In recent years, Ukraine has ramped up its crypto adoption, and it seems like the country is big on making crypto a key part of its economy. And, now, during the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, cryptocurrency is proving to be a key asset. So, how are people using their crypto funds to aid Ukraine at the moment?
Ukraine's Official Crypto Wallets
As the situation intensified between Russia and Ukraine at the end of February 2022, Ukraine's official Twitter account posted the addresses for two crypto wallets asking individuals to donate their Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Tether as an alternative to donating traditional currency.
A few days later, Ukraine's account dropped a comment underneath its original post, stating that they had also now opened a Polkadot wallet, and provided its address. The post got over 200,000 likes and almost 60,000 retweets, so it's safe to say that hundreds of thousands of people are now aware of Ukraine's crypto donation plea.
Donations in Dogecoin are now also being accepted after Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister tweeted a Dogecoin wallet address. On top of this, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are accepted as donations, as many have considerable value. So, there are now several ways through which individuals can donate using crypto, with people and businesses eager to help.
The Aid of Big Names
On the 1st of March, popular cryptocurrency exchange Uniswap introduced a new tool that users can use to swap ERC-20 altcoin tokens (such as LINK and MANA) into Ethereum, which could then be donated to Ukraine's official Ethereum wallet.
On top of this, the founder of Polkadot, Gavin Wood, has donated $5.8 million in DOT tokens to Ukraine all in one go. It was his promise of a huge Polkadot donation that urged Ukraine to open its own official Polkadot wallet, which continues to accept further donations.
The Donations So Far
Although Ukraine has only been open for crypto donations for a short period, people worldwide have already come together to make huge contributions. Within the space of just a few days, a total of $50.9 million in crypto donations has been made to the Ukrainian government and an NGO that supports the country's military.
One group raised $1 million in crypto in just one day, with a number of other parties making similar big donations. On top of this, an NFT of the Ukrainian flag was auctioned off for $6.5 million, which was then donated to Ukraine.
Another user also donated a CryptoPunk NFT worth around $200,000, and a number of other NFTs have been donated alongside this (though it is not yet known whether these have been sold by Ukraine). These funds will be used to support Ukraine's military and buy essential supplies for its people.
Ukraine's Crypto Donations Are Still Growing
As the days pass, more groups and individuals donate crypto to aid Ukraine. Though the future of the Ukraine-Russia conflict is still uncertain, it is clear that people from around the world are prepared to make a difference where they can.