Why Buenos Aires is Ethereum’s Next Big Thing (The Secret is Out)

• Devconnect Buenos Aires frames Ethereum as current infrastructure, not future technology, through real demonstrations.

• The event showcases Ethereum’s expansion into AI, gaming, and identity, moving beyond just decentralized finance.

Devconnect Buenos Aires frames Ethereum as current infrastructure, not future technology, through real demonstrations. The event showcases Ethereum’s expansion into AI, gaming, and digital identity, moving beyond just decentralized finance.

Buenos Aires prepares to welcome the international Ethereum community for its upcoming Devconnect gathering. Event organizers have framed this edition as a blockchain “World’s Fair,” emphasizing currently deployed applications over theoretical future capabilities.

“Devconnect works because it is community-led. Curators shape their own events, define the depth, and decide how conversations should unfold,” he explains. “Our role is simply to remove friction, publish agendas early, and create common spaces where people naturally come together.”

The gathering aims to position Ethereum as functional infrastructure rather than emerging technology, bringing together developers, researchers, and end-users.

Nathan Sexer, who leads Devconnect, outlined the event’s operational philosophy. “Our model succeeds through community leadership,” Sexer explained. This approach features more than forty distinct events managed independently.

“World’s Fairs have historically showcased paradigm-shifting technologies. We believe Ethereum is at a similar juncture,” he says. “Hundreds of applications are live today. We want people to touch and feel what a society built on Ethereum could be like.”

Individual curators determine their session’s technical depth and conversational direction, while the central team provides logistical support, early schedule publication, and designed interaction spaces. These intentional gathering points include collaborative work zones, specialized discussion areas, and community meeting hubs.

Stablecoin Payments Emerge as Primary Use Case

Practical stablecoin payments for daily transactions represent a major focus at the Buenos Aires event. Sexer described payment solutions as potentially defining for Ethereum in 2025.

Participants will have opportunities to conduct real-world crypto transactions within the city, including purchasing meals. This functionality relies on matured Layer 2 networks, operational rollups, and enhanced user interfaces featuring account abstraction technology.

The selection of Buenos Aires as host city reflects deliberate strategy. Sexer noted Argentina’s crypto-aware population, influenced by inflationary conditions and financial restrictions.

“Cross-border payments in high-inflation economies show how powerful stablecoins can be,” says Sexer. “Instant settlement through local on-ramps simply offers a better user experience than traditional payment systems.”

In such environments, cross-border payments using stablecoins demonstrate clear advantages over conventional systems. Immediate settlement through localized off-ramping provides competitive user benefits compared to traditional payment channels.

Diverse Applications Beyond Financial Services

The event program extends well beyond payment solutions to showcase Ethereum’s expanding utility. Attendees will observe progress in privacy-enhancing cryptographic proofs, decentralized finance, and on-chain treasury management.

Exhibitions will include frameworks for public goods funding, digital identity protocols, and emerging platforms for media and social interactions on blockchain networks. Significant attention will also focus on consumer-grade wallets, alongside integration with gaming systems, hardware, and artificial intelligence applications.

Get ready for Devconnect – only 2 more sleeps

Here's your to dos before entering the Ethereum World's Fair next week

La Rural, Buenos Aires
17-22 November, 2025 pic.twitter.com/LzgLMWNuWV

— Devconnect ARG – the first Ethereum World’s Fair (@EFDevcon) November 16, 2025

Managing forty autonomous events demands coherent guiding principles. Sexer specified that every session must serve technical builders, maintain rigorous quality standards, and undergo curation by established teams.

While Ethereum’s core development areas—from decentralized applications to AI integration—provide structural organization, each organizer’s creative control ultimately shapes the event’s character.

“You have a crypto-native population shaped by inflation and capital controls. You have a strong developer culture with universities, meetups, hackerspaces, and startups. And logistically, the city is ideal for a distributed fair,” he explains.

Regarding long-term impact, Sexer aims to direct international expertise and resources toward local ecosystem development. The initiative seeks to strengthen regional entrepreneurs, developers, students, and policy makers. Organizers hope Devconnect will stimulate sustained advancement for both worldwide Ethereum networks and South American blockchain communities.