Below are guest posts and opinions from Rostyslav Bortman, founder of Ethereum Ukraine.
Even in Kyiv during the war, innovation will not pause. Over 100 hackers proved that in Ethkyiv 2025. Pushing out privacy-first dup, competing for grants, demonstrating what is possible when the world’s toughest challenges are encountered with Web3 Grit.
But the real shockwave came from the founders themselves: Vitalik Buterin and Tomasz K. Stańczak, executive directors of the Ethereum Foundation, both appeared as online speakers at the event.
So, what’s next for the protocol? When will the 400 TP arrive? Also, what does “Ethereum on mobile phones” actually mean to developers and users? Here’s what I learned at Ethkyiv 2025:
Next Generation UX: Node of Phone
Vitalik Buterin’s keynote at Ethkyiv 2025 was cut straight into Ethereum’s core roadmap. The biggest public:
“Now you’ll be able to spin up your smartphone or smartwatch nodes.”
Instead of relying on a server with terabytes of storage, users will soon be able to run a full Ethereum node “without heavy resources.” According to Buterin. This first unit case is possible thanks to the Zero Knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (ZKEVMS) currently implemented by the Ethereum Foundation.
Zkevms makes nodes much lighter and disconnects storage by verifying transactions without revealing and importing information about them.
With Ethereum’s L2S, Zkevms already reduces transaction costs by up to 90% and settles into finality within 3 seconds. Buterin said the next step is to bring these improvements to Ethereum Mainnet, providing blockchain interactions as quickly and affordable as traditional web applications.
400 TP with 3 slot finality by 2026
In Ethkyiv 2025, Tomasz K. Stańczak, co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, explained exactly what follows in the Ethereum backbone:
He revealed that by the end of 2026, Ethereum will move to 3-slot finality (3SF), reducing average transaction confirmation time from 15 minutes to just 36 seconds. For users, this gives them an immediate experience of traditional digital payments while retaining all the benefits of decentralization.
Stańczak laid out short-term milestones:
The Ethereum L1 will reach 400 transactions per second (TPS) by the end of 2025.
The block gas limit has reached 100 million this year, jumping to 60 million per block in one or two months (as of publication date – Edit).
In the context: Scaling of Ethereum L1 is essential as it locks the entire ecosystem and depends on security, payments, and censorship resistance layer 2. As mainnet throughput increases, users will get more powerful that transactions are ultimately finalized in a distributed global network that is not bottlenecked by L2 operators.
As Vitalik Buterin summed up:
“The goal is to make Ethereum more private and more censored. At the same time, even people who are far from technology feel safe using it every day.”
What really enhances Ethereum’s value and popular adoption?
For me and all my Ethereum followers, there are always some big questions left. What could actually support the value of Ethereum and lead to mass adoption?
When I pressed both Vitalik Buterin and Tomasz Stańczak for an answer in Ethkyiv 2025, they each focused on different but connected drivers.
Tomasz pointed out three non-negotiable possibilities: privacy, data protection and transparency. According to him, these are exactly what enterprise clients and regular users are looking for in the blockchain platform at the moment.
“Ethereum is a global network, and increasing adoption directly increases the value of the entire ecosystem,” he explained.
The more Ethereum is used in real-world utilities (by businesses and individuals), the more demands and ultimately value arises.
Meanwhile, Vitalik framed adoption questions about the usefulness of finance. His paper: Large-scale adoption occurs when Ethereum became a rail for real-world assets, particularly tokenized stocks and bonds.
“They are the gateway to large adoption and the bridge between traditional finance and Web3,” he said.
Heavyweights such as BlackRock, Deutsche Bank and Coinbase are actively using Ethereum to make asset tokenization, which blurs the line between the traditional financial $117 trillion market and Web3 infrastructure.
In short, the true value of Ethereum is not only speculative, but is currently built at the intersection of security, privacy and practical financial applications. That’s where mass adoption seems inevitable.
Why is ethkyiv 2025 important and more important?
Ethkyiv 2025 actually stood out for its access to global thought leaders. Despite all the war-related risks, developers have heard direct insights from Ethereum’s most influential builders.
As Stańczak himself explained:
“Enterprise, defi, explorations, ai, research, daily issues, work with people. You have to understand directions and give feedback. A lot of it.”
His daily routine – the time spent answering questions from developers – except for its protocol, as well as how the power of Ethereum is in people.
Importantly, Ethkyiv 2025 was more than just a technical event on the calendar. Opposed to the background of the ongoing war, it became living evidence of something greater. Even in the darkest times, the Ukrainian tech community chooses to build, learn and connect with a global ecosystem.
Throughout the hackathon, wartime context was impossible to ignore, but it was a driving force, not a shadow. The performance by violinist Soldier Moisei Bondarenko, whose music echoes through the liberated Ukrainian cities, reminded everyone that innovation and humanity must be closely connected. Tactical medicine sessions led by Combat Medic Artem Rudy also brought practical skills and a sense of shared resilience into the room.
This is what sets Ethkyiv 2025 apart. It is a collection of minds and minds, and even during the war, a testament to the sustainability of community, curiosity and shared values. The world saw not only this technology, but also the spirit of resilience and solidarity that Ukrainian builders brought to the stage.
