Cryptocurrency analysts revealed that millions in bitcoin have been poured into Ukraine from anonymous Bitcoin donors. At least $13.7m has already been donated to the Ukrainian war.
A blockchain analysis company Elliptic explored the fact. The researchers from this company mentioned that different volunteer groups along with the Ukrainian government and NGOs have raised the money. They have advertised their Bitcoin wallet addresses online to collect money. The most interesting part is one single donor has donated Bitcoin worth $3m to an NGO. About 4,000 donations have been made till now.
Elliptic founder Tom Robinson said, “Whereas some crowdfunding and payments companies have refused to allow donations to be made to groups supporting the Ukrainian military, cryptocurrencies have emerged as a powerful alternative.”
Recently the official Twitter account of the Ukrainian government shared a message. It stated, “Stand with the people of Ukraine. Now accepting cryptocurrency donations. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT.” The government authority also shared addresses for two cryptocurrency wallets. These wallets collected $5.4m in Bitcoin within eight hours.
However, fundraising platform Patreon has suspended the donation page for “Come Back Alive”. This NGO has been raising money for Ukrainian forces since 2014. Patreon claimed that this site was violating the company’s policy. They said, “We don’t allow Patreon to be used for funding weapons or military activity.”
Cryptocurrency fundraising becoming popular around the world. But Scammers are also taking advantage of the current situation in Ukraine. So, donors should be aware of verifying the authentication of the fund-raising NGO prior to making the donations.