Ukraine netted $70M in crypto donations since start of Russia conflict

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Ukraine has received over $70 million in the form of cryptocurrencies since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, providing the country with military equipment and humanitarian aid.

The numbers are from February 24th. report According to blockchain data platform Chainalysis, the majority of funds come in the form of Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC).

ETH donors donated $28.9 million, while BTC and Tether (USDT) donors donated $22.8 million and $11.59 million, respectively.

Donations have also come in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), such as the UkrainDAO auction of a Ukrainian flag NFT that sold for $6.1 million.

Ukrainian Deputy Digital Minister Alex Bornyakov said about 80% of the total $70 million donated was in the first months of the war, and the speed of cryptocurrency payments is an indication of the country’s ability to respond to a Russian aggression. was rapidly tracking. explained In an interview with Yahoo Finance UK on February 24th:

“Using the traditional financial system, it would take days. […] I was able to quickly secure the purchase of an important item with virtual currency. Surprisingly, about 60% of suppliers were able to accept cryptocurrencies. This was unexpected. ”

Borniakov added that the crypto fund aid for Ukraine was an “absolute success” and was blown away not only by the amount of donations, but also by the ease with which the Digital Ministry could access those funds to launch defenses. rice field.

Ukrainian DAO co-founder Alona Shevchenko told Yahoo Finance that cryptocurrencies offered a solution when restrictions were imposed on Ukraine’s central banking system.

“The central bank has introduced restrictions on foreign currency transfers into and out of Ukraine to stop the hryvnia runaway. […] Cryptocurrencies have covered some of the immediate needs of defenders. I literally had no other choice at the time. ”

According to a tweet by Mikhail Fyodorov, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation last August, much of the cryptocurrency payments to Ukraine’s digital ministry were for the country’s military equipment, armored clothing, as well as vehicles and medicines. range.

Raised $54 million in funding @_AidForUkraine, we provided the defenders with military equipment, armor clothing, medicine, and even vehicles. Thank you for supporting the crypto community since the invasion began in earnest! Donation by donation to big wins. I will report below. pic.twitter.com/lifHAP8R4f

— Mikhail Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) August 17, 2022

With Ukraine’s growing reliance on cryptocurrencies, adoption in the country appears to be on the rise. report Chainanalysis found that Ukrainians were the third highest adopters after Vietnam and the Philippines.

Related: What the Russian-Ukrainian War Revealed About Crypto

However, according to Chainalysis, pro-Russian military groups have been using cryptocurrencies to crowdfund their war efforts, using cryptocurrency donations to fund military purchases or fake them. Spreading information or creating propaganda to promote aggression.

100 organizations donated a combined $5.4 million during the war, but donations have dropped significantly since July.

It is not clear what impact sanctions have had on this downward trend, but the 10th sanctions package Against Russia was just introduced on February 24th.

Meanwhile, recent crime report Of the total $456.8 million ransomware paid out in 2022, Chainalysis found that the majority of these funds were obtained by alleged Russian-based “attackers” .

Chainalysis says such attacks will exfiltrate $66 million from victims in 2022, with the likes of Russia-based conflict-promoting ransomware group Conti, which previously announced Russia’s “full support.” He explained that it is often used by malicious actors because of its political agenda. government.