The First Contribution

The first time you do something special stays with you.

I still remember the first time I wrote a message on Reddit to extend my support for documenting Ethereum ACD notes for the community. Ethereum’s early supporters were looking for more hands. Contributing ACD notes to the ethereum/pm repo became my first formal contribution to the Ethereum open-source ecosystem. My first time bug-solving for the EIPs repo was so special that I shared a small story: The bug of solving bugs.

A Last-Minute Trip to Denver

Last week, I was in Denver, Colorado, attending EthDenver 2026.

It was a last-minute plan. But, I’m glad I made the trip.

I didn’t go for a stage talk. I went for conversations: human to human. My main goal was to bring attention to the growing number of incoming PRs in the EIPs repo and discuss real procedural improvements with EF folks.

Not a band-aid. A proper treatment. Good practices that can prevent similar situations in the future.

I had meaningful conversations with Tomasz K. Stańczak and Davide Crapis from the dAI team at the Ethereum Foundation. The discussion is still in progress, but I am hopeful. Sometimes progress begins with simply sitting across the table and talking honestly.

The Energy of the Community

Beyond that, Denver was full of energy.

I spent time with the Devfolio team behind the EthDenver hackathon and also connected with the Devcon India organizing team. Thanks to Denver Dsouza, I met a few Devrels who shared thoughtful feedback on PEEPanEIP and expressed appreciation for the work done by the ECH Institute team. Thank you for your kind words, they truly matter.

It goes without saying that events like this feel like a fair. You meet new people, discover new ideas, and stumble upon things you didn’t expect.

One project that caught my attention was MemethologyTCG. I stopped at their booth because the cards looked interesting, and I thought it might be a fun game or collection for my son. It felt different. As I learned more, I discovered that “Memethology is a living trading card game about the internet’s biggest ideas, icons, and inside jokes.”

I instantly got excited at the thought of seeing EIPs and Ethereum upgrades as part of that collection.

I had a quick brainstorming exchange with ColtonArt, creator of MemethologyTCG, an Artist + Storyteller + Optimist. He mentioned that a few others at EthDenver had also suggested that EIPs could make interesting cards. We exchanged contacts, and he asked about my favorite EIPs, saying he might consider turning some into cards.

I shared a list of ten game-changing EIPs.

Yes, I know, ten is a lot. But we just completed ten years. It feels like the right time to celebrate and commemorate.

I made a few new connections and revived some old ones. Meeting ECH board members and others for dinner was a great catch up. It was a pleasure meeting everyone who stopped by the Builders booth just to say hello. It’s always special to meet people in real life.

From Mentor to Backstage Observer

I have never participated in a hackathon as a hacker. I’m not a builder in that sense. I was a celebrity judge in EthDenver 2021 and mentored EthWomen Fellowship 2022. I have always cheered from the sidelines.

This time was different.

I found myself backstage helping the organizing team, volunteers, and judges. I watched the long and careful evaluation process. I saw the excitement of the participants. When the winners were announced and presented their projects to the celebrity judges, I was amazed. I stayed until the closing ceremony.

In my mind, all of them were winners. They came all the way to Denver to share their passion for this ecosystem.

My First Time Vibe Coding

Then came the closing ceremony.

Music loud. People dancing. Some doing push-ups. And something called “vibe coding” happening all around.

I had never vibe coded before.

But it felt like the perfect moment to try.

With another (Rust) developer and a group of five, we built a small, fun project called "High Noon Showdown". A six-player Web3 Poker Game where each person stakes 0.1 ETH and the winner takes it all. Cowboy theme - perfect for Denver. Built with Claude.ai in 15 minutes, a wild west themed blockchain game. Simple. Fun. Good enough to make people smile. For the demo, we deployed it on Sepolia testnet. Brave and MetaMask didn’t cooperate at first. We switched to Chrome.

The adrenaline rush was real. The music was pounding. People were coding, laughing, dancing. It felt alive.

Thanks to Tripur Joshi, the Devfolio team, and everyone who collaborated on that fun little game. I will always cherish my first vibe-coding experience. This truly feels like the beginning of the agentic coding era.

Back at the hotel, I tried building a couple more small projects. I’m curious now. Maybe this is the beginning of learning something new.

Ethereum: The 8th Wonder?

I also had the chance to speak briefly with the EF Devcon team about Devcon 2026 in Mumbai. Thanks for including me among the Indian contributors and featuring me in the video ahead of Devcon India in November 2026. It truly means a lot.

And yes, I already included Ethereum as the 8th wonder of the world. The first seven are monuments. The eighth (Ethereum) is a mission.

If you’re coming to India, visit the Taj. Don’t miss the street food. Try vada pav.

I even met the founder of Pizza DAO. An interesting person - he joined the hackathon at the last minute just for fun, coded overnight, and still showed up refreshed after a 10 a.m. coffee. He was wearing a vest covered in pins. Out of curiosity, I asked about it and that question took us on a joy ride.

Each pin had a story. Some were symbols of achievements, others of collaborations. I still remember the excitement on his face as he shared them. I wish I had taken a photo of that vest; such an amazing way to collect and preserve memories.

He also told me there’s a special pizza with vada pav as a topping. Check that out - especially if you’re an NFT collector.

Denver gave me conversations.

Memories.

New courage to try something for the first time!

This post is part of our new “Stories” collection - a space to share Web3 experiences through personal journeys.

If you have a first-time story from the Web3 world that you’d like to share, write to us at contact@etherworld.co.