/builders pass with opportunities to network, exhibit, and seek live demo-pitch spots (2026). |
|---|---|
| Demo day | Yes |
Investor firms the organiser lists (2026 is the latest completed edition represented by the published speaker and results lists. ETHDenver's official account referenced ETHDenver 27, but the 2027 post supplied no event dates or lineup details.)
Y CombinatorElectric CapitalCoinFundM12Pantera Capital1kxa16z cryptoCMT DigitalEpoch VenturesHashedDispersion CapitalBufficorn VenturesVarrock VC
Before you go: the hub's cold email to VCs playbook covers the pre-event outreach that fills a meeting calendar, and Causo matches your stage and thesis to the funds in its database so you know who to ask for a meeting.
Who speaks (2026 is the latest completed edition represented by the published speaker and results lists. ETHDenver's official account referenced ETHDenver 27, but the 2027 post supplied no event dates or lineup details.)
- Paul Atkins, SEC Chairman · SEC
- Caitlin Long, Founder & CEO · Custodia Bank
- Tomasz Stańczak, Co-Executive Director · Ethereum Foundation
- Austin Griffith, Founder · BuidlGuidl
- Hester Peirce, SEC Commissioner · SEC
- Vitalik Buterin · Ethereum
- Jesse Pollak, Creator of Base · Base
- Patrick Witt, Executive Director, President's Council of Advisors for Digital Assets · The White House
- Danny Ryan, Cofounder & President · Etherealize
- Harriet Hageman, Congresswoman · House of Representatives
- Nemil Dalal, Visiting Partner · Y Combinator
- Maria Shen, General Partner · Electric Capital
- Joseph Chalom, CEO · Sharplink
- Joe Lubin, Co-Founder of Ethereum & Founder and CEO of Consensys · Consensys
- Zooko Wilcox, Chief Product Officer · Shielded Labs for Zcash
- Griff Green, Co-founder · Giveth, Unicorn.eth & more!
- William Mougayar, Founder & Author · Ethereum Market Research Center
- Johann Kerbrat, SVP and GM of Crypto · Robinhood
- Tung Chan, Colorado Securities Commissioner · Colorado State
- Charles Guillemet, CTO · Ledger
- Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, Head of Product and Research · Grayscale
- Joao Reginatto, Chief Strategy Officer · M0
- T.J. Miller, Actor / Comedian
- jacobc.eth, Founder & CEO · CoinFello
- Elizabeth Sullivan
Full lineup: official speakers page.
Sponsors and partners
Meta — BUIDLathon 6
Hedera0g LabsADI FoundationCanton NetworkBaseKite AI
Block — BUIDLathon 4
QuickNodeBlockade LabsUniswap FoundationNouns Builder
EF Pitchfest 3
Supernet AIPharos NetworkAleo
ETHDenver 2026 sponsor; tier not stated 6
CircleBitrefillPolymarketCertiKDriver's CoopDAG Family Office
Early Bird 1
BlockBytesVC
Full list: official partners page.
Programme
| Tracks | ETHERSPACE — user-owned internet and digital identity (2026) · Devtopia — infrastructure, developer tooling, security, scaling, and research (2026) · New France Village — finance, DeFi, TradFi, stablecoins, policy, and real-world assets (2026) · Futurllama — frontier technology, AI, DePIN, and emerging ideas (2026) · Prosperia — privacy, governance, DAOs, public goods, and communities (2026) source |
|---|---|
| Awards | ETHDenver 2026’s BUIDLathon page published a $130,000 prize pool (2026). ETHDenver’s $10,000 main-track pool (2026) included $2,000 for each of its five tracks (2026); published partner prizes included Hedera $25,000 (2026), 0g Labs $25,000 (2026), ADI Foundation $25,000 (2026), Canton Network $15,000 (2026), Base $10,000 (2026), Kite AI $10,000 (2026), Uniswap Foundation $5,000 (2026), QuickNode $2,000 (2026), Nouns Builder $2,000 (2026), and Blockade Labs $1,000 (2026). ETHDenver’s announced Top 10 BUIDLathon projects (2026) were: Etherspace—ChainCraft Games and Stake Clash; Devtopia—Tabula and Umbra Gateway; New France Village—EventGraph and ParlayVoo; Futurllama—OnlyGains.ai and Necto; Prosperia—ClawMon and Clean Slate Agent. For the separate Pitchfest, the application page described a prize pool to be announced, without publishing an amount. |
| Call for speakers | ETHDenver speaker applications for the 2026 edition opened on 2025-10-17. The organizer said speakers still needed an ETHDenver ticket; no closing deadline was stated in the announcement consulted. |
| Hashtag | #BUIDLathon |
Past editions, as published
| Edition | Dates | Attendees | Investors | Startups | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 · Denver, Colorado · The organizer listed the LVC at the National Western Center as the 2026 venue and said it was a new venue. Its schedule noted that the opening ceremony had moved to February 18; early registration was scheduled for February 17. source | Feb 18–21, 2026 | — | — | Published BUIDLathon prize pool: $130,000 (2026). Top 10 BUIDLathon projects (2026): ChainCraft Games; Stake Clash; Tabula; Umbra Gateway; EventGraph; ParlayVoo; OnlyGains.ai; Necto; ClawMon; Clean Slate Agent. ETHDenver 2026 EF Pitchfest winners (2026): Memethology; Autheo; Satsume Protocol; EVVM.org; Unicorn.eth; Loyyal.Network; Hive3; bond.credit; Lane3; Vanna Protocol; Intelligence Cubed i³; Nemesis. | report |
