Ethereum developers throw illegal rave within Catacombs of Paris

A 100-strong crowd of crypto bros turned the site of Paris’ Catacombs, where the skeletons of 6 million deceased Parisians lie, into an illegal “techno rave” — amid a devastating $2 trillion cryptocurrency crash.

Earlier this week, the Ethereum Community Conference took place in Paris, meaning hundreds of crypto fanatics flocked to the French capital between July 19 and July 21 to discuss the industry.

To let loose, fans descended into the Catacombs of Paris and threw an illegal “techno rave” until 4:AM. Their plan was to “leave no trace” and be out of there by sunrise.

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According to CNBC, who spoke to attendees about the event, the crowd were randomly assigned groups and were made to wade their way through to this rave. Groups were given meeting points through the encrypted messaging app Telegram and had to find their way to the party through the maze-like ossuary.

One attendee alleges that the trek involved wading through thigh-high water, tracing old train tracks, crawling under a fence, manoeuvring through holes and even bouldering. According to one attendees' fitness tracker, they travelled four and a half miles underground.

When attendees arrived, they were met with neon lights, a DJ and a dancefloor. “It’s very illegal but also very crypto”, one attendee anonymously said to CNBC.

The crypto bros in attendance reportedly had a good time, however, the one downside was thinking about where to leave. “People start thinking, ‘Er, where am I gonna get out?’” said another person.

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The Catacombs of Paris have been open to the public since the early nineteenth century. The Catacombs are made up of several tunnels and walkways which are filled with the skeletons of roughly six million Parisians. As it stands, they still have COVID protocols in place for visitors who attend during the day.

The Ethereum Community Conference is the largest European-based Ethereum summit. Cryptocurrency has seen a crash within the last few months - Ether (Ethereum blockchain’s most commonly used cryptocurrency) is down to $1,600, after a $4,800 high in November 2021.

Aneesa Ahmed is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter