Devconnect has generated a high demand for accommodation in the Argentine capital.
According to the organizers, the event registered around 14,500 ticket requests.
Buenos Aires woke up today as the global epicenter of Ethereum, with the official start of Devconnect 2025, the meeting that brings together developers, researchers, companies and communities from the entire ecosystem.
For six days, from November 17 to 22, the Argentine capital will be the setting for an agenda that includes programming competitions, community meetings, thematic conferences, among other activities.
The interest of several figures in the sector has been felt for weeks and, naturally, has intensified in recent days. The Argentine developer Santiago Siri highlighted the cultural dimension that this edition of the event brings and marked a distance from other technological poles: “The culture of Ethereum and web3 is radically different from that of Silicon Valley,” wrote.
For Siri, while technology in the United States seems to focus its attention on San Francisco, “as if innovation could only exist within the same zip code,” the cryptocurrency industry forces us to “move our bodies” with conferences distributed around the world.
In his vision, this technology “does not live on a campus, it lives on the street”, and therefore developers travel to see firsthand the social impact of what they buildespecially in developing countries.
Another voice that was surprised by the scope of the celebration was Candela Fazzano, who has been part of various educational programs about Ethereum and decentralization from Buenos Aires. Last Thursday he stated that he still could not believe the number of people who were arriving, showing photos at the airport and messages from the community.
“We are about to break another world record,” advancementhighlighting the enthusiasm generated by the call. Along the same lines, he highlighted the presence of Devconnecta, a bus to connect with the community that offers free tours of emblematic places in Buenos Aires, routes to restaurants and cafes, as well as naps to recharge energy between events.
From the airport to the hotels, the Ethereum community is present
There were also those who celebrated what they consider a sign of mass adoption. One attendee said that, unlike other airports where he usually faces exhaustive controls, in Argentina they only asked him if he was coming to attend the Ethereum event, which even had promotion on site.
Likewise, the international projection of Devconnect is reflection in the words of Juan Benet, founder of Protocol Labs. For him, calls like this have a personal meaning. He recalled that he was born in Mexico and grew up in Latin America, so he knows first-hand the challenges of the region. He highlighted that it has been “great to see Latin American countries level up technologically using tools of the highest standard.”
It is worth noting that, according to the organization itself, some 14,500 entries were requested, a figure that, as reported by CriptoNoticias, makes the Argentine edition the one with the largest attendance in the history of the Ethereum Foundation.
This impact was also felt in the demand for hotels in Buenos Aires, which, according to commented on social network X, made it difficult to find options. This was highlighted by Alex Lebed, developer and founder of StableUnit DAO, who reported that he was left without a place to stay.
In the midst of this high demand, another user summarized the general climate of unusual prices: «The most basic hotels in Buenos Aires are above 500 dollars per night; No wonder the crypto market is falling. His comment reflected the astonishment of several attendees at the extraordinary accommodation values that the city is registering.
A case of xenophobia tarnishes the celebration
Despite the euphoria that Devconnect is generating, Alerts also arose due to episodes of xenophobia against a foreign visitor. This is the Indian developer Thirumurugan Sivalingam, who received racist messages after sharing his arrival in Buenos Aires on social media.
Despite this, assured having found strong support from the local community. “After my recent posts, local developers approached me on the street and at events to offer support and tell me that I am welcome here…” he said, noting that new opportunities even arose from the solidarity he received.
Regarding this episode, analyst Carlos Maslatón also spoke out, rejecting any discriminatory manifestation. “In Argentina we do not accept racism or direct or indirect discrimination of any kind…” pointed out. And he also thanked the arrival of the thousands of visitors that Devconnect attracted.