Three years ago, my crypto journey took a slightly unexpected turn. Until then, I kept things low-key, tried to live a fairly private life, avoided using my full name or my face in profile pictures, and only talked vaguely about my work. I just kept building and doing things that excited me, thinking I was living my crypto dream, surrounded by cypherpunks. Instead, I ended up in court, and all I was left with from building an alternative to the state is a bunch of worn-out merchandise. In the summer of 2023, I got a slap in the face. After about seven years of volunteering my time and helping to finance Paralelní Polis, the former cryptoanarchist base in Prague, I was accused by one of its founders of looting the organization for my personal gain. Long story short - and the reason I’m writing this - is that, on 8th of July 2026, a court ruling became final, ordering him to apologize for publishing defamatory allegations about me: a story that was used in a public call to boycott my projects and undermine my credibility in the industry. @Roman_Tyc, the person in question, proudly wears the labels of anarchist, vocal critic of state oppression, and Scout (note: Scout Law #1: “A Scout is truthful.”) - yet from my recent experience also doesn’t mind fabricating suitable stories to sell. In his own words, Paralelní Polis, the NGO, follows a doctrine of independence from the state, and therefore they can’t go to the police or file a lawsuit to get justice. So why did I go to court with an anarchist? I didn’t. IMHO, even the anarchy part is just a pose. I went to court with a person whom I now think has zero integrity. And I did it to set boundaries. Despite all the labels, behind the scenes, I was getting requests and notices from his lawyer, and eventually I was called in by the police for questioning. I was accused of multiple crimes, both publicly and to authorities by this same “anarchist.” My work and personal life were impacted by having to explain the full story over and over. That nonsense had to stop. I don’t mind that he used the legal system - that is his right - but I’m in awe of how someone can keep publicly feeding the facade of being a defenseless victim while doing the opposite of what he preaches. Why did he do that? I don’t know. Perhaps it was bitterness at not getting his way. Anyway, I’m grateful to him for one thing: he certainly had the ability to attract a lot of interesting people, some of whom became my real friends. My clash also connected me with a handful of people who had previously had conflicts with him. I won’t retell other people’s stories here. But after my own case, it became impossible for me to treat this as an innocent misunderstanding. In the end.. stupid games, stupid prizes. It’s over now. I actually wrote a longer analytical post about lessons learned about our crypto community, but I’ll stop here. I had to get it off my chest. It's bittersweet, yet I’m glad I stood my ground. I’m glad I’m finally getting closure. Maybe just one general reminder: Today I accept my own fault and my failure of judgment. The clues were in plain sight, and I ignored them, thinking that “this time it’s different.” The signs of misbehavior, mockery, and blaming people behind their backs - they were all there, all along. I just thought it didn’t concern me, and that maybe each of those cases had a bit of merit. Well, next time you engage with a person you see using everyone else around them, you better bet you are being used as well. Here is my final appeal: should I ever, in my dealings, become a selfish narcissist who takes credit for things I have little to do with, or should I ever blame everyone else for my own failures, please send this back to me. Leb wohl.

Conferences aren’t a vanity play. They’re how newcomers become builders. My path into the Ethereum ecosystem started in 2016, via: 1. attending a meetup on Oranienstraße in Berlin (which made me start meetups in Prague) 2. competing in a hackETHon in London (which made me learn Solidity) 3. flying to Shanghai for @Devcon 2 (which made me come to every single Devcon since) Meeting the community in person meant 1000x more than all the online interactions combined. That’s what made me stick to Ethereum. Events still matter for talent inflow and retention. They also expose what we do to people standing on the sidelines. They’re not just marketing gimmicks - events are the core glue!! If you’re reading this, you’ve probably been around long enough that conferences no longer feel like an entry point; they feel like work and a lineup of meetings. Fair. But remember how you got here: what were the first events for you? If we start acting like IRL events aren’t important, we’ll close these channels. That’s it. We’ll silo ourselves in a self-swallowing bubble. Game over. Real-life events need your support. If you’re a marketer, running a company or you are a whale in this space, sponsoring an industry/community event is in your best interest - that's how you help the industry grow. Also please don’t drain organizers dry while doing it. Events cost money: venue, catering, Wi-Fi boosts, production. The nicer you want it, the more it costs, and more often than not the hosts are volunteering to make them happen. Yes, I understand it’s hard to measure exact impact of an IRL experience. But that’s how you make yourself real: brand awareness, association, a gateway drug. The point is the optionality you create by letting someone new in. You won’t measure it cleanly, and you don’t need to - the occasional “winning case” is what drives outsized impact and multiplied growth. That's how you find your next star, get meaningful product feedback face to face or make a deal 2 years from now. Don't expect your user base to grow magically because you showed people a laptop at your booth and threw a party - by fostering events and brining value to them, you are boosting the shared signal - if all of the remaining parts of your product or tech make sense, you can leverage that signal for your own grow. I’m genuinely sad to see @ethereumfndn not supporting events with grants anymore. I get the focus on meetups and local hubs - they matter too - but seasonal events are beacons that make local substrates flourish: side-event rentals for local hubs, media interest, new visitors, new hackerspace members. Those second-order effects are real. Likely brining more value than the $1k thrown at a meetup occasionally. And I’m sad to see companies trying to reap the benefits without contributing to the core: - Posting only a hacker bounty without sponsoring the hackathon - what? - Spending 20k on a side event without sponsoring the core event - seriously, WTF?! I joined the Ethereum Foundation largely thanks to Devcon 4. When I left EF, my goal was to go out and grow the garden @AyaMiyagotchi often talks about. A few weeks ago we made this happen with @EthereumZurich - now a group of students is taking over the conference is nurturing the local community. @ETHPrague has grown into a significant annual event with global reach, with some of the most unprecedented conversations happening in this small town in the middle of nowhere. Initiatives and teams have sparked from ETHPrague with ambitions to change how Europe and the world is viewing Ethereum (can't wait for this to be announced!). IRL still matters.

We bumped up the fixed rate for the first ever DeFi mortgage to 2,5% APR! Too little you say? Consider this - if you lend $10k you lose something like 1% p.a. vs variable rate - meaning ±$100/y BUT you get supporter perks! This means that for only $500 you get: - 1 venue rental for an event in Prague - 2y of server racking - 2y hacker-space membership - T-shirt & ZKBadge that will get you to parties (IYKYK) - Ticket to ETHPrague'26 aaaand that's hell of a bargain!! + you make history happen! Link below: