Ukrainian Military Raises $4 Million+ From Crypto Crowdfunding

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine underway, crypto users have risen up to help the nation defend against its hostile neighbor. The Ukrainian military has reportedly raised $4 million in crypto through NGOs and volunteer groups since the attack began.

International Crypto Crowdfunding

According to live data from Elliptic – a blockchain analytics firm – crypto donations to Ukrainian NGO’s have “soared” since the beginning of the invasion. Hovering near-zero earlier this month, donations rose above $500,000 on February 24th, and above $3 million on the 25th.

Almost all of the funds on Friday were provided by one generous donor of over 80 Bitcoin.

On Wednesday, Russia announced “special military operations” in Ukraine, and began attacking Ukrainian military infrastructure shortly afterward. Western leaders – including US President Joe Biden – have condemned Russia’s hostility as a breach of international law. Furthermore, they have responded with strict sanctions on the country.

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However, Biden also assured Americans that the nation would not directly involve itself in the conflict militarily. Afterward, crypto markets immediately recovered from the panic that followed initial reports of the invasion, with Bitcoin rising from $36,000 to $39,000. At this price, that makes the whale donation on Friday worth over $3,120,000.

Bitcoin isn’t the only source of funds, either. One Ethereum-based token, Help Ukraine (HUKR) launched on Thursday. And almost immediately started donating Ether to a fundraiser, “Support Ukrainian Sovereignty.” The fundraiser has generated over $280,000 so far.

Another organization called Come Back Alive is a major attraction for crypto donations. The group provides various medical supplies, training services, and military equipment to the Ukrainian army. Come Back Alive’s Bitcoin address has been promulgated across social media, but certain scammers are abusing the movement by copying the tweet and linking to an unrelated address.

Crypto’s Role With Russia

In response to the conflict, a major Ethereum mining pool called Flexpool has announced that it will stop serving its Russian users, in solidarity with Ukraine. This may prove irritating for Vladimir Putin. The Russian President has expressed interest in making Russia a competitive country for Bitcoin mining.

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It’s also possible that Russia could begin using Bitcoin and other cryptos to bypass international sanctions against its largest banks. A similar strategy was used during Canadian protests earlier this month to raise nearly $1 million in the face of financial restrictions from Ontario’s government.