ETHGlobal
ETHGlobal is a community and events organization focused on fostering the growth and development of the Ethereum ecosystem. The organization is known for its global series of hackathons, summits, and conferences designed to onboard and educate developers, facilitate collaboration, and accelerate innovation for decentralized applications. Its stated goal is "Building our decentralized future." [1]
Overview
ETHGlobal's core mission is to cultivate a world-class ecosystem of Ethereum developers and entrepreneurs. It achieves this by organizing events that provide platforms for learning, networking, and building. The organization's activities are centered on hackathons, where developers collaborate intensively over a short period to create new projects, and summits, which are focused gatherings of experts to discuss specific topics within the Web3 space. [1] Through these events, ETHGlobal aims to teach new skills, strengthen developer communities, and explore the possibilities of new technologies. [1]
The organization supports a wide range of themes within the Ethereum ecosystem, with a notable focus on areas such as Decentralized Finance (DeFi), stablecoins, digital payments, institutional adoption of crypto assets, and tokenization. [2] ETHGlobal's events often feature specific tracks and prize pools sponsored by partner protocols, encouraging participants to build on their respective technologies. The organization's social media presence uses the tagline "Community Decentralized" to reflect its grassroots and collaborative ethos. [2]
History
ETHGlobal's origins trace back to 2017, with its public presence beginning with the creation of its official X (formerly Twitter) account in July of that year. [2] The organization's inaugural event was the first ETHWaterloo hackathon, held in Waterloo, Canada, in October 2017. [3]
Following the success of ETHWaterloo, ETHGlobal expanded its operations significantly throughout 2018 and 2019, launching a series of in-person hackathons in major global technology hubs. Notable events from this period include ETHSanFrancisco, ETHSingapore, ETHParis, and ETHCapeTown, which helped establish ETHGlobal's brand as a premier organizer of Web3 developer gatherings. [3]
In 2020, in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the organization pivoted to a fully virtual event model. It launched several online hackathon series that attracted thousands of participants from around the world. These included HackMoney, a DeFi-focused event; HackFS, which centered on decentralized storage solutions; and the flagship ETHOnline, which became one of the largest Ethereum events of the year. [3]
Beginning in 2022, ETHGlobal adopted a hybrid model, resuming its global tour of in-person hackathons while continuing to host virtual events. During this time, it also introduced the Pragma summit series. These single-day, developer-focused technical conferences are typically held in conjunction with a major hackathon, often scheduled for the day before the hackathon begins in the same city. In 2026, ETHGlobal is set to launch a new multi-day conference format called ETHConf, with the first event scheduled for June in New York City. [3] [2]
Core Activities and Initiatives
ETHGlobal's activities are centered on three main pillars: events, developer resources, and community building.
Event Formats
ETHGlobal organizes several distinct types of events to cater to different needs within the developer community. [3]
- IRL (In-Real-Life) Hackathons: These are intensive, weekend-long competitions held in cities around the world. Developers form teams to ideate, build, and present a functional software project to a panel of judges. These events serve as major hubs for networking, learning from mentors, and hands-on innovation.
- Virtual/Async Hackathons: These are online competitions, typically running for several weeks, which allow for global participation without the need for travel. These events are often themed around specific sectors of the Web3 space, such as DeFi, NFTs, infrastructure, or scaling solutions. An example is the HackMoney series, which is billed as a major DeFi hackathon. [2]
- Summits & Conferences:
- Pragma: A series of single-day, in-person technical summits for builders and industry leaders. These events feature talks and panels from prominent figures in the Ethereum ecosystem and are designed for deep dives into specific technical subjects.
- ETHConf: A multi-day conference format launched in 2026. The inaugural event in New York City was planned to cover topics such as the growth of tokenization, stablecoins, DeFi, requirements for institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure, and regulatory debates. [2]
- Community Events: In addition to its large-scale events, ETHGlobal organizes numerous smaller, localized events to foster grassroots community engagement. These include happy hours, informational meetups, co-working days, and demo days, often held in collaboration with local partners. A 2026 example is the Detroit Smart Contract Workshop, a hands-on event focused on teaching smart contract development in partnership with local Detroit organizations and Wayne State University. [3] [2]
Developer Resources
Beyond its events, ETHGlobal provides a suite of tools and platforms to support developers. [1]
- Showcase: An online platform and gallery that hosts a portfolio of over 14,000 projects created during ETHGlobal hackathons. It serves as an archive of past work and a source of inspiration for new builders.
