Ukraine received $70M+ in crypto donations since the beginning of the war

Image: Shutterstock

According to a report by blockchain data platform Chainalysis on February 24, Ukraine has received more than $70 million in crypto since the beginning of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. These funds have been used to provide the country with military equipment and humanitarian assistance. 

The majority of the donations were in the form of Ether and Bitcoin, with ETH donors contributing the most at $28.9 million, followed by BTC donors at $22.8 million and Tether donors at $11.6 million.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have also been donated, including an auction held by UkraineDAO, which sold an NFT of the Ukrainian flag for $6.1 million.

According to Ukrainian deputy digital minister Alex Bornyakov in an interview with Yahoo Finance on February 24, approximately 80 percent of the total $70 million in crypto donations were received during the first few months of the conflict with Russia. 

Bornyakov explained that the speed of crypto payments allowed Ukraine to respond quickly to the invasion, as traditional financial systems would have taken too long. He also noted that around 60 percent of suppliers were able to accept crypto payments, which was unexpected. 

Bornyakov referred to the Crypto Fund Aid For Ukraine as an "absolute success" and was impressed not only by the amount of donations received but also by how easily the digital ministry could access the funds for Ukraine's defence.

According to Alona Shevchenko, the co-founder of Ukraine DAO, in an interview with Yahoo Finance, crypto provided a solution when the Ukrainian central banking system imposed restrictions on foreign currency transfers in and out of Ukraine to prevent a run on the hryvnia. 

Shevchenko explained that crypto allowed them to cover some of the immediate needs of defenders, as there was no other way to do so at the time.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation, stated in a tweet from August that a significant portion of the crypto payments received by the digital ministry have been used to finance Ukraine's military equipment, armoured clothing, various vehicles, and medicine.

Shashank is the founder of yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash