Ukraine has received $70M in crypto contributions since the beginning of the Russian crisis

Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Ukraine has received approximately $70 million in cryptocurrencies, providing funds for military equipment and humanitarian assistance.

ETH contributors led the way with $28.9 million provided, while BTC and Tether donors contributed $22.8 million and $11.6 million, respectively, according to a study published by the blockchain analytics platform Chainalysis on February 24.

Contributions have also been made in the form of nonfungible tokens, such as the Ukrainian flag NFT that UkraineDAO auctioned off for $6.1 million.

The speed of cryptocurrency payments improved the country’s capacity to react to the Russian invasion, deputy digital minister Alex Bornyakov of Ukraine noted in an interview with Yahoo Finance on February 24:

“Using the conventional finance system would have taken days […]” We were able to secure the purchase of crucial things in a matter of minutes using cryptocurrency, and what’s even more surprising is that about sixty percent of our suppliers were able to take cryptocurrency. I had no idea.”

Bornyakov stated that Crypto Fund Help For Ukraine was a “total success” and that he was surprised by both the volume of contributions received and the ease with which the digital ministry was able to access those funds for Ukraine’s defence.

Alona Shevchenko, a co-founder of Ukraine DAO, stated to Yahoo Finance that cryptocurrency offered a solution when the Ukrainian central bank placed limits.

According to a tweet published in August by Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation, a significant portion of cryptocurrency payments to the digital ministry have been used to fund the country’s military equipment, armour clothing, and a variety of vehicles and medicines.

According to a September research by Chainanalysis, Ukrainians are the third-highest adopters in the world, after Vietnam and the Philippines, as a result of the country’s rising dependence on cryptocurrencies.

According to Chainalysis, pro-Russian military organizations have also utilized crypto to crowdfund their war activities, including funding military purchases, promoting misinformation, and manufacturing pro-invasion propaganda.

Over the duration of the conflict, the 100 organizations have received a total of $5,4 million; however, since July, incoming contributions have decreased significantly.

Uncertain is the effect of sanctions on this decline, but a tenth package of penalties against Russia was issued on February 24.

A new crime study by Chainalysis discovered that the bulk of the $456.8 million total ransomware payments in 2022 was stolen by “actors” thought to be situated in Russia.

According to Chainalysis, such assaults are often used by malicious actors to further political goals, such as those of Russia-based pro-conflict ransomware group Conti, which raked in $66 million from victims in 2022 and earlier declared its “complete support” for the Russian government.

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