- Faucet: A utility service that provides developers with free testnet tokens for various Ethereum test networks. These tokens are essential for deploying and testing decentralized applications without spending real funds.
- Packs: Curated starter kits and toolsets designed to help developers quickly begin building on specific protocols, technologies, or platforms featured at ETHGlobal events.
- Plus: A subscription-based service noted as a new initiative on the organization's website in late 2025.
Community Impact and Statistics
ETHGlobal tracks and publicizes several metrics to demonstrate its impact on the Ethereum ecosystem. As of early 2026, the organization has hosted over 250 events, both in-person and online. [3] Other key statistics include: [1]
- Events Hosted: 95+ hackathons and summits (a figure that complements the 250+ total event count)
- Educational Content: 1,850+ hours of educational talks recorded and shared
- Projects Created: 14,000+ new projects built at its hackathons
- Community Onboarding: 150,000+ community members onboarded into the ecosystem
- Grants Awarded: $13.5M+ in grants distributed to community projects
- Alumni Fundraising: $350M+ in funds raised by companies founded by ETHGlobal alumni
Notable Events
ETHGlobal maintains a consistent schedule of global and online events.
Upcoming Events (2026)
Below is a list of major events scheduled for 2026, as of January 15, 2026.
| Event Name | Date | Location | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| HackMoney 2026 | Jan 30 - Feb 11, 2026 | Async | Hackathon |
| Pragma Cannes 2026 | Apr 2, 2026 | Cannes, France | Conference |
| ETHGlobal Cannes 2026 | Apr 3 - 5, 2026 | Cannes, France | IRL Hackathon |
| ETHConf | June 8 - 10, 2026 | New York City, United States | Conference |
| ETHGlobal New York 2026 | June 12 - 14, 2026 | New York City, United States | IRL Hackathon |
| Pragma Lisbon 2026 | July 23, 2026 | Lisbon, Portugal | Conference |
| ETHGlobal Lisbon 2026 | July 24 - 26, 2026 | Lisbon, Portugal | IRL Hackathon |
| Pragma Tokyo 2026 | Sep 24, 2026 | Tokyo, Japan | Conference |
| ETHGlobal Tokyo 2026 | Sep 25 - 27, 2026 | Tokyo, Japan | IRL Hackathon |
| Pragma Mumbai | Nov 5, 2026 | Mumbai, India | Conference |
| ETHGlobal Mumbai | Nov 6 - 8, 2026 | Mumbai, India | IRL Hackathon |
The information in the preceding table was sourced from the ETHGlobal events schedule. [3]
Past Major Events (Selection)
The following is a selection of notable past hackathons and summits that were foundational to ETHGlobal's growth and impact.
