In times of crisis, campaigns for donations are commonplace. And the humanitarian crisis resulting from the current war is no exception as a cause. But what is different in this case is the prominent role being played by cryptocurrencies, which are winning favor with Ukrainians and even with the government. To date, almost $25 million in cryptocurrencies have been raised to help Ukraine since the Russian offensive started.
More than $24.6 million in cryptocurrencies have been transferred to the Ukrainian government and NGOs since the start of the Russian invasion. That's according to a report from research firm Elliptic.
The Ukrainian government has even made an appeal for donations on Twitter, indicating that it accepts Ethereum and Bitcoins. To date, and according to the Elliptic firm, the addresses listed in the tweet have collected $17.1 million, and this, thanks to 20,680 transactions.
Among these transactions, two Bitcoins were offered by a single individual for a value of approximately $1.7 million. A single donation, believed to be from NFT sales, also brought in a cool $1.86 million. While Bitcoins and Ethereum account for the majority of donations, internet users are also sending NFTs to the Ukrainian government's Ethereum account. One of the NFTs has an approximate value of $300, Elliptic reported.
Help can also come from elsewhere through decentralized self-governing organizations like UkraineDAO, founded by a member of Russian feminist collective Pussy Riot. Backed by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, this initiative aims to raise Ethereum for the NGO Come Back Alive.
Meanwhile the head of the FTX cryptocurrency platform, Sam Bankman-Fried, paid 25 dollars to all Ukrainians registered on his platform.
Be careful not to fall for any scams, which have become more and more numerous since the beginning of the war. A site allows you to check the addresses in Ethereum.
