Ukraine and Russia have been involved in war for quite some time now. Both countries have been using crypto and various technologies to their advantage in the war to support both relief and military purposes. However, the primary reasons for using crypto are different for both countries. Ukraine is raising donations from different nations as support, while Russia is using it primarily because of sanctions. And now reports are suggesting that Ukraine has received more crypto donations than Russia.
Ukraine crypto donations
Elliptic recently released a report that shared the details of all recent crypto donations raised by Russia and Ukraine. The company mentioned that numerous campaigns had utilized advancements in the cryptocurrency ecosystem to facilitate their fundraising efforts, ranging from decentralized finance (defi) to crypto pre-paid cards. The use of digital currencies has been employed for diverse purposes, including supporting humanitarian causes as well as financing groups subject to sanctions.
According to Elliptic’s transaction analysis, the majority of the cryptocurrency assets, worth $212.1 million, were used to support Ukraine. Belarusian anti-government organizations, which are closely aligned with the Russian Federation, received only $0.7 million.
The report highlights that pro-Russia groups have raised roughly $4.8 million to fund the Russian military and affiliated militias. The authors note that over 10% of these donations originated from illicit sources, such as darknet markets, entities subject to sanctions, and vendors selling stolen credit card information.
Forklog’s coverage pointed out that less than 2% of the cryptocurrency donated to Ukraine came from illicit sources. Meanwhile, activists supporting Russia have ramped up their funding efforts, raising more Bitcoin and Ether in June than their Ukrainian counterparts. This trend has been observed since May 2022.
Ukraine’s military bills paid in crypto
Elliptic highlighted that the Ukrainian government in Kyiv has supported or initiated several cryptocurrency funding initiatives, which resulted in $83.3 million being held in its own wallets. Decentralized finance (defi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) have played a significant role in facilitating crypto fundraising for Ukraine, attracting over $78 million in donations.
During an interview with Yahoo Finance UK’s The Crypto Mile podcast, Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, disclosed that his country has been purchasing military equipment using cryptocurrencies. He claimed that 60% of suppliers have agreed to be paid in digital currencies for providing Ukraine with essential items like helmets and bulletproof vests.
What are your thoughts, as reports show that Ukraine has received more crypto donations than Russia? Let us know in the comments below. And, if you found our content informative, share it with your family and friends.
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