Ukraine is reportedly using Cryptocurrency as part of its fight against Russia, according to Blockchain analysis company Elliptic.
The company stated that Ukrainian NGOs and volunteer organisations are crowdfunding Bitcoin as a measure of circumventing conventional attempts to block funds.
The Ukranian government launched a tweet on Saturday which said: “Stand with the people of Ukraine. Now accepting cryptocurrency donations. Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT.”
The BBC reported that the two Bitcoin wallets listed had collected $5.4m in Bitcoin, Ether and other coins in approximately eight hours.
Elliptic reported on Tuesday that $31.7 million had been raised from more than 26,000 cryptoasset donations since the Russian invasion began.
Crypto’s Ukranian Momentum
Several crypto wallets held by the groups have amassed funds of over $570,000 over the past year, including the Myrotvorets Center, Come Back Alive and the Ukranian Cyber Alliance.
The Myrotvorets Centre is a highly controversial NGO based in Kiev, and is known for distributing information concerning “enemies of Ukraine”, including Russian militants, mercenaries and war criminals.
Two individuals listed in the Myrotvorets Centre were killed days after their details were released on its website in 2015.
The group is also known for its facial recognition app called IDentigraf, which identifies Russian listed individuals from the collective’s network.
The Myrotvorets Centre has accounted for over $268,000 collected from 100 Bitcoin donations.
The Ukranian Cyber Alliance consist of anti-Russian hackers who targeted a selection of Russian cyber targets from 2016 onwards.
The advocacy group have confirmed receipt of $3,000 to $4,000 in Bitcoin donations as of February 2022.
Come Back Alive supplies military equipment to Ukranian soldiers and has raised $200,000 in bitcoin assets since the second half of 2021.
The purported advantages of using Bitcoin among other emerging cryptocurrencies include the fact that financial institutions are unable to close crypto wallets as they could with traditional methods of transferring financial assets.
Cryptocurrency also has the perk of allowing simpler cross-border donations which wealthy donors are able to take advantage of in their transfers.
