Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Ukraine has received $28.9 million in Ether, $22.8 million in Bitcoin, and $11.6 million in Tether.
Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Ukraine has received over $70 million in cryptocurrencies, providing funds for military equipment and humanitarian aid.
According to a report published by the blockchain data platform Chainalysis on February 24, the majority of the funds arrived in the form of Ether and Bitcoin. ETH donors led the way with $28.9 million, followed by BTC donors with $22.8 million and Tether donors with $11.6 million.
Donations have also been made in the form of nonfungible tokens, such as the Ukrainian flag NFT that UkraineDAO sold at auction off for $6.1 million.
Around 80% of the total $70 million donated came in the first few months of the war. The speed of cryptocurrency payments sped up the country's ability to respond to the Russian invasion, Ukrainian deputy digital minister Alex Bornyakov said in an interview with Yahoo Finance on Feb. 24:
"If we used the traditional financial system it was going to take days [...] We were able to secure the purchase of vital items in no time at all via crypto, and what is amazing is that around 60% of suppliers were able to accept crypto, I didn't expect this."
Bornyakov also said that the Crypto Fund Aid For Ukraine was a "absolute success" and that he was shocked by how many donations came in and how easy it was for the digital ministry to use those funds to protect Ukraine.
Alona Shevchenko, co-founder of Ukraine DAO, told Yahoo Finance that cryptocurrencies were a solution when the Ukrainian central banking system was limited:
"The central bank introduced limits on foreign currency transfers in and out of Ukraine to stop the run on the hryvnia [...] Thanks to crypto we were able to cover some of our defenders' immediate needs, there was literally no other way at the time."
According to a tweet published in August by Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation, a significant part of cryptocurrency payments to the digital ministry have been used to fund the country's military equipment, armor clothing, and a variety of vehicles and medicines.
With $54 M raised by @_AidForUkraine, we've supplied our defenders with military equipment, armor clothes, medicines and even vehicles. Thanks to the crypto community for support since the start of the full-scale invasion! Donation by donation to the big victory. Report below. pic.twitter.com/lifHAP8R4f
- Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) August 17, 2022
According to a September report by Chainanalysis, Ukrainians are the third-highest adopters in the world, behind Vietnam and the Philippines, as a result of the country's increased reliance on cryptocurrencies.
According to Chainalysis, pro-Russian military groups have also used cryptocurrency to crowdfund their war efforts, including to fund military purchases, spread disinformation, and generate pro-invasion propaganda.
During the war, the 100 groups have received a total of $5,4 million; however, since July, incoming donations have decreased significantly. Uncertain is the effect of sanctions on this decline, but a tenth package of sanctions against Russia was adopted on February 24.
A recent crime report by Chainalysis discovered that the majority of the $456.8 million total ransomware payments in 2022 were taken by "actors" believed to be based in Russia.
Chainalysis said that bad actors often use these kinds of attacks to further their political goals. One example is the Russia-based pro-conflict ransomware group Conti, which got $66 million from victims in 2022 and has previously announced its "full support" of the Russian government.
Content Source: cointelegraph.com
Cover Image Source: news.bitcoin.com
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