World power are concerned about the situation in Ukraine as Russian troops assemble on the border with the country. Ukraine accept Bitcoin donations in order to resist and prevent the war with Russia. According to a report from Elliptic, Ukraine got hundreds of thousands of dollars donations to the account of Ukrainian nongovernmental organizations.
Donated money were used for numerous purposes; equipping the Ukrainian army with military equipment, medical supplies and drones are some among them. Tom Robinson, Elliptic’s chief scientist, said, ‘Cryptocurrency is increasingly being used to crowdfund war, with the tacit approval of governments’. Currently Bitcoin has become more popular since it allows the organizations to bypass financial institutions that might block payments to Ukraine.
“Cryptocurrency is particularly suited to international fundraising because it doesn’t respect national boundaries and it’s censorship-resistant — there is no central authority that can block transactions, for example in response to sanctions,” said Elliptic’s Robinson. However, not only the Ukrainian activists rely on crypto transfers. From the beginning of the conflict between the countries, pro-Russian separatists have used digital transactions for raising funds.
The greatest advantage of raising funds in crypto is that it’s much harder to confiscate digital money. It’s estimated that over $570,000 in cryptocurrency have been collectively raised. A great part of the total was received in the last year. Volunteer organizations across Ukraine use cryptocurrency wallets to get digital transactions. One of such organizations is Come Back Alive. It started to accept money on cryptocurrency in 2018. The group provides the military with equipment, training services and medical supplies.
Another example is the Ukrainian Cyber Alliance. It raises money in cryptocurrency only. Over the past year, the Ukrainian Cyber Alliance has received close to $100,000 in Bitcoin and other cryptocoins. Kyiv-based NGO Myrotvotrets Center has taken donations in crypto since 2016. Their current aim is to develop a facial recognition app, which using a photo would be able to identify Russian war criminals. The Myrotvotrets Center states it’s raised at least $267,000; these are more than 100 Bitcoin donations from different countries.
Ukraine has taken actions for several months to implement cryptocurrency at a national level. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, signed a law in 2021 that prepared the country’s central bank to issue its own digital currency. The president and parliament are also regulating the law concerning the legalization and regulation of cryptocurrency. Given that all the measures go through, it will have a rising effect for the whole crypto community.
On an official state visit to the U.S. in August 2021, the Ukrainian president spoke of Ukraine’s ‘legal innovative market for virtual assets’ as a selling point for investment. In addition, the Ukrainian minister of digital transformation said the country was modernizing its payment market so that its national bank would be able to issue digital currency. This year, the country plans to open the cryptocurrency market to businesses and investors, according to the Kyiv Post. However, the situation in the East of the country might change immensely all the prospects.