Surprise appearance by Buterin at Web3 event
Ethereum co-founder talks about blockchain technology on final day of crypto conference
Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain, made a rare last-minute appearance at a Hong Kong cryptocurrency conference yesterday despite previously expressing scepticism about the city’s commitment to supporting the industry.
Buterin gave two keynote speeches at the Hong Kong Web3 Festival on the final day of the four-day event, focusing on blockchain technology. His in-person attendance came as a surprise as it was only announced by the conference on Monday evening.
The entrepreneur, regarded as a major figure in cryptocurrency communities because of his influence over one of the world’s most widely used blockchains, last year had cautioned industry players about setting up shop in Hong Kong, suggesting the stability of the city’s new-found support for virtual assets as of the end of 2022 could be fickle.
“Obviously, it’s very friendly now,” Buterin said at the Web3 Transitions Summit in Singapore in September last year. “But the big question I’m asking, and I think [everyone] is asking, is how stable is the level of friendliness.”
He added that if a cryptocurrency project wanted to make Hong Kong their home, it would need to be confident that the city would remain friendly to the sector many years from now, “when all kinds of unknown, regulatory and political events are going to happen”.
Buterin acknowledged at the time he did not “understand Hong Kong well”, and even less the “complicated interaction between Hong Kong and the mainland lately”.
His comments prompted a response from Hong Kong lawmaker Johnny Ng Kit-chong, who said on X “Hong Kong’s policies and laws will not change overnight” and dismissed the idea of any complications because Beijing supported the “one country, two systems” arrangement that allowed the city some policy autonomy.
Commercial use of cryptocurrency is strictly banned on the mainland.
Ng also invited Buterin to “come to Hong Kong to understand the situation”.
Buterin is one of the few heavyweight speakers who attended this year’s event as the city increased its efforts to woo international cryptocurrency talent and businesses with the aim of becoming a virtual asset hub.
The hall was completely packed with cryptocurrency faithful at an event where attendance had been patchy on most days.
Buterin’s talk lasted for just over 20 minutes and dealt strictly with technical upgrades to the Ethereum blockchain. He then left as quickly as he appeared, taking no questions.