Building Web3 culture in Ukraine: Rostyslav Bortman’s mission

Good contracts. In 2016, my professor on the college got here to me and provided me a subject for my thesis – ‘Good contracts on Ethereum’ or one thing like that. I agreed. Since then, I couldn’t tear myself away from Solidity and Ethereum – I used to be fully taken by the ideas of decentralisation and the absence of intermediaries.

At starters, there are other ways to contribute: to construct a profound product with a superb basis that may go mainstream and have a direct influence on the event of Web3, or to be a developer in a group that builds the way forward for Web3, or to contribute to open-source communities.

In fact, among the many cool groups in Web3, you’ll be able to usually discover Ukrainian builders who construct cool issues in a group, and that’s very cool. Nonetheless, we don’t see a large variety of Ukrainians creating merchandise that go mainstream. We nonetheless have to work on this.

I feel that the Ukrainian Web3 neighborhood is simply beginning to develop. Because the organiser of the biggest hackathon in Ukraine, I can say that we nonetheless have loads of work to do on the tradition of constructing startups. Persons are centered on incomes cash and don’t wish to take dangers, categorical no want to construct one thing of their very own, as a result of outsourcing supplies stability. 

My group and I intend to vary this – to construct a tradition of hackathons within the nation, as a result of I’m satisfied that this is without doubt one of the best methods to indicate builders that constructing your individual product is superior. It’ll take time for individuals’s mindsets to vary, and for Ukrainians to begin influencing world blockchain growth with their merchandise.

In fact they will. The Web3 market is world, and it doesn’t matter through which nation it’s constructed. Initially, the product use case, UX, is vital. Anybody who makes a cool product that individuals want can compete on this market. 

‘Construct one thing individuals want. Construct a useless easy expertise,’ – Jesse Pollak.

World Ledger. I additionally like Trustee Plus – it’s easy, handy, and solves the issue of shopper funds. HackenProof.

It’s also vital to notice that the idea of success is totally different for many individuals, so I’m solely talking in regards to the ones I personally like.

Now we have been organising meetups since 2021. Now we have already held about 25 totally different occasions. Now we have collaborated with BNB Chain, Scroll, Diia schooling, and plenty of others. You may see all our occasions right here – kyivethereum.com.

Lately, we organised ETHKyiv, which was attended by Vitalik (Buterin) and three different individuals of the Ethereum Basis (and plenty of different visitors of assorted cool Web3 protocols). We managed to get such giants as EtherFi, Scroll, Intmax, Zero1, Circles, The Graph Builders Dao, and others as sponsors. Additionally, 123 hackers visited the situation offline and took half within the hackathon.

We raised $8000 for the FPV-drones for the Ukraine Armed Forces (UAF). And all this regardless of the battle.

I imagine that the technique of creating native communities all over the world is the appropriate one, as a result of solely native leaders, not the worldwide Basis, can have the best influence on individuals from particular nations.

The position and affect relies upon not on me, however on the neighborhood. I alone can do little, however we’re doing the whole lot in our energy to create beneficial circumstances for the event of the Ethereum neighborhood in Ukraine – collect cool founders, visionaries, and leaders.

Let’s begin with the unhappy stuff. I’m the one and solely organiser of ETHKyiv 2024 (with my Kyiv Ethereum group, in fact). Sergiy Sevidov was formally a co-organiser, however, the truth is, he didn’t fulfil his duties and didn’t take any half within the organisation of this occasion. Due to this fact, calling him one of many organisers can be unfair to the group that was concerned within the organisation.

Sadly, it turned out that he controls the ethkyiv.org area and social media, through which our group made completely all publications associated to the ETHKyiv hackathon. He refuses to surrender the social media and the area (though he has nothing to do with Ethereum in Ukraine and did nothing to develop it, his solely aim is to make use of the ETHKyiv identify), as a result of he desires to carry a few of his personal occasions there and declare ETHKyiv 2024 as his personal to promote it to sponsors and companions. My group and I’ve already turned this web page and created new social media.

Now, to reply your query:

I imagine that hackathons have a direct influence on the event of Ethereum in Ukraine, as a result of I feel that builders are the principle asset of the ecosystem. That’s the reason our primary mission is to onboard Ukrainian builders to Ethereum. As for conferences, I can’t reply as a result of my primary focus is on builders.

