According to reports from Ukraine’s Deputy Digital Minister, Russian citizens incensed by the invasion orchestrated by President Vladimir Putin are donating “significant amounts” of cryptocurrency to aid Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, two days after Russia’s troops and tanks crossed into Ukraine from the international border, Ukrainian government Twitter accounts posted appeals for crypto donations.
Through blockchain, a publicly distributed and transparent ledger system, Ukraine has been able to monitor cryptocurrency donations from different parts of the world. Remarkably, more than 100 000 individuals have sent aid to this war-torn country with these digital donations ranging from one dollar up to millions. According to Alex Bornyakov— Deputy Digital Minister: “Donations [to Ukraine] have varied from one dollar to millions of dollars.”
Bornyakov divulged that cryptocurrency is an anonymous way to transfer money in certain situations. He said Russians donate considerable funds to Ukraine as crypto is their only option to send financial aid.
Most cryptocurrency donations to Ukraine have originated from bitcoin (BTC-USD) and ether (ETH-USD), with a significant portion of US dollar stablecoins. Around one-third of these generous contributions were facilitated through Crypto Fund Aid For Ukraine – an initiative sponsored by Kuna and Everstake and supported by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.
Ukraine has received an array of digital asset donations, including 650 Bitcoins, over 10,000 Ethereum coins, a substantial amount of Polkadot tokens, approximately 1.8 million Solana tokens, and $2.8 million in USDC stablecoins. The Deputy Digital Minister commented that the flow of donations is highly encouraging for Ukraine’s future growth.
Ukraine and crypto
Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, Kuna has grown to become the nation’s leading cryptocurrency exchange. Founded by Ukrainian entrepreneur Mykhailo Chobanianin in December 2015, Kuna delivers a straightforward cash-out process for cryptocurrencies offered worldwide.
Moreover, data collected by Crystal Blockchain Analytics reveals that since November 30, 2020, more than $184 million worth of crypto assets have been raised on behalf of Ukraine, with just one transaction being 1.86 Million originating from Julian Assange and Pak’s NFT sale.
Recently, a CryptoPunk NFT worth an impressive $200,000 was sent to Ukraine’s government Ethereum account. According to Elliptic’s blockchain analytics study, millions of dollars in crypto donations have been granted to the Ukrainian NGO ‘Come Back Alive,’ which supports their nation’s armed forces. Nonetheless, crowdfunding and content-creating platform Patreon suspended Come Back Alive’s page due to policy violations connected with military activities on February 24.
For those wanting to gift cryptocurrency as aid to Ukraine and its citizens, donations in crypto were once possible via a website. Sadly, due to the FTX collapse of November 2022, that link has been redirected to the Ukrainian government’s official donation site.
