ETHConf Crypto Startup Showdown

Sun, Aug 2, 2026, 12:00 AM

In this ETHConf Crypto Startup Showdown, hosted by Kartik of ETHGlobal, 14 startups (drawn from past ETHGlobal hackathon projects turning into companies plus open applications) each pitch for three minutes followed by a four-minute Q&A, competing for a $5,000 cash prize for the best pitch plus future ETHGlobal, Pragma, and ETHConf sponsorship opportunities and Cointelegraph service credits. Three early-stage VC judges give feedback and guidance: Tarun Chitra, Joyce Yang of Pivot Global, and David Shengart of the Cointelegraph accelerator. The lineup spans DeFi automation, agent infrastructure, RWAs, stablecoins, privacy, payments, gaming, and prediction markets. The teams pitch as follows. Amplifi builds single-click permissionless prime brokerage, using trusted execution environments and programmable custody to let traders borrow against any DeFi position across venues. Glider automates any investment strategy, letting users build direct-indexed onchain portfolios (like a Nancy Pelosi tracker or biotech basket) with no gas, signing, or bridging, reporting over 100,000 users. Zyfai embeds personal yield agents into wallets that monitor and rebalance funds, having handled $2.4 billion across 10,000 wallets. ascii presents Box, a cheap, powerful sandbox giving AI agents their own computers at up to 25x less cost. Papre is the agreement layer bridging legal meaning and smart contract execution, automating milestones, escrow, and arbitration. ASCNT brings market-making yield to LPs by pricing toxic versus healthy swap flow and auctioning arbitrage back to the pool. Cambria is a crypto game studio building onchain PvP duels and MMO experiences. Frankencoin offers the largest Swiss Franc stablecoin and its Frankencoin Pool Share governance token, pitching CHF as a superior store of value via an oracle-free CDP. YieldSeeker grows wealth on autopilot with conversational DeFi agents managing $1.5 million. Radius brings the institutional repo market onchain with peer-to-peer funding that bypasses dealer banks. Unlink provides privacy and compliance infrastructure letting companies use any chain privately in three lines of code via zero knowledge. dolphinze builds contractor-first payment infrastructure with one wire in and compliant multi-currency payouts out. Frames offers one composite model giving AI agents access to the paywalled internet across 4,000+ tools with unified billing. PulsePlay is the settlement layer for second-by-second markets using state channels, launching live in-play World Cup predictions with no ghost fills. The judges deliberate to pick the winning pitch. 00:00 Introduction 00:29 How the Showdown Works 00:54 Meet the Three Judges 01:30 The Prize and Sponsorship Opportunities 02:11 The 14 Teams 02:35 Amplifi: Permissionless Prime Brokerage 05:56 Amplifi Q&A 10:35 Glider: Automate Any Investment Strategy 14:28 Glider Q&A 18:42 Zyfai: Personal Yield Agents 22:11 Zyfai Q&A 26:22 ascii: Box, a Sandbox for Agents 30:39 ascii Q&A 34:15 Papre: The Agreement Layer 37:20 Papre Q&A 43:17 ASCNT: Market Making Yield for LPs 46:39 ASCNT Q&A 50:12 Cambria: Crypto Game Studio 53:14 Cambria Q&A 57:41 Frankencoin: Swiss Franc Stablecoin 1:00:16 Frankencoin Q&A 1:05:19 YieldSeeker: Wealth on Autopilot 1:08:19 YieldSeeker Q&A 1:13:34 Radius: Onchain Repo Platform 1:16:33 Radius Q&A 1:20:34 Unlink: Privacy and Compliance Infrastructure 1:23:55 Unlink Q&A 1:28:45 dolphinze: Payment Infrastructure for Work 1:31:54 dolphinze Q&A 1:36:45 Frames: Paywalled Data for AI Agents 1:39:24 Frames Q&A 1:43:59 PulsePlay: Settlement Layer for Fast Markets 1:47:17 PulsePlay Q&A 1:51:45 Closing and Judge Deliberation _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ *ETHConf 2026* ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum. Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ *Follow ETHConf* X: https://x.com/ethconf Website: https://ethconf.com _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets 🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _