ETH Scalability Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin surprised attendees at the Kyiv Tech Summit to show support for war-torn Ukraine, an appearance that was a closely guarded secret for security reasons, organizers told CoinDesk.
Buterin's support of Ukraine is far from surprising. While the Ethereum co-founder was born in Russia and met Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2017 to discuss Ethereum opportunities, he's been critical of his homeland's government for years as well as its war with Ukraine. Still, his visit is notable due to timing: Ethereum’s much-anticipated overhaul known as the Merge is just days away.
The Merge Ethereum Mainnet uses proof-of-stake, but this wasn't always the case. The upgrade from the original proof-of-work mechanism to proof-of-stake was called The Merge.
The Merge refers to the original Ethereum Mainnet merging with a separate proof-of-stake blockchain called the Beacon Chain, now existing as one chain. The Merge reduced Ethereum's energy consumption by ~99.95%.
