Crypto Allows Ukraine to ‘Operate Internationally’ – Ukraine has been increasingly relying on bitcoin donations to alleviate humanitarian concerns and fund its defense efforts as conflicts with advancing Russian forces continue.
According to a high-ranking government official, cryptocurrency helps the country collect and promptly transfer money as well as do international businesses.
In an interview, the country’s Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation Oleksandr Bornyakov stated, “It’s a really rapid way to get a payment – in circumstances like that, you can’t just wait for days to collect money and then you have to distribute them.”
The official stated that shortly after the invasion began, the Kyiv government established a cryptocurrency fund in collaboration with a major exchange. “As a result, money began to flow in almost immediately. “So far, we’ve gathered almost $30 million,” Bornyakov told Fox News.
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Although the organization to which he was referring accepts contributions for defense objectives, Bornyakov said that other funds had been successful in raising funds for humanitarian aid to Ukraine’s civilian population.
“I believe we’ve collected over $100 million so far for various causes,” he said, without indicating whether he was referring to crypto assets.
Ukraine can convert the digital money it gets into other currencies such as US dollars and euros, according to the deputy minister, who also stressed:
“The advantage of crypto is that it allows us to operate internationally.”
Because Russian soldiers are advancing from all sides, Oleksandr Bornyakov stated that obtaining supplies from abroad is currently extremely difficult for Ukrainian authorities. “The crypto fund is actually assisting us in doing that swiftly,” he added.
Concerns that Russia might use cryptocurrency to evade Western sanctions were addressed by Bornyakov, who stated that Ukraine had been in contact with major blockchain forensics firms, crypto exchanges, as well as anti-money laundering bodies to provide them with information about Russians who are subject to the restrictions.
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Although the Ukrainian official is skeptical of Russia’s ability to use cryptocurrency to circumvent sanctions, his government has been attempting to expose crypto wallets used by Russian politicians, but has been unsuccessful in convincing platforms such as Binance and Kraken to freeze all Russian accounts, as Kyiv had requested.
Ukraine has been expanding its list of acceptable cryptocurrencies to include coins like polkadot and dogecoin, after receiving millions in bitcoin and ether.
Binance pledged $10 million while supporting third-party aid through a crowdfunding project, demonstrating the global crypto community’s support for humanitarian efforts in the country.