There was an unimaginable quantity of difficulties, however this is able to be a narrative for an hour. There have been loads of issues with contractors and the quantity of coordination, communication, administration of all the main points, comparable to on Taikai community and elsewhere, involvement of sponsors, hackers, judges and audio system, and media publications. This story deserves a separate publication.

Base has an excellent influence on Web3 as a result of they’re creating a tradition of builders round them and selling the message that constructing is cool. They’re centered on creating shopper apps, which is the appropriate factor to do, in my view, and I feel that’s Base is the place we’re going to see loads of cool improvements in Web3.

I’m an ETH Maxi, so it’s exhausting for me to consider that. There are such a lot of new and attention-grabbing issues occurring in Ethereum daily that I merely don’t have sufficient time to observe different ecosystems. 

Nonetheless, I feel that different blockchains are more likely to take some market share, however Ethereum will stay the undisputed chief. For me, Ethereum’s ideas are nearer to my coronary heart. That’s why I’m right here, and the general public locally are right here as properly. And I feel that’s what makes Ethereum one of the best.

At present, shopper funds are one of many largest points which might be a precedence within the business, together with, for instance, Base (I wrote about it right here). I don’t assume that DeFi will substitute centralised banking within the coming years, however I feel that step-by-step, it is going to turn out to be extra handy and well-liked, the variety of customers will develop, and strategically, sooner or later, we could have some hybrid programs with the flexibility to fully abandon conventional centralised banking if vital.

I don’t assume we are going to see a Solana ETF within the close to future. There are goal causes for this. 

Firstly, the SEC (US Securities and Change Fee – writer’s notice) considers Solana a safety. Secondly, the funds personal 12% of SOL (or extra, I don’t know the precise determine, however it’s a vital drawback). Thirdly, if we speak in regards to the traditional path to ETFs (as was the case with BTC and ETH), Solana nonetheless wants 2-3 years to go all the best way. 

As for different belongings, I feel that the cryptocurrency market has to turn out to be far more mature first, as a result of now all these memecoins and belongings with no that means and billions of {dollars} in capitalisation look very unusual.

NFTs usually are not going wherever, however not the NFTs that everybody has heard about in 2021. NFT is a token customary that will likely be and is already being actively utilized in RWA (Actual World Belongings). They are going to tokenise the whole lot they will with NFT. From actual property to gadgets in digital worlds and video games. I don’t know what’s going to occur to NFT monkeys.

Account abstraction, SocialFi, decentralised messengers, shopper apps (together with cost apps), cross-chain interoperability, GameFi.

I imagine it is extremely vital. So far as I do know, the state of affairs in Ukraine is just not superb. 

I would love to see us transfer sooner and have extra enthusiasm. If anybody desires to run Solidity programs, bear in mind that we’ll at all times help you. Come, let’s speak. 

I like the instance of Argentina – they’ve built-in Ethereum and Solidity into the varsity curriculum in Buenos Aires. I feel we should always transfer on this course – I’ve already texted to a number of of my buddies on this matter.

Construct one thing that individuals want. Construct useless easy experiences. Create functions that individuals use, that’s all. They (plenty – writer’s notice) will come to you. Sometime, freedom of speech will turn out to be an important side, taking a look at what is going on on this planet now. So I feel that the demand for decentralisation, safety, and censorship resistance will develop.

It is a very troublesome query. I feel there will likely be loads of functions that may go mainstream and customers is not going to even know that they’re Web3-based. I feel that in this time, the principle UX issues will likely be solved and we can discover killer use instances within the business. I feel we are going to see the identical mass adoption within the subsequent 10 years.

I’m eager on the ideas of decentralisation, censorship resistance, self-custody, and many others. I wish to take away belief from the place it shouldn’t stay. I wish to take away intermediaries and automate the circumstances in good contracts. I imagine that that is the longer term, and we’re shifting in the appropriate course usually. I like being concerned on this, and I’m grateful for it. 

Persons are additionally motivating. Such a focus of extremely good, open-minded individuals may be very incentive.