Since the start of the Russia crisis, Ukraine has received $70 million in cryptos.
Since Russia’s invasion a year ago, $28.9 million in Ether, $22.8 million in Bitcoin, and $11.6 million in Tether have been given to Ukraine.
Since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Ukraine has received over $70 million in cryptocurrencies, allowing the country to pay for military hardware and humanitarian aid.
ETH donors led the way with $28.9 million given, while donors of BTC and Tether USDT tickers down $1.00 chipped in $22.8 million and $11.6 million, respectively. The figures came from a Feb. 24 report by blockchain data platform Chainalysis, which found that the majority of the funds had come in the form of Ether ETH tickers down $1,635 and Bitcoin BTC tickers down $23,394.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have also been used as a kind of donation; one such NFT was sold by UkraineDAO at auction for $6.1 million.
According to Ukrainian deputy digital minister Alex Bornyakov in an interview with Yahoo Finance on February 24: “Almost 80% of the total $70 million given came in the first several months of the war, speeding the country’s ability to respond to the Russian assault.
“If we had relied on the conventional finance system, it would have taken days […]” With the help of cryptocurrency, we were able to quickly secure the purchase of necessary materials, and what is amazing is that about 60% of suppliers were willing to accept it. I didn’t expect this.
Bornyakov said, calling the Crypto Fund Help For Ukraine a “total success” and expressing his amazement at both the volume of donations received and the simplicity with which the digital ministry was able to use them for Ukraine’s defense.
In addition, co-founder of Ukraine DAO Alona Shevchenko told Yahoo Finance that when limitations were placed on the Ukrainian state banking system, cryptocurrencies offered a solution:
“To curb the run on the hryvnia, the central bank set restrictions on transfers of foreign cash into and out of Ukraine […] As there was virtually no other option at the time, we were able to meet some of our defenders’ immediate requirements thanks to crypto.
Mykhailo Fedorov, the vice prime minister of Ukraine and minister of digital transformation, said in an August tweet that a large portion of bitcoin payments to the digital ministry were used to pay for the nation’s military gear, armor, various vehicles, and medical supplies.
According to a September research by Chainanalysis, Ukrainians are the third-highest adopters of cryptocurrencies, behind Vietnamese and Filipinos. This suggests that Ukraine’s greater reliance on cryptocurrencies has increased adoption in the nation.
According to Chainalysis, pro-Russian military organisations have also used cryptocurrency to crowdfund their war activities, including utilising it to pay for military purchases, disseminate false information, and produce pro-invasion propaganda.
Total payment made to Russian military units since February 2021. Source: Chain reaction
Over the course of the war, the 100 organisations have received $5.4 million in total; however, incoming donations have sharply decreased since July.
Although a tenth set of penalties on Russia was announced on February 24, it is unclear what effect they have on this downward trend.
In the meantime, a recent crime study by Chainalysis discovered that most of the $456.8 million in ransomware payments made in 2022 were stolen by “actors” thought to be based in Russia.
Chainalysis said that such attacks are typically leveraged by criminal actors for political purposes, such as that of Russia-based pro-conflict ransomware outfit Conti, which raked in $66 million from victims in 2022 and has previously professed its “full support” of the Russian government.