Ukraine Crypto Donations Reach $70M

U

kraine has accumulated an impressive $70 million in cryptocurrency donations since the commencement of Russia's conflict. Amongst these, Ether and Bitcoin amounts reach a total of $51.7M while Tether accounts for an additional sum of more than $11M. Such generosity serves as proof that people around the world are ready to support Ukraine despite its adversities.

Since the start of Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Ukraine has received an astonishing $70 million in cryptocurrencies. A Chainalysis report released on Feb 24th revealed that Ether donations led the way with a whopping $28.9 million given to national funds for military equipment and humanitarian aid requirements. In addition, Bitcoin and Tether donors contributed around $22.8M and $11.6M respectively to this significant cause!

In addition to the usual donations, UkraineDAO generated an incredible $6.1 million from their auction of a Ukrainian flag-themed NFT! This has been one of the biggest nonfungible token fundraisers yet - and it's still growing!

In a Feb. 24 interview with Yahoo Finance, Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine's deputy digital minister, revealed that during the initial months of the war against Russia in 2020 an astonishing 80% (or $70 million) was donated using cryptocurrency payments - expediting the country's capacity to react swiftly to foreign aggression.

“If we used the traditional financial system it was going to take days. We were able to secure the purchase of vital items in no time at all via crypto, and what is amazing is that around 60% of suppliers were able to accept crypto, I didn’t expect this.”

Bornyakov proclaimed the Crypto Fund Aid For Ukraine a resounding success, marveling at how easy it was to access and use these digital donations in defense of his nation. He could not believe the sheer amount of contributions received!

As Alona Shevchenko, co-founder of Ukraine DAO elaborated to Yahoo Finance, digital currencies presented a solution when the Ukrainian central banking system underwent hindrances:

“The central bank introduced limits on foreign currency transfers in and out of Ukraine to stop the run on the hryvnia. Thanks to crypto we were able to cover some of our defenders’ immediate needs, there was literally no other way at the time.”

In August, Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted that much of their cryptocurrency payments have utilized to procure the country's military supplies, armor clothing, a variety of vehicles as well as medicine.

Ukrainians have become fervent followers of cryptocurrencies, with a September report by Chainanalysis citing them as the third-highest adopters in the world after Vietnam and the Philippines. The rising reliance on digital assets within Ukraine looks to be driving more people to adopt this technology.

Chainalysis has reported that certain pro-Russian military factions have taken advantage of the anonymity and convenience offered by cryptocurrency to finance their war operations. From obtaining military supplies to pumping out disinformation and generating invasion propaganda, these groups are utilizing crypto donations in a nefarious manner.

Over the course of this war, a total of $5.4 million has been awarded to these 100 groups; however, since July contributions have dropped dramatically.

While it is uncertain how much the sanctions influenced this downturn, a tenth set of restrictions against Russia was imposed on February 24th.

According to a recent Chainalysis crime report, the total ransomware payments for 2022 are estimated at $456.8 million, with most of them likely taken by perpetrators located in Russia.

In 2022, Chainalysis uncovered that malevolent actors have been using these attacks for political goals; Russia-based pro-conflict ransomware group Conti is a prime example, amassing $66 million from victims and openly declaring its 

---

---