With less than a week to go until SmartCon #1, the international Chainlink community has planned 27 (and counting) watch parties around the world. Yesterday, Chainlink Today talked to Chainlink Austria Community Advocate Lukas Leys about the group’s plans to celebrate SmartCon in an idyllic space just outside the bustling capital city, Vienna.
In the U.S., the Chainlink community is partying from NYC to LA in cities like Phoenix, Arizona. Chainlink Phoenix Community advocate Jen @Here4Chainlink said she is proudly hosting an August 7th watch party in a beautiful casita at Rancho Mañana Resort in the desert foothills of Cave Creek, Arizona.
The party will run from 10am to 2pm and Jen said the fridge is stocked for a full-day affair, with a variety of breakfast pastries and platters of fresh fruit she’ll swap out for pizza, chips and queso later in the day. Beer is on tap as well as champagne to toast and juice for the kids, who are welcome at the event.
“A local community member reached out and asked if they could bring their child,” Jen said. “I relate to this situation and so a separate (attached) room is being created with movies, toys, and art supplies to allow the kids to have fun while their parents attend the watch party.”
Asked what she’s most excited to see at SmartCon, Jen said it’s “extremely difficult” to choose. The entire Chainlink ecosystem grew dramatically in just the first half of 2021, with internationally popular games like Axie Infinity integrating Chainlink VRF to create thriving player-owned economies; parametric insurance providers like Arbol using Chainlink oracles to protect farmers in the developing world; and Chainlink laying the groundwork for DeFi protocols like Aave and Synthetix that are fighting financial censorship around the globe.
This year’s SmartCon will feature over 200 world-changing panelists, including Axie Infinity’s Aleksander Leonard Larsen, Aave’s Stani Kulechov, Synthetix’s Kain Warwick and Arbol’s Sid Jha, whose panel discussion will highlight the critical role Chainlink oracles play in developing groundbreaking strategies for fighting climate change.
“I’m looking forward to hearing each of the speakers because they’ll all have such valuable information and insight to share. Whether they’re in DeFi, gaming, NFTs, enterprise, government, etc, they’ll all be contributing in their own way to what we’re all so passionate about,” Jen said.
While blockchain and smart contracts are not brand new, they’re beginning to revolutionize industries like insurance, while decentralized finance (DeFi) is in the early phases of enormous projected growth. “I think what’s so special about the Chainlink community in Phoenix is that we’re in our beginning stages too,” Jen said.
“It’s exciting that we, as a local community, have the opportunity to form, grow, learn, and teach along with the entire greater ecosystem and simultaneously shape ourselves, continue to expand, and make positive impacts on the lives of so many people.”
To learn more about SmartCon #1 and stay up-to-date on the latest announcements, visit the Smart Contract Summit website, follow Chainlink Labs and Chainlink Today on Twitter, subscribe to Chainlink’s official YouTube channel and check back for Chainlink Today’s in-depth coverage leading up to and during the event.