Bitcoin Donations Pour-In to Support the Ukrainian Army

Key Insights

• Bitcoin donations to Ukraine military groups “shot up” after the Russian invasion, says Elliptic
• Donations in Bitcoin surpassed $1 million on Friday
• Come Back Alive Ukrainian NGO has received over $400K worth of cryptos in the past day alone

Russian Prez Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine has brought millions worth of Bitcoin donations to support the Ukrainian army financially.

Crypto Donations Cross $4 Million

Per new data from blockchain analytics company Elliptic, Ukrainian NGOs and volunteer groups received over $4 million in crypto assets following the Russian offensive.

In a recent update, the firm confirmed that one Ukrainian NGO “received over $675,000 in Bitcoin on Thursday alone.” And as of 9.30 am GMT today, the donations have already reached more than $3.4 million. In addition, a single anonymous donor sent more than $3million worth of crypto assets.

“This pushes the total the group has raised in just 24 hours to over $4 million.”

According to Come Back Alive, an NGO that supports the Ukrainian armed forces, the funds will finance military equipment, including armor and medical supplies.

According to Elliptic, a fresh round of crypto donations poured in from users across the globe in recent weeks to stave off a Russian invasion.

“Cryptocurrency is increasingly being used to crowdfund war, with the tacit approval of governments,” said Tom Robinson, chief scientist of Elliptic.

Jess Symington, Elliptic’s head of research, said donations “haven’t stopped” and are expected to rise. According to a recent Fortune report, contributions from pro-Ukraine groups and crypto communities on social media platforms have led to a surge in donations.

Ukraine Central Bank Cracks-Down E-Cash Transfers

Ukraine’s de facto bank, the National Bank of Ukraine, has announced yesterday that it has suspended electronic cash transfers, which triggered the use of cryptocurrencies.

In a recent order, the bank has clamped down the issuance of electronic cash or e-money (digital fiat cash) and indicated that the e-money distribution was temporarily off-limits. After Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law following the Russian invasion, the move came.

Remarkably, the order did not mention cryptocurrencies; however, the suspension of e-money is likely to apply to crypto-assets.

As a result, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has set up a bank account for the inflow of donations but has legally barred from accepting digital currencies.

“National legislation does not allow the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to use other payment systems (“Webmoney,” “Bitcoin,” “PayPal,” etc.),” the government website stated.

However, crypto exchanges in Ukraine, such as Kuna, said that domestic buyers are paying a premium for Tether stablecoin.

“We don’t trust the government. We don’t trust the banking system. We don’t trust the local currency. The majority of people have nothing else to choose apart from crypto,” Michael Chobanian, the founder of Kuna, said in an interview with CoinDesk.