Here’s How Crypto is Helping Ukraine
While Ukraine is struggling to defend itself against Russian aggression, crypto is helping it to stay afloat.
When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, many believed that the country would easily fall into the hands of the aggressor. And yet it did not happen, – not least because the community worldwide helped Ukraine with donations.
Even before the full-scale war, Ukraine had been receiving help in crypto, with the Ukrainian fund “Come back alive” reporting to have $570 000 in 2021.
However, those funds that came after February 24, 2022 are the ones that mattered the most.
While they were made in both fiat and crypto, it is the latter that, arguably, played the biggest role.
The reasons are simple. Unlike traditional donation methods, cryptocurrencies can transfer funds in a split second and circumvent the cumbersome red tape, including financial institutions and organizations.
These advantages are confirmed by Coinbase that made a video in March 2023 about donations to Ukraine. “In the beginning of the war in Ukraine, banks shut down and ATMs ran out of cash. People had to leave with nothing. The fastest, cheapest way to send them humanitarian aid was through crypto wallets,” the caption reads.
They also provided people with anonymity as not everyone is comfortable with funding war-related activities while helping avoid intermediaries.
As a result, during the first 24 hours of the full-scale war, the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation managed to collect 59,2 Bitcoin (around 2,33 million dollar at the time), 1 725 Ethereum (around 4,83 million dollar at the time) and 675 thousand USDT.
As of July 2023, Ukraine received 225 million USD in crypto donations.134 million USD were allotted to humanitarian needs and 91 million to the needs of the army.
Regrettably, Russia’s war on Ukraine is nowhere to be over, meaning that more and more help will be necessary to ensure that the country can defend itself against the aggressor.
This is why more initiatives have been launched recently, including by Cointelegraph.
Non-fungible token (NFT) projects are likewise helping the country. To find out more about how, read this article.
Previously, GNcrypto reported about AI Counterforce: Ukraine's Strategic Win over Russia.
