Ukraine has Raised $70M in Crypto Since the Start of Russian Aggression

According to data from a Chainalysis report from February 24, Ukraine has received more than $70 million in cryptocurrencies since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, giving the country money for military hardware and humanitarian aid. 

The bulk of the funds were raised using Ether and Bitcoin, as well as non-fungible tokens like the Ukrainian flag NFT that UkraineDAO auctioned off for $6.1 million.

Due to the speed of cryptocurrency payments, about 80% of the total $70 million donated arrived in the first few months of the conflict.

In an interview with Yahoo Finance on February 24, Ukrainian deputy digital minister Alex Bornyakov described how the country was monitoring its capacity to react to the Russian invasion: 

“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.”

Crypto Offered a Solution to Ukraine

Co-founder of Ukraine DAO, Alona Shevchenko also told Yahoo Finance that when limitations were put on the Ukrainian central banking system, cryptocurrencies offered a solution.

The executive said that “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 accordance with a September report by Chainanalysis, Ukrainians are the third-highest adopters of cryptocurrencies, behind Vietnamese and Filipinos. This suggests that Ukraine’s increasing dependence on cryptocurrencies has increased acceptance in the nation.

Notably, the nation keeps getting cryptocurrency donations for the country’s defense and social assistance despite the collapse of the cryptocurrency market. As TheCoinRise reported that the nation started collecting cryptocurrency contributions in the first quarter of 2022. 

Additionally, Bornyakov, reiterated his support for cryptocurrencies on Twitter in July of last year, labeling them “essential” to the country’s struggle against Russia.