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Ukraine’s Government-Provided Crypto Addresses Collected $70M During War, Report – Bitcoin News
Crypto donations collected by the government in Kiev since the start of the Russian invasion have totaled nearly $70 million, according to Chainalysis. Ether has been the most donated crypto followed by bitcoin and stablecoin tether, the blockchain intelligence firm said in a report.
Ukraine receives millions of dollars in various coins from the global crypto community
The amount of cryptocurrency transferred to addresses published by the Ukrainian government to raise money for defense and other purposes has reached nearly $70 million, forensic blockchain firm Chainalysis revealed on the first anniversary of the conflict in the Eastern European nation.
Authorities in Kiev began accepting donations in digital currencies shortly after Russia began its invasion in late February 2022. In March, Chainalysis said more than $56 million in cryptocurrencies had been donated to the wallets of the Ukrainian government.
Other digital donations have been made to addresses posted by charities raising funds for their humanitarian efforts. According to a recent report from blockchain analytics company Elliptic, Ukraine’s supporters have sent a total of over $212 million in cryptocurrency.
“Although such donations pale in comparison to fiat donations, they demonstrate the philanthropy of cryptocurrency enthusiasts worldwide and Ukraine’s willingness to accept a wide variety of digital assets,” Chainalysis commented in its blog post. It also noted that the majority of donations were made in BTC and ETH, the leading cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
The company pointed out that in addition to helping with military efforts, the donations could encourage crypto adoption and bolster the war-torn Ukrainian economy. “Ukraine adoption increased during the war,” Chainalysis noted. The country ranked third in its 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index.
At the same time, Russian adoption fell, according to the researchers, despite the fact that the site also asked for crypto donations. The number of pro-Russian groups accepting crypto funding for their activities has grown to around 100, Chainalysis said, but they have raised less than $5.4 million.
Another finding worth noting is that in many cases such funds are sent to regular, centralized exchanges as opposed to high-risk exchanges – 87.3% of the digital money received by pro-Russian groups has gone to established coin trading platforms. Chainalysis also found that crypto markets are too illiquid to support large-scale Russian sanctions evasion.
Do you think the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is accelerating crypto adoption in Eastern Europe? Share your thoughts on the topic in the comments section below.
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