Ukraine Raises Millions In Cryptocurrency Donations

The Ukrainian government and non-governmental organisations supporting the country’s military have raised millions in anonymous Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency donations over the past few days, amidst an invasion by Russia.

Donors have also contributed other digital assets, such as NFTs worth hundreds of pounds.

Blockchain analysis company Elliptic said the Ukrainian government and NGOs have received at least $18.9 million (£14m) in crypto-assets in recent days.

One donation to NGO Come Back Alive, which provides military equipment, training and medical supplies to Ukrainian soldiers, was worth 80 Bitcoin, or about £2.3m, Elliptic said.

Crypto-assets

On Saturday afternoon the official Twitter account of the Ukraine government posted the message, “Stand with the people of Ukraine. Now accepting cryptocurrency donations. Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT.”

Bitcoin and Ethereum are two popular cryptocurrencies, while USDT is the symbol for Tether, a crypto-asset whose value is intended to be linked to that of the US dollar.

The message, which was also shared on the profile of deputy prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov, included the addresses for two cryptocurrency wallets that collected $5.4m (£4m) in Bitcoin, Ether and other coins within eight hours.

Vitalik Buterin, who co-founded the Ethereum blockchain, expressed concerns that the Twitter accounts may have been hacked and the donations may have been going to malicious actors.

But the Ukraine’s Ministry of Transformation confirmed that the request was genuine and that the plea was intended to “raise the awareness of international society”.

Cross-border transactions

The funds are to be used “to destroy as many Russian soldiers as we can”, the ministry told Sky News.

The two government wallets have so far received at least $12.1m across 15,947 transactions, including one donation worth $1.86m from the sale of NFTs, Elliptic said.

Some donors have contributed NFTs directly to the Ukrainian government’s Ethereum account, including one worth approximately $300.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are a form of unique digital asset that represents ownership of a non-tangible good, such as a digital image or a social media post.

“Cryptoassets such as Bitcoin have emerged as an important alternative crowdfunding method,” Elliptic said in a statement.

It added that the assets can easily cross borders and bypass financial institutions that might be blocking payments to certain groups.

Scams

Patreon last Thursday suspended a donation page belonging to Come Back Alive, saying the NGO violated its policies.

“We don’t allow Patreon to be used for funding weapons or military activity,” the company said in a statement.

Elliptic noted that scammers also appear to be taking advantage of the situation, with at least one social media post found that replicates a legitimate tweet from an NGO but substitutes a different cryptocurrency wallet address.