How to help Ukraine with cryptocurrencies?

The assault on Ukraine is a change in history on more than one level. It has never ceased to reveal, at the world level, a major current of solidarity towards the besieged people. And theuniverse of crypto responded in a remarkable way. Donations immediately began to flow in favor of NGOs such as security forces. resistance and the amounts reached are enormous: 51 million dollars were raised in one week on the following sites:

• Addresses created by the government of Ukraine (see tweet below): $27 million;
• NGO Come Back Alive : 9 million;
• Ukraine DAO : 11 million;
• Unchain Fund : 2 millions ;
• Aid for Ukraine : 1 million.

At a time when traditional monetary systems are being shaken up from all sides, this possibility of accessing a money easily convertible into dollars is far from negligible.

Several particularly generous donors

On January 25, around 10 a.m., a donor single-handedly donated 80 BTC, or the equivalent of 3 million dollars to a charitable organization in Ukraine. And on the evening of February 27, another anonymous donor donated $1 million (in Bitcoin). For his part, the Binance site paid no less than 10 million dollars and launched a crowdfunding operation with its members. For his part, the owner of a NFT of great value, the CryptoPunk #5364 got rid of this possession to offer it to the Ukrainian government, the equivalent of approximately 200,000 dollars.

All over the world, initiatives to support the Ukrainian people from cryptocurrency holders have multiplied. This is particularly the case of Unchain Ukraine, a project set up by several players in the field, including business leaders. The government of Ukraine itself has published its own wallet addresses for sending Bitcoin or Ethereum to his Twitter account. The ease with which it is possible to transfer funds from its wallet (crypto wallet) to that of the recipient, undoubtedly helped to quickly reach large amounts.

Some major figures in the crypto universe have clearly taken a stand. Among them is Vitalik Buterinrespected for his position as the creator of Ethereum, and a native of Russia. Coming out of his reserve, he summed up his position as follows: Ethereum is neutral. But I am not. When the invasion started, Buterin came out unequivocally, again on his Twitter account (see our previous article below).

Another major figure in the cryptocurrency world, Sam Bankman-Friedfounder of the FTX exchange tweeted on February 24 this: We gave 25 dollars to each Ukrainian with an account on FTX. Do what you have to do. »

Every donation can have an impact

Of course, Futura readers, wallet holders and who would like to participate in the support of the people of Ukraine, are invited to do so, via one of the addresses mentioned above or any other site of which you could be sure of the reliability, because alas, certain dubious initiatives have also appeared in order to exploit the feeling of solidarity of each one for not very honorable ends.

Millions of dollars raised in crypto in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

Article of Daniel Ichbiah published on February 28, 2022

To help Ukraine, crypto donations are pouring in from all sides, encouraged by tweets from prominent figures in the field such as Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum.

From the first hours of the conflict, a momentum of humanitarian solidarity has manifested itself in the cryptocurrency universe towards the people of Ukraine. Donations began to flow in favor of NGOs as resistance forces; on the morning of February 28, they amounted to 20 million dollars if we are to believe the tweet posted by Tom Robinson from the Elliptic Institute.

Two particularly generous donors

On his own, on January 25, around 10 a.m., a donor had already given 80 BTC or the equivalent of 3 million dollars to a charitable organization in Ukraine. And on the evening of February 27, another anonymous donor donated $1 million (in Bitcoin).

Around the world, there have been growing calls for support from the people of Ukraine from cryptocurrency holders. This is particularly the case of Unchain Ukraine, a charity project set up by activists and which alone has already raised the equivalent of $1.5 million. The ease with which it is possible to transfer such funds from one wallet (crypto wallet) to another, no doubt helped to quickly reach such an amount. It should be noted that the government of Ukraine has published its own wallet addresses for sending bitcoin or ethereum on his Twitter account.

Vitalik Buterin: “Ethereum is neutral, but not me”

It turns out that some major figures in the crypto universe have clearly taken a stand. Among them is Vitalik Buterinhighly respected for his position as the creator of ethereum, also a native of Russia. Coming out of his reserve, Buterin summed up his position thus: Ethereum is neutral. But I am not “. When the invasion started, Buterin was unequivocal, still on his Twitter account: I am very upset by Putin’s decision to abandon the possibility of a peaceful solution towards Ukraine “. He later called the decision ” crime against the Russian and Ukrainian peoples » and went so far as to sign his tweet : « Glory to Ukraine “. When the calls for donations started, Buterin first warned Internet users, encouraging them to beware potential hacks. And then he confirmed that the government account was legitimate.

Another major figure in the cryptocurrency world, Sam Bankman-Friedfounder of the FTX exchange tweeted on February 24 this: We gave 25 dollars to each Ukrainian with an account on FTX. Do what you have to do “.

Flee the conflict zone

Here and there, we also discover that bitcoin was able to help certain isolated personalities to flee the conflict zone. Thereby, Bitcoin Magazine reported the testimony of a man named LDV who was able to flee to Poland and find refuge there, thanks to his BTCs. The person concerned also reports that, from this shelter, he contributes to the efforts of Dmytro, a group of hackers which is currently attacking several Russian organisations.

Could Russia use bitcoin to evade sanctions?

Of course, there is a flip side. Some analysts wonder: what if Putin had knowingly launched his invasion, knowing that he could rely on bitcoin to resist Western measures — such as the banning of many Russian banks from the international system? Swift ? In fact, Russia is the third nation in terms of mining of bitcoin after the USA and Kazakhstan.

This is the opinion of Neeraj Agrawalcommunications director at Coin Center who tweeted: “ Russia Could Use Cryptocurrencies to Evade Sanctions on a Massive Scale “. If so, the Russian president would have shown unparalleled Machiavellianism…