| Event Name | Date | Location | Type (IRL/Virtual) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ETHWaterloo | October 13-15, 2017 | Waterloo, Canada | IRL Hackathon |
| ETHSanFrancisco | October 5-7, 2018 | San Francisco, US | IRL Hackathon |
| ETHSingapore | December 7-9, 2018 | Singapore | IRL Hackathon |
| ETHParis | March 7-10, 2019 | Paris, France | IRL Hackathon |
| ETHCapeTown | April 19-21, 2019 | Cape Town, SA | IRL Hackathon |
| ETHLondonUK | Feb 28 - Mar 1, 2020 | London, UK | IRL Hackathon |
| HackMoney | Apr 24 - May 24, 2020 | Online | Virtual Hackathon |
| ETHOnline | October 1-31, 2020 | Online | Virtual Hackathon |
| Scaling Ethereum | Apr 9 - May 14, 2021 | Online | Virtual Hackathon |
| ETHAmsterdam | April 22-24, 2022 | Amsterdam, NL | IRL Hackathon |
| ETHBogotá | October 7-9, 2022 | Bogotá, Colombia | IRL Hackathon |
| ETHIndia 2022 | December 2-4, 2022 | Bengaluru, India | IRL Hackathon |
| ETHGlobal Tokyo | April 14-16, 2023 | Tokyo, Japan | IRL Hackathon |
| ETHGlobal Paris | July 21-23, 2023 | Paris, France | IRL Hackathon |
| ETHGlobal Istanbul | November 17-19, 2023 | Istanbul, Turkey | IRL Hackathon |
| ETHGlobal London | March 15-17, 2024 | London, UK | IRL Hackathon |
| ETHGlobal Brussels | July 12-14, 2024 | Brussels, Belgium | IRL Hackathon |
| ETHGlobal Singapore | September 20-22, 2024 | Singapore | IRL Hackathon |
| ETHGlobal Bangkok | November 15-17, 2024 | Bangkok, Thailand | IRL Hackathon |
| ETHOnline 2025 | Oct 10 - Oct 31, 2025 | Online | Virtual Hackathon |
| ETHGlobal Buenos Aires | Nov 21-23, 2025 | Buenos Aires, AR | IRL Hackathon |
The information in the preceding table outlining a selection of past events was sourced from the ETHGlobal events archive. [3]
Ecosystem and Partnerships
ETHGlobal collaborates with a wide range of organizations and protocols across the Web3 industry. Its website highlights a network of over 275 partners that support its events and initiatives. These partners often provide sponsorship, technical mentorship, and prizes for hackathon participants who build on their platforms.
Key ecosystem partners have included: [1]
- 1inch
- Arbitrum
- Aztec
- Base
- Celo
- Chainlink
- Circle
- EigenLayer
- ENS (Ethereum Name Service)
- Hyperlane
- LayerZero
- Optimism Foundation
- Polygon
- Privy
- Protocol Labs
- Push Chain
- Safe
- The Graph
- Uniswap Foundation
- Worldcoin
Beyond protocol-level partnerships, ETHGlobal also collaborates with local community groups for its smaller events. For its January 2026 Smart Contract Workshop in Detroit, it partnered with EthDetroit313, the Detroit Blockchain & Crypto Center, and the Women Dev Student Club at Wayne State University. [2]
Featured Content and Notable Speakers
ETHGlobal records and shares educational content from its summits and conferences, featuring talks from prominent figures in technology and cryptocurrency. These sessions are made available to the wider community through its online channels.
The following table highlights a selection of talks from past Pragma summits.
| Date | Event | Talk/Session Title | Speaker(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 2025 | Pragma Taipei | Fireside chat with Vitalik | Kartik Talwar, Vitalik Buterin |
| Apr 3, 2025 | Pragma Taipei | How Cryptography Derisks AI Harms | Aayush Gupta |
| Feb 25, 2025 | Pragma Denver 2025 | Prover Networks from First Principle | Uma Roy |
| Feb 25, 2025 | Pragma Denver 2025 | Who will fight for ETH? | Jill Gunter |
| Nov 14, 2024 | Pragma Bangkok | The Future of UX | Georgios Konstantopoulos |
| Oct 16, 2024 | Pragma San Francisco | Why RWAs Are Going To Zero | Chris Yin |
This list of featured speakers and sessions is sourced from the official ETHGlobal website. [1]
Online Presence
ETHGlobal maintains an active presence across multiple digital platforms to engage with its large and distributed community. As of January 15, 2026, its primary X (Twitter) account had over 104,800 followers. [2] Its main community hubs and content channels include: [1]
- X (formerly Twitter): Used for announcements, event promotion, and sharing community highlights.
- Discord: Serves as a primary hub for community interaction, team formation during hackathons, and direct communication with organizers.
- YouTube: An archive of talks, panels, and project presentations from past events.
- Farcaster: A decentralized social media channel for engaging with the Web3-native community.
- Lens Protocol: Another decentralized social media profile.
- Mirror: A blog used for long-form articles and announcements.