Vitalik Buterin makes surprise appearance at Kyiv Tech Summit

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder and face of Ethereum, made an appearance at Kyiv Tech Summit in a show of support for Ukraine amid its ongoing conflict with Russia. 

As reported by Coindesk, Buterin surprised the audience after keeping his planned appearance a secret for security reasons. The visit to the war-torn county is ahead of Ethereum's merge next week, which will officially transition the network to proof-of-stake from proof-of-work.

The summit's organizers tweeted that it was Buterin's first visit to Ukraine. Still, it was not his first indication of support for the country since the the onset of the Russian invasion at the end of February. A Russia-born Canadian citizen, Buterin has publicly donated to Ukraine's war effort and taken to Twitter to curse out a prominent representative of Vladimir Putin's regime. 

He joined a roster of guests from the mastheads of Ukraine-based or originated firms like Kuna Exchange, Celo Foundation, Near Protocol and Allbridge. Also appearing were leaders from Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation. 

Crypto has been a prominent success story in Ukraine during wartime. The decentralized industry has sustained jobs for displaced Ukrainians, while also providing a line of donations to the military effort.