Ukraine has received over $70 million worth of cryptocurrencies since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, providing the nation with funds for military equipment and humanitarian assistance.
The numbers came from a Feb. 24 report by blockchain data platform Chainalysis, which found that the majority of funds came in the form of Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC).
ETH donors led the way with $28.9 million, while BTC and Tether (USDT) donors raised $22.8 million and $11.6 million, respectively.
Donations also came in the form of non-fungible tokens, such as UkraineDAO’s auction of a Ukrainian-flagged NFT sold for $6.1 million.
About 80% of the total $70 million donated came in the first months of the war, with the speed of cryptocurrency payments accelerating the country’s ability to respond to the Russian invasion, Ukraine’s Deputy Digital Minister Alex Bornyakov explained in an interview with Yahoo Finance on February 24th:
“If we used the traditional financial system, it would take days (…) We were able to secure the purchase of vital items in a short time via cryptography, and what is amazing is that around 60% of the suppliers were able to accept crypto, I did not expect that. ”
Bornyakov added that the Crypto Fund Aid For Ukraine was an “undoubted success” and that he was impressed not only with the amount of donations received, but also how easily the digital ministry could access these funds for the defense of Ukraine.
Alona Shevchenko, co-founder of Ukraine DAO, also explained to Yahoo Finance that cryptocurrencies provided a solution when restrictions were imposed on the Ukrainian central banking system:
“The central bank has introduced limits on foreign currency transfers in and out of Ukraine to stop the hryvnia run (…)
According to a tweet from August bMykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Digital Transformation, a large part of the cryptocurrency payments to the digital ministry were used to finance military equipment, armor and a variety of vehicles and medicine from the country.
With $54 million raised by @_AidForUkraine, we provide our defenders with military equipment, armor, medicine and even vehicles. Thanks to the crypto community for their support since the start of the full-scale hack! Donation by donation for the big win. Report below. pic.twitter.com/lifHAP8R4f
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) August 17, 2022
Ukraine’s growing reliance on cryptocurrencies appears to have increased adoption in the country, with a September report by Chainanalysis revealing that Ukrainians are the third-largest adopters, behind Vietnam and the Philippines.
Related: What the Russia-Ukraine War Revealed About Cryptocurrencies
However, pro-Russian military groups have also used cryptocurrencies to fund their war efforts, including using cryptocurrency donations to fund military purchases, spread disinformation, and create pro-invasion propaganda, according to Chainalysis.
The 100 groups received a total of $5.4 million over the course of the war, however donations received have dropped considerably since July.
It is unclear what impact the sanctions had on this downtrend, but a tenth sanctions package against Russia was introduced on 24 February.
Meanwhile, a recent criminal report by Chainalysis found that out of total ransomware payments of $456.8 million in 2022, the majority of those funds were taken by “actors” believed to be based in Russia.
Chainalysis explained that such attacks are often used by malicious actors for political agendas, such as Russia’s pro-conflict ransomware group Conti, which raked in $66 million from victims in 2022 and previously announced its “full support” of the government. Russian. government.