What did Ethereum builders discuss at EthCC in Cannes?
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What did Ethereum builders discuss at EthCC in Cannes?
Tokenized markets, mobile experiences, and privacy infrastructure frequently come up in real-world conversations.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: David C, Bankless
Translation: Shaw, Jinse Finance
Last week, the annual Ethereum community conference (EthCC) drew thousands to Cannes, where the scorching Mediterranean heat did nothing to dampen attendees' enthusiasm for a jam-packed agenda.
While broader discussions around Ethereum, the Ethereum Foundation, and the Ethereum Community Fund deserve their own analysis, the most telling signals from this event came from the surrounding ecosystem—topics like tokenized markets, mobile experiences, and privacy infrastructure were frequently discussed on the ground.
Privacy: A Prerequisite for Institutions
It was refreshing this week to hear so much discussion about privacy—not only from a technical standpoint (given the growing list of acronyms like TEE, FHE, MPC, ZK), but also from the perspective of real-world daily use. Many people I spoke with had previously used consumer-facing privacy apps like ZKP2P and expressed excitement about Aztec’s relaunch.
Looking ahead, the focus is on more broadly integrating zero-knowledge proofs into everyday on-chain activities, combined with Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) to enhance security.
To be sure, multi-party computation (MPC) and fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) are widely recognized as top-tier technologies worth pursuing. However, there's a general consensus that in their current forms—especially FHE—they remain too complex for practical application environments. That said, Coinbase’s Yehuda Lindell did introduce their open-source MPC library—an effort aimed at raising industry-wide security standards and addressing the talent shortage in MPC to accelerate innovation.
Beyond treating privacy as a critical component in addressing digital-era vulnerabilities, it is also a necessity for bringing institutions onto blockchains.
Paul Brody, EY Global Blockchain Leader, emphasized in his talk that privacy is not an optional feature for enterprises—it's a prerequisite for using blockchain in real business operations. Coordination, not computation, is the core bottleneck for businesses. While tokenized workflows and smart contracts can simplify agreements and reduce inventory costs, all of that becomes meaningless if sensitive information is exposed. Without privacy, no company will move high-value business logic or transactions on-chain. This is especially true for institutions, particularly given how dark pools are already deeply embedded in traditional stock trading. We need solutions that allow large players to come on-chain without having to publicly broadcast every move they make.
Tokenized Markets: Where Stocks Meet Blockchain
While Robinhood’s announcement about tokenized stocks certainly grabbed headlines, BackedFi also deserves credit—for launching xStocks on the same day, enabling users to buy popular equities like $SPY, $NVDA, and $TSLA directly on Solana.
At EthCC, most viewed these developments as interim steps. Yes, we can now trade tokenized Apple stock—but that’s not new. The real excitement lies in being able to use such assets as collateral for lending and integrate them into yield-generating strategies. Right now, we're in an awkward transitional phase—making progress, but lacking full integration.
Beyond tokenized stocks, there’s broad excitement around tokenization in general, especially for commodities. Given recent performance, digital uranium assets were mentioned in multiple conversations, alongside sustained interest in tokenized gold.
The pattern is clear: start with familiar assets to prove the pipeline works, then expand into markets where blockchain’s advantages—like 24/7 settlement and fractional ownership—clearly outperform traditional infrastructure.
Mobile-First
One of the most exciting themes at the conference was the quiet wave of experimentation around consumer crypto apps—almost without exception built mobile-first. With most wallet activity now happening on phones, developers (and users) are prioritizing product design, user interaction, and native mobile flows from day one.
Coinbase Wallet’s upcoming redesign stands out, particularly with its social feed feature, because it doesn’t just prioritize mobile—it embeds mobile-native patterns directly into the wallet experience.
There's also growing anticipation around mobile apps streamlining perpetual contract trading on Hyperliquid, notably Lootbase and Dexari. Robinhood’s announcement of its own perpetuals platform further fueled excitement. Together, these apps showcase the possibilities of thumb-first design: fast execution, clean visuals, and gamified interfaces.
EthCC reinforced what we’ve been seeing online: crypto is no longer just endless debates over architecture. It’s focused on solving real problems around coordination, compliance, and high-quality consumer design. The question isn't whether blockchains can support meaningful applications—it's how quickly we can make them usable, private, and portable enough to truly deliver.
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