On September 26, 2014, Ukrainian capital hosted its first Bitcoin event - Bitcoin Conference Kiev. The Hall of Champions in NSC Olimpiyskiy gathered about 170 Bitcoin enthusiasts along with leading Ukrainian and foreign thought leaders.

The first Ukrainian Bitcoin conference has been lauded by Bitcoin Foundation Ukraine (BFU) representatives, Mikhail Chobanyan and Andrey Dubetskiy:

“Finally, this event has happened! BFU is very excited that Ukraine has a theme event for everyone interested in Bitcoin for business. We’re happy that this industry is developing in Ukraine at such rapid speed and we’re sure that Bitcoinis going to become stronger in the future.”

- Mikhail Chobanyan

It’s certainly not surprising that the country is one of the leaders in the number of Bitcoin businessmen. Ukraine is one of the best five countries in the world when it comes to the quantity and education of IT specialists. 

The Conference revealed that about 236,000 Ukrainians are currently using digital currency. And according to research, this trend reflects the positive growth dynamic of Bitcoin in Ukraine.

Maksim Krupyshev, Bitcoin enthusiast and creator of Fruitwallet, was the moderator of Bitcoin Conference Kiev.

- Maksim Krupyshev

The main points of discussion at the Conference were:

  • Bitcoin: Financial Money Pyramid of the Future?
  • Purchase-Sell, How does Bitcoin operate?
  • Mining
  • Safety – What You Need to do to Save your Bitcoins
  • Business – How Bitcoin can Influence Your Business
  • Investment
  • Legal Aspects of Bitcoin and its Operation

The Kiev Conference also included a floor for mining where visitors could find out about creating bitcoins live as companies demonstrated special equipment for Bitcoin mining in the promo-zone.

Also at the event was a terminal for purchasing cryptocurrency for cash from the country’s first Bitcoin organization - KUNA Bitcoin Agency.

- KUNA terminal

In total, there were 12 exclusive presentations during the Conference that led to many interesting questions from the audience and lively discussions.

Speakers who keynoted at the event include:

  • Andrey Dubetskiy, Bitcoin enthusiast, co-founder of Bitcoin Foundation Ukraine;
  • Pavel Sidelov, CTO atZenAssets, PayPlug.In, Head of Ukrainian electronic business association;
  • Dmitriy Chuyko, founder and CEO of FUEC cryptocurrency exchanger;
  • Mariya Salnikova, analyst at FOREX CLUB;
  • Joshua Zipkin, CEO at Advancedminers (USA);
  • Oleg Kudrenko, independent Bitcoin developer;
  • Mikhail Chobanyan, founder of Kuna bitcoin agency;
  • Natalia Revenko, Business Development Director at Offshore Pro Group in CIS;
  • Stanislav Podyachev, btcu.biz project, Director at Acredit;
  • Vyacheslav Ustimenko, СEO at law and consulting company LAWBOOT;
  • Andrey Kolodyuk, managing partner and founder of AVentures Capital;
  • Artem Afayan, lawyer, managing partner at Yuskutum.

“Bitcoin is more than just money, it’s a unique ecosystem,” said the first speaker at the conference, Andrey Dubetskiy, who discussed the state of Bitcoin in Ukraine.

Later, Pavel Sidelov’s presentation covered interesting facts about Bitcoin risks and how this “Internet currency” could compete with conventional money. Sidelov answered many questions about Bitcoin’s practical applications, particularly in banking.

The first part of the event also included roundtable discussion: “What does Cryptocurrency Need to Become the Main System of Settlements,” which involved lively discussions between conference attendees and participating specialists.

Next, the conference turned to one of the main topics of the event: mining. American entrepreneur Joshua Zipkin presented his ideas on the state of the modern digital currency mining industry.

- Joshua Zipkin

“If you decided to try mining, that probably could be a bad idea,” said Joshua jokingly, telling about the increasing complexity of the process (increasing bi-weekly) and uncertainty of the industry though touching on the profitability of this business.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the presentation of Andrey Kolodyuk, managing partner and founder of AVentures Capital. The specialist spotlighted the ins-and-outs of investing in Bitcoin projects and discussed the things that attract Bitcoin investments.

- Andrey Kolodyuk

Conclusion

“Today, the advantages of Bitcoin are becoming increasingly evident thanks in part to events like this. Bitcoin attracts major market operators; it’s the universal global currency with low cost transactions, instant cash-out, funds control and high-level of anonymity,” said the conference organizer in a post release. “That’s why the organizing team is sure that Bitcoin popularity in Ukraine will only increase.” 

Given the success of Bitcoin Conference Kiev, the organizers also decided to make the event an annual occurrence:

“Bitcoin Conference Kiev is not going to rest on its success! Taking into account great excitement of the event, the Conference is going to become annual!”

Meanwhile, Saint-Petersburg will once again become a meeting place for the Bitcoin community on December 4, 2014, where the next Bitcoin Conference is set to take place.

You can view the entire event photo gallery here.  

Did you enjoy this article? You may also be interested in reading these ones: