Ukrainian government raises over $10 million in cryptocurrency donations

The Ukrainian government has raised more than $10 million in cryptocurrency donations, turning to crypto crowdfunding to help it survive an invasion from Russia.

The Ukrainian government’s official Twitter account on Saturday posted two crypto wallet addresses, one that only accepts Bitcoin and another that accepts Ethereum and Tether.

As of Sunday, the wallets had attracted $10.2 million worth of cryptocurrency, according to research by blockchain analytics firm Ellipti, a figure that is in addition to millions in digital currency donated to nongovernmental organizations supporting the Ukrainian military.

Elliptic said about $1.86 million of the funds donated to the Ukrainian government were generated through the sale of NFTs, a token originally intended to raise funds for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

NFTs are unique digital assets designed to represent ownership of a virtual item, such as a work of art or a video game character.

The development shows how Ukraine has turned to cryptocurrencies for assistance amid Russia’s military offensive against the country, which began on Thursday.

Come Back Alive, an NGO that provides equipment to the Ukrainian military, has been accepting cryptocurrency donations since 2018, and it has raised millions of dollars worth of digital currency since the Russian invasion began.

According to Elliptic, the total amount of cryptocurrency donated to the Ukrainian government and NGOs supporting the military now stands at $16.7 million.

“Crypto assets such as Bitcoin have emerged as an important alternative method of crowdfunding,” Elliptic Chief Scientist Tom Robinson wrote in a blog post on Sunday. “They allow for rapid cross-border donations, bypassing financial institutions that may block payments to these groups.”

Come Back Alive's Patreon fundraising page was suspended this week, with the company saying it "does not allow any campaigns involving violence or the purchase of military equipment." Patreon lets users earn monthly income through paid subscriptions.

The Ukrainian military initially said it could not accept digital currencies such as Bitcoin, with a statement on the government website saying that “national legislation does not allow the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to use other payment systems (such as Webmoney, Bitcoin, PayPal, etc.).

However, the government appears to have relaxed that stance.

On Sunday, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov called on major cryptocurrency exchanges to block payments to Russian users.

“It is crucial to freeze not only addresses associated with Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also disruptive actions by ordinary users,” Fedorov wrote on Twitter.

The United States, European allies and Canada agreed on Saturday to remove certain Russian banks from Swift. They also agreed to prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves in a way that could undermine sanctions.