Since being attacked by Russian troops, Ukraine has accepted donations in cryptocurrencies that already exceed $59 million, according to data from the Elliptic platform. Of this amount, at least $15 million was spent on military supplies. This includes bulletproof vests that were delivered last Friday (4) to the fighters. The information was given by the Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Alex Bornyakov. He also reported that the Ukrainian government anticipates doubling the value in cryptocurrencies donated so far. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov confirmed the goal on his Twitter account:
The Crypto Fund of Ukraine raised $50M in crypto in a week to support #Ukraine ?? An incredible unity before Putin’s encroachment on freedom and democracy. Aiming for $100M this week. We WILL win! ?? #StandWithUkraine
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) March 4, 2022
“Ukraine crypto fund raised $50 million worth of cryptocurrencies in one week to support Ukraine. An incredible unity in the face of Putin’s invasion of freedom and democracy. We’re targeting $100 million this week. We will win!”
Cryptocurrencies support Ukraine
Regarding purchases of military supplies, Bornyakov pointed out that the ministry was able to find suppliers in Europe and the US for everything from vests to food packages, bandages and night vision devices for the army. Also according to him, about 40% of providers are willing to accept cryptocurrencies. The rest are usually paid in crypto, but the amount is converted into euros and dollars. The deputy minister further stated that while many companies and founders of cryptocurrency startups have donated money, “most donations come from people”. In fact, many entities in the cryptosphere have mobilized to help Ukraine. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance, for example, donated $10 million worth of cryptocurrencies. Polkadot founder Gavin Wood made a $5.8 million DOT donation to Ukraine. Likewise, the creator of Dogecoin, known as Shibetoshi Nakamoto, reported having sent some DOGE units to the country. According to the survey by Elliptic, there are already more than 118,000 donations of crypto assets since the beginning of the Russian invasion. This includes donating an NFT CryptoPunk worth over $200,000. Major donations are made in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
Monero acceptance and collection of NFTs
Last Sunday (6), Bornyakov took to Twitter inform that in addition to BTC, ETH, DOGE, DOT, USDT, the country is also accepting donations of the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Monero (XMR). To raise additional funds, the ministry is working with two companies that are designing an NFT collection. As Bornyakov pointed out, the collection should be ready in less than two weeks and will raise funds for the Ukrainian war effort. “Nobody was ready to make military NFTs, the war started eight days ago, they’re still trying to figure out how to do it design-wise,” he said. Read also: Switzerland plans to freeze Russian crypto assets Read also: OKB rises after OKX partnership with Manchester City FC Read also: Bifinity: Binance launches fiat-to-crypto payment provider with support for Visa and Mastercard
