As the country’s central bank began implementing restrictions on civilians, donations of cryptocurrencies are pouring in for Ukraine’s armed forces. They received the equivalent of $400,000 yesterday alone.
Ukrainian armed forces funded by cryptocurrencies
As a report by analytics firm Elliptic earlier this month indicated, Ukraine’s armed forces had already turned to crowdfunding and cryptocurrencies in recent months. In 2021 alone, crypto donations were up 900% year-on-year:
Evolution of cryptocurrency donations sent to Ukraine (Source: Elliptic)
This is notable, as fighters in Ukraine may face limitations, with a central bank yesterday enforcing restrictions in terms of withdrawals from banks. Generally speaking, cryptos are a way to get around this type of problem, again according to the report:
Bitcoin (BTC) has also emerged as a major alternative funding method that allows international donors to bypass financial institutions that block payments to these [military] groups.
$400,000 raised in one day
And it accelerated this week. As the world woke up stunned yesterday, reactions were swift, and cryptocurrency donations poured in. These are aimed at supporting Ukraine’s armed forces, which are facing the biggest assault on European territory since the Second World War.
According to Tom Robinson, the founder of Elliptic, the cryptocurrencies sent in yesterday amount to $400,000:
Cryptocurrency donations in support of the Ukrainian armed forces are soaring – with almost $400,000 received so far today.
Learn more about the crypto-crowdfunding of the Russo-Ukrainian War, in this recent @elliptic blog: https://t.co/aTRwTsOkTj pic.twitter.com/Wefb7jRRdW– Tom Robinson (@tomrobin) February 24, 2022
For comparison, the organisation Come Back Alive, which provides equipment to the Ukrainian army, received $200,000 in Bitcoin for the entire second half of 2021.
The use of participatory funding is not new for Ukrainian organisations. They started as early as 2014, when President Viktor Yanukovych was removed by the Mayan revolution.
The subject of cryptocurrencies has in any case invited itself into the Russian-Ukrainian war. While Joe Biden has promised unprecedented financial sanctions against Russia, some wonder if Vladimir Putin has established a strategy based on them, in order to circumvent the problem.
