Today #DevconV started and there were plenty of interesting talks. The good thing about such a conference is that you can always find an interesting talk/panel debate, but on the other hand you sometimes miss out, because they happen simultaneously — a bit like if you’re going to a music festival.

I had done some research on the agenda prior to the day and after all the mandatory check-in, badge-handout etc., I went to the first talk with James Prestwich (Twitter-handle: _prestwich), which was about cross-shard communication in Ethereum 2.0. After the presentation, I had an idea that it would be the top one of the day — and sure it was. James delivered an excellent insight into the user experience of an asynchronous blockchain and different ways the community will seek to solve it; relays, very short-time lending and other options.

The ‘Ethereum Magicians’ did a whole day of workshop in the convention room, which we joined shortly after lunch. Unfortunately people going in and out all the time as well as a bit unstructured planning, made it not as rewarding as expected. On the good side, Vitalik Buterin delivered some good answers, adressing the Eth1-Eth2 transition, although most of it had been covered in the AMA that took place in july (see here, for the full AMA).

A short talk on formal verification from Bernhard Mueller showcased the important of smart-contract auditing (Parity-contract-kill was displayed), and the research team also did a small session on design decisions being considered for Phase 2 in the upcoming Ethereum 2.0.

Lastly we ended the day being invited by Streamr to their boat party — which was not a regularly one. They had rented a pirate ship and provided beers and pizza, as well as a panel debate and a 2h sailing trip in the harbors of #osaka. Thanks a lot guys, it was fun!