It has been a busy month for the iExec team speaking at events across the globe, including 4 important conferences in Asia. It was also a great month for showcasing iExec’s work. Notably, being recognized as one of the main contributors to Hyperledger Avalon, presenting the Trusted Compute Framework alongside Microsoft, Intel, ConsenSys, Envision, PegaSys and Kaleido. Other than that, we have spoken met some important actors and spread the word of the iExec V4 release at the end of the year. This update will give a quick insight as to where we’ve been.

Devcon5

iExec attended the most important gathering in the Ethereum world (and let’s be honest, the entire blockchain dev world!), Devcon. With every year we attend the conference, we are more excited to be part of the Ethereum ecosystem and are proud to have long been recognized within the community. This was the fourth time iExec attended the conference, having first presented the project at Devcon2 back in 2016!

We were excited to observe the evolution in the ecosystem (and to see the survivors). It is great to see that, what once were only ideas, are now becoming products. These days, we’re happy to find different actors and bodies within the space joining forces and collaborating to strengthen the ecosystem as a whole. Some notable examples would be the Ethereum Foundation, the EEA and the Ethereum Magicians.

iExec has invested time and involved with all of these groups and we are happy to see them working together.

As well as being an event to showcase progress and groundbreaking research in the field, Devcon provides great networking opportunities. iExec exchanged with many actors in the space, as well as those who have been on our that we are ready and explored how we can begin to integrate with them.

Off-chain, Oracles and Trusted Compute

We noticed three recurring topics at Devcon. Off-chain compute, oracles, and trusted computing. These issues were repeatedly raised by projects who were looking for solutions, only confirming that iExec is on the right track. Each of these are areas are a focus for iExec, and are technically advanced, particularly in trusted computing solutions. Our ‘TEE’ trusted compute solution was released with Intel over a year ago now, and was the big announcement from the previous Devcon in 2018. At the time, very little people had heard about Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs). This year, however, the topic was frequently brought up in questions at our booth or during presentations. It was clear other projects had acknowledged the necessity of trusted compute within blockchain-based networks.

Events like this give iExec an opportunity to understand the needs of other actors both blockchain and non-blockchain. We are able to identify what current problems exist in the space, helping us come up with the best solutions to resolve these problems.

iExec Devcon Presentations

One of the most exciting moments of the conference was the announcement of the collaboration with Microsoft, Intel, ConsenSys, Envision, PegaSys and Kaleido as part of the EEA presentation. We presented an initial example use case of the Trusted Compute Specification (TCF) of which iExec is proud to be the main author of the code. This is the latest work from the Intel x iExec strategic partnership. Watch the video of the presentation below!

iExec, Microsoft & Intel present the TCF Trusted Compute Framework @ Devcon (EEA token & other uses)

➡Read the Intel Announcement here

➡ Read the Hyperledger Avalon Technical roles here

➡Read the EEA Announcement here

Hadrien Crubois, iExec Research Engineer

In addition to this presentation, iExec team members gave 2 other talks (on ENS Ethereum Addresses and upgradability smart of contracts) while also participating in an ENS workshop. We were honored to be invited to present our experience gained with iExec.

Devcon5: iExec Off-Chain Drinks

iExec held a networking event after Day 2 of Devcon, hosting an evening of drinks and food across the street from the conference. It was nice to see familiar faces, getting to meet old business partners from over the years. We were pleased to meet others over the later days of the conference who had met new business partners or clients at our event! Thank you for coming along, especially with the fierce competition we had from events in the other rooms!

Thank you to the Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP) for organizing the badges and NFT tokens for all attendees of the iExec event. We loved the idea and look forward to working with you again!