While the country’s central bank has begun to apply restrictions to civilians, cryptocurrency donations are pouring in for Ukraine’s armed forces. The latter received the equivalent of $400,000 in yesterday alone.
Ukrainian armed forces funded by cryptocurrencies?
As a report by analytics firm Elliptic earlier this month indicated, the Ukrainian armed forces had already turned to crowdfunding and cryptocurrencies in recent months. In 2021 alone, crypto donations had increased by 900% compared to the previous year :
This is notable, as fighters in Ukraine may face limitations, with a central bank that yesterday applied restrictions in terms of withdrawals from banks. Generally speaking, cryptos provide a way 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 dodge financial institutions that block payments to these [military] groups.”
400,000 dollars raised in one day
And it accelerated this week. As the world woke up stunned yesterday, the reactions were quick, and cryptocurrency donations poured in. These are aimed at supporting the armed forces of Ukraine, which is facing the largest aggression on a European territory since World War II.
According to Tom Robinson, the founder of Elliptic, the cryptocurrencies sent in yesterday amount to $400,000.
For comparison, the organization 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 organizations. They started doing so as early as 2014, when President Viktor Yanukovych was removed by the Mayan revolution.
In any case, the subject of cryptocurrencies has invited itself into the Russian-Ukrainian war. While Joe Biden promised unprecedented financial sanctions against Russia, some wonder if Vladimir Putin would not have established a strategy based on them, in order to circumvent the problem.
