In a robust sign of support to Ukraine amid the country’s invasion by Russia, the global crypto industry has donated in excess of USD 63.25m as of today, with donations made in bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and a number of other cryptos.
Data from blockchain ecosystem security firm SlowMist indicates the largest share of crypto donations was allocated to the Ukrainian government, with a total of USD 38.5m.
It is followed by the country’s Come Back Alive non-governmental organization which supports the country’s military in its fight against the Russian invaders, at USD 14.9m worth of crypto, Ukraine decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), at USD 6.4m, the Ukraine-focused Unchain fund, with USD 2.1m, and relief organization AidForUkraine, at USD 1.4m.
Among others, about BTC 589, or some USD 24.5m, have been donated to the cause so far, complemented by donations in ETH, but also other coins such as tron (TRX), tether (USDT), dogecoin (DOGE), and polkadot (DOT), among others.
In the search for donations from the cryptosphere, Ukrainian organizations are also reaching out to non-fungible token (NFT) collectors, as demonstrated by a recent successful initiative by Ukraine DAO. A total of ETH 2,258, which translates into about USD 6.4m, was collected by supporters of the Ukrainian flag NFT.
In one notable example, the DAO received close to USD 1.4m worth of crypto from a subscription-based social media platform perhaps best known for its adult content.
“One of the craziest things about Ukraine_DAO – OnlyFans sent us 500 ETH. In one transaction,” tweeted Alona Shevchenko a UK-based Ukrainian activist behind the DAO.
Another charitable not-for-profit crypto initiative for the Ukrainians who are affected by the war, UkrainianPool, encourages users to stake their funds and allow all staking rewards to be directly received by the Ukrainian government.
“We are calling the international crypto community to unite their forces in response to the tragic events,” the team behind the initiative said.
Meanwhile, in a bid to increase its support for Ukraine, Uniswap Labs, the entity behind the uniswap (UNI) protocol, has integrated the “donate to Ukraine” feature which automatically exchanges any of its listed tokens to ETH and donates it to the country’s population, on its home page.
The country’s Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, also announced that the National Bank has an account opened for humanitarian aid transferred from Ukraine and abroad.
The National Bank has opened an account for humanitarian aid to Ukrainians affected by the Russian occupiers. Funds can be transferred both from Ukraine and from abroad. You can send money in different currencies. More details here: https://t.co/Vps9jchH4i
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) March 1, 2022
“The Ministry of Social Policy will use the funds raised to support the citizens of Ukraine who suffer the most from the war,” by providing food, water, shelter, clothes, and other basic necessities, the bank’s announcement said.
As previously reported, those who wish to donate (be it in crypto or fiat) have increasingly more options to choose from (just be careful of the increasing number of scams too), some of which include:
- Come Back Alive, a non-profit that supports Ukraine’s armed forces;
- The Kyiv Independent, Ukraine-based independent news outlet;
- Hospitallers, a volunteer organization that helps wounded Ukrainian soldiers;
- The National Bank of Ukraine opened a special fundraising account to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is also asking for donations for logistical and medical support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in UAH;
- The Return Alive Foundation (accepts BTC, EUR, USD);
- UkraineDAO, launched by a member of the famous Russian feminist punk protest group Pussy Riot and NFT collectives Trippy Labs and PleasrDAO;
- Unchain Foundation, a charity started by the Ukrainian blockchain community.
Additionally, several other lists have also been shared online by the members of the crypto community.
Source: Cryptonews
