Ukraine has been increasingly relying on Crypto donations to solve humanitarian problems and fund its defense efforts as hostilities with advancing Russian forces continue. According to a high-ranking government official, cryptocurrency helps the country receive and quickly distribute the money as well as to conduct international business.
Ukraine accepts and spends millions in crypto, according to a Deputy Minister.
Ukraine has been actively seeking financial support in the form of cryptocurrency donations since the Russian military assault began. In an interview, the country’s Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Oleksandr Bornyakov said, “It’s a very rapid way to get a payment — in times like that, you can’t just wait for days to get money and then you have to distribute them.”
The official stated that shortly after the invasion began, the Kyiv government established a cryptocurrency fund in collaboration with a major exchange. “As a result, money began to flow in almost immediately. “We’ve collected over $30 million so far,” Bornyakov told Fox News.
Although the fund to which he was referring accepts contributions for defense purposes, Bornyakov noted that other funds have been successful in raising funds for humanitarian aid to Ukraine’s civilian population. “I believe we’ve collected around $100 million so far for various purposes,” he said, without specifying whether he was referring to crypto assets.
Ukraine can convert the digital money it receives into other currencies such as US dollars and euros, according to the deputy minister, who also stressed:
crypto allows us to operate globally
Because Russian forces are advancing from multiple directions, Oleksandr Bornyakov elaborated that it is currently extremely difficult for Ukrainian authorities to obtain supplies from abroad. “The crypto fund is really assisting us in doing that quickly,” he said.
Concerns that Russia might use cryptocurrency to evade Western sanctions were addressed by Bornyakov, who stated that Ukraine had been in contact with major crypto exchanges, blockchain forensics firms, and anti-money laundering bodies to provide them with information about Russians who are subject to the sanctions.
Although the Ukrainian official is skeptical of Russia’s ability to use cryptocurrency to circumvent sanctions, his government has been attempting to expose crypto wallets used by Russian politicians, but has been unsuccessful in convincing platforms such as Binance and Kraken to freeze all Russian accounts, as Kyiv had requested.
Ukraine has been expanding its list of accepted cryptocurrencies to include coins like polkadot and dogecoin, after receiving millions in bitcoin and ether. Binance pledged $10 million while facilitating third-party assistance through a crowdfunding initiative, demonstrating the global crypto community’s support for humanitarian efforts in the country.
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