Ukraine has received over $70 million in cryptocurrencies since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, providing the nation with funds for military equipment and humanitarian assistance.<\/p>\n
The figures came from a Feb. 24 report<\/a> by blockchain data platform Chainalysis, which found the majority of the funds to have come in the form of Ether (ETH<\/a>)\u00a0and Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>).<\/p>\n ETH donors led the way with $28.9 million given, while donors of BTC and Tether (USDT<\/a>)\u00a0chipped in $22.8 million and $11.6 million, respectively.<\/p>\n Donations have also come in the form of nonfungible tokens,<\/a> such as UkraineDAO\u2019s auction of a Ukrainian flag NFT thasold for $6.1 million.<\/a><\/p>\n Around\u00a080% of the total $70 million donated<\/a> came in the first few months of the war, with the speed of cryptocurrency payments fast-tracking the country\u2019s ability to respond to the Russian invasion, Ukrainian deputy digital minister Alex Bornyakov explained<\/a> in an interview with Yahoo Finance on Feb. 24:<\/p>\n \u201cIf 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\u2019t expect this.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Bornyakov added that the Crypto Fund Aid For Ukraine was an \u201cabsolute success\u201d and that he was blown away by not only the amount of donations that came through but the ease at which the digital ministry could access those funds for Ukraine\u2019s defense. <\/p>\n Alona Shevchenko, co-founder of Ukraine DAO, also explained to Yahoo Finance that cryptocurrencies provided a solution when restrictions were imposed on the Ukrainian central banking system:<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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\u2019 immediate needs, there was literally no other way at the time.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n According to an August tweet bMykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine\u2019s vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation, much of the cryptocurrency payments to the digital ministry have been used to fund the country\u2019s military equipment, armor clothing and a range of vehicles and medicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n With $54 M raised by @_AidForUkraine<\/a>, we’ve supplied our defenders with military equipment, armor clothes, medicines and even vehicles. Thanks to the crypto community for support since the start of the full-scale invasion! Donation by donation to the big victory. Report below. pic.twitter.com\/lifHAP8R4f<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) August 17, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The increased reliance on cryptocurrencies in Ukraine looks to have increased adoption in the country, with a September\u00a0report<\/a> by Chainanalysis finding Ukrainians to be the third-highest adopters<\/a>, behind Vietnam and the Philippines. <\/p>\n Related: <\/em><\/strong>What the Russia-Ukraine war has revealed about crypto<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n However, pro-Russian military groups have also used cryptocurrency to crowdfund their war efforts, including using crypto donations to fund military purchases, spread disinformation and create pro-invasion propaganda, according to Chainalysis.<\/p>\n The 100 groups have received a total of $5.4 million over the course of the war, however, incoming donations have fallen considerably since July. <\/p>\n It is unclear what impact sanctions had on this downtrend, but a 10th package of sanctions against<\/a> Russia was introduced on Feb. 24.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2023-02\/a41505c1-1277-4974-b4d2-f8b0a21a894c.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
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