Cryptocurrency Becomes Critical Tool for Ukraine Amid Russian Invasion

Cryptocurrency has slowly become the most preferred means for fundraising and donations, thanks to the numerous advantages it holds over banks and traditional channels.

This preference has been highlighted in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, as the Ukrainian government recently charged the crypto community to support its fight in a series of tweets over the weekend.

On Saturday, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, posted three crypto addresses for donations. Fedorov also appealed to cryptocurrency exchanges to cut off Russia, noting:

“I’m asking all major crypto exchanges to block addresses of Russian users. It’s crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians but also to sabotage ordinary users.”

That said, tens of millions of digital asset donations have flooded the nation’s digital wallets since the Russian invasion began last Thursday. According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, as of yesterday, the Ukrainian government had received about $19 million, most of which came over the past two days after Fedorov’s appeal.

Cryptocurrency Exchange Binance to Donate $10 to Ukraine

Joining the growing list of supporters is Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange after the exchange tweeted that it was donating $10 million to the warring nation. According to the tweet from Binance’s official Twitter handle:

“The donation will be split between major intergovernmental organizations and nonprofit organizations already on the ground, including UNICEF, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, iSans, and People in Need, to help support displaced children and families in Ukraine and its neighboring countries.”

Meanwhile, the exchange has also built a donation web portal termed “the Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund,” where interested users can donate digital assets. Currently, this portal has received over 156 BTC (worth $6 million using press time data) from 214 donors. Binance has also pledged over 16,000 BNB tokens to the cause.