| 2025 source | Feb 23 – Mar 2, 2025 | — | — | Published BUIDLathon prize pool: $1,029,833 (2025). The organizer's event description also advertised up to $10,000,000 in grants and investments (2025); this was a published opportunity, not an outcome total. | |
| 2024 source | Feb 23 – Mar 2, 2024 | — | — | Official ETHDenver 2024 pages listed $940,280 available in prizes (2024) and published track and sponsor-bounty winners. | report |
| 2021 · Virtual edition; the organizer's event listing says it ran online February 5–12, 2021. source | Feb 5–12, 2021 | — | — | — | |
| 2020 source | Feb 14–16, 2020 | — | — | — | |
| 2027 · Denver, Colorado · ETHDenver's official account said its 10th-anniversary edition (2027) was still being planned and that more details would follow in October; it warned that tickets advertised for ETHDenver 2027 were not official. No 2027 dates or venue were stated in that announcement. source | — | — | — | — | |
| 2023 source | — | — | — | ETHDenver's official 2023 results post lists 359 submitted projects and $698,192 alongside its BUIDLathon track and bounty winners (2023). | report |
| 2022 · ETHDenver's official Medium archive includes a 2022 bounty, track, and quadratic-voting winners post; edition dates and detailed outcomes were not established here. source | — | — | — | — | |
| 2019 source | — | — | — | — | |
| 2018 source | — | — | — | — |
Cities: Denver, Colorado (2018–2026)
Who attends
| Geography | 125+ countries (2026 event-page annual claim; not a post-event attendee breakdown) source |
|---|---|
| Roles | Developers, Founders, Investors, Students |
Official links and socials
Apply
Travel & apps
In the press
- SEC Leadership Speaks on ‘Number go Down‘ Regulatory Concerns — Cointelegraph (2026)
- ETHDenver becomes policy stage with SEC and White House officials attending — TheStreet (2026)
- ETHDenver 2026: fewer side events, more AI agents and builder focus — Crypto.news (2026)
- Inside day 1 at ETHDenver 2025 — Blockworks (2025)
- ETHDenver 2022: Thousands of ethereum coders work and party in Denver — CNBC (2022)
Prepare for it
- How to cold email VCs — book the meetings before you land.
- The 12-slide seed deck — what to have ready when a partner says "send me the deck".
- Pitch Deck Roaster — a slide-by-slide pass before you submit to ETHDenver 2026 ETHVC Summit + Pitchfest.
- Accelerator deadlines — the application windows that open around the event.
Sources
Every fact above was read from one of these official pages on Oct 7, 2026:
- ethdenver.com
- app.akindo.io/wave-hacks/Mz70AdkNoiVBqGL8
- app.ethdenver.com
- ethdenver.com
- ethdenver.com/pitchfest
- ethdenver.com/schedule/main-stage
- ethdenver.com/speakers
- ethdenver.com/speakers
- ethdenver.com/speakers/%E2%9C%82%EF%B8%8Fbaek-kim
- ethdenver.com/speakers/jonathan-wolff
- ethdenver.com/speakers/pareen-lathia
- ethdenver.com/speakers/patrick-chang
- ethdenver.com/sponsors
- ethdenver.com/tickets
- ethdenver.com/venue
- ethdenver.devfolio.co
- ethdenver2021.devfolio.co
- ethdenver2024.devfolio.co
- ethdenver2025.devfolio.co/overview
- ethdenver2026.devfolio.co/overview
- ethereumdenver.medium.com
- ethereumdenver.medium.com/ethdenver-2023-track-and-bounty-winners-1d9cbeda1dc8
- luma.com/ethdenver-ethvcsummit
- x.com/EthereumDenver/status/1768717386125914215
- x.com/EthereumDenver/status/1985482127161639205
- x.com/EthereumDenver/status/2006416792814571899?lang=bn
- x.com/EthereumDenver/status/2014806138215432387
- x.com/EthereumDenver/status/2021403820660777088
- x.com/EthereumDenver/status/2021683158421278725
- x.com/EthereumDenver/status/2023351659460747466
- x.com/EthereumDenver/status/2023797087436173819
- x.com/EthereumDenver/status/2024197222422786432
- x.com/EthereumDenver/status/2025056747841278094
- x.com/EthereumDenver/status/2025346999596225007
- x.com/EthereumDenver/status/2105164333122789789
ETHDenver: frequently asked
What is ETHDenver 2026 ETHVC Summit + Pitchfest?
ETHDenver's pitch competition. Eligibility: The ETHDenver 2026 application described early-stage Web3 startups with a clear Web3 component, a real product rather than only a concept, and less than $3 million in total funding (2026). Founders pitching had to attend in person.
How big is ETHDenver?
25,000+ innovators (2026; recurring annual event-page claim, not a post-event attendance tally) attendees, from 125+ countries (2026; recurring annual event-page claim, not a post-event attendee count) countries, per the organiser.