The crypto community has heeded the call by the Ukrainian government for the crypto community to show support to Ukraine through digital asset donations. The latest donation came from one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance, which has pledged to donate $10 million worth of digital assets to Ukraine amid these difficult times.
In the recent past, cryptocurrencies have emerged as the go-to method for donations due to their numerous advantages over traditional money transfer methods and banks. In a nutshell, the traditional money transfer methods were expensive, slow, and in most cases very restricted due to government oversight.
Over the weekend, the Ukrainian government through the deputy prime minister who also doubles up as the minister of digital transformation in the country, Mykhailo Fedorov appealed for support from the crypto community and sent three addresses where the crypto donations are to be sent.
Stand with the people of Ukraine
Now accepting cryptocurrency donations. Ethereum. Bitcoin and Tether (USDTtrc20)BTC — 357a3So9CbsNfBBgFYACGvxxS6tMaDoa1P
ETH — 0x165CD37b4C644C2921454429E7F9358d18A45e14
USDT (trc20) — TEFccmfQ38cZS1DTZVhsxKVDckA8Y6VfCy
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 26, 2022
Call to block Russian crypto users
Besides appealing for donations, the deputy prime minister also appealed for crypto exchanges around the world to block Russian users from accessing crypto services.
Fedorov said:
“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.”
Over $19M in crypto donations made this far
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the crypto community has sent digital assets donations worth over $19 million to the Ukrainian government.
According to reports by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, the total amount that had been received by the Ukrainian government by February 27 at 23:50 UTC was $18.9 million. The majority of the donations came in after the appeal by the deputy prime minister. According to the report, the majority of the donations were made through Ether and Bitcoin.
The largest donation so far has come from Binance, which donated $10 million worth of digital assets.
“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.”
Binance has set up a crypto donation website portal named ‘Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund,’ which has received over 156 BTC (worth about $5.8 million) from over 214 donors.
The Polkadot founder also expressed his desire to donate using DOT if a DOT address is provided.
Polkadot founder Gavin Wood said he would donate $5 million if the Ukrainian government provided Polkadot’s address. In addition, Tom Robinson stated that the largest (anonymous) donation received by the Ukrainian government was Bitcoin worth $1.86 million.
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) February 28, 2022
