On May 24th, we celebrate the Day of the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius, honoring the Bulgarian alphabet, education and culture, and Slavic literature. Thanks to the work of these two holy brothers, the Slavic peoples obtained the right and freedom to express themselves and worship in their own language and script. This was a historic event of world significance that left an imprint for eternity. Initially used only for ecclesiastical purposes, their new letters quickly became an integral part of the identity of entire tribes, peoples, and states. The Bulgarian alphabet is used from Vladivostok to Lviv and from Murmansk all the way to Ohrid. It transcends peoples, religions, races, and national boundaries. It’s the third official script of the European Union and the most widespread in the Eurasian Economic Union. 

By now, you are probably wondering how the Bulgarian alphabet is relevant in the context of a crypto conference like ETHSofia. In fact, the native language of Vitalik Buterin, the creator of the second most important and largest blockchain, Ethereum, is indeed Slavic. The letters he used to write in his early years are directly related to the original alphabet created by Cyril and Methodius. Moreover, just like their holy deed, Vitalik’s work also transcends countries and continents, and empowers people across the world to seek freedom and autonomy!

Let us add a touch of whimsy and draw even more parallels between the 9th century’s Slavic literary revolt unleashed by Cyril and Methodius, and modern Web3 concepts, brought about by people like Satoshi Nakamoto and Vitalik. Thanks to the holy brothers, Slavic peoples and tribes were given tools to resist central authority and its censorship. They were enabled to create, write, and copy without restriction, and thus keep their ancestral knowledge and wisdom tamper-proof and recorded for posterity. What is more, the Bulgarian alphabet literally became an engine for innovation as it empowered tribes to adapt the script to their needs and use it to express themselves in writing. Sounds familiar, right?

Today, we celebrate Cyril and Methodius as the cypherpunks of the 9th century for their rebellious and courageous work in opposing oppression, centralization, and authoritarian arbitrariness! And on October 17th, at ETHSofia conference and hackathon, we invite you to attend and honor all other cypherpunk OGs who gave us self-sovereignty, privacy, and independence through blockchain! 

What could be a better setting to reignite the 21st century’s cryptopunk revolution than Europe’s oldest national state and natural successor of these 9th-century rebels?