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Every Bitcoin helps: Crypto-fueled relief aid for Ukraine

March 20, 2022No Comments

The people of Ukraine need the help of the world more than ever. As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues, the world must unite behind the Ukrainian government to bring peace and stability back to the Eastern European nation.

The crypto community has done just that with non-fungible token (NFT) companies, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and crypto users around the world leading the effort to help Ukraine with Bitcoin donations (BTC), ether (ETH), Moles POINT and even NFTs.

It is impressive how quickly the crypto community supported the Ukrainian people. Two days after the Russian army entered Ukrainian territory, the Ukrainian government solicited cryptocurrency donations on Twitter, sharing Bitcoin and Ethereum wallet addresses. Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov confirmed on his Twitter account that the call for donations was real and asked people to join the nation.

Crypto Community Rushes to Ukraine's Defense

Shortly after Ukraine's deputy prime minister tweeted the government's crypto addresses, crypto began to compress in the wallets of the Ukrainian government at unprecedented speeds. In fact, Ukraine ranks fourth in the Global Crypto Adoption Index, compiled by data firm Chainalysis, which estimates that roughly $8 billion worth of cryptocurrency moves in and out of the country annually. According to the New York Times, the daily volume of cryptocurrency transactions is around 150 million dollars, surpassing the volume of interbank exchanges in the hryvnia.

First, the Ukrainian government raised $4 million, then $13 million, then $37 million for March. Days later, the total amount of cryptocurrency raised by the Ukrainian government exceeded $55 million. And recently, the Ukrainian government announced that it had received a total of "close to $100 million" in crypto donations, according to Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine's deputy minister in the ministry of digital transformation and the government's de facto crypto spokesman. Ukraine hit $108 million a week agoas tracked by Cointelegraph.

This is a clear testament that the crypto community is doing exactly what it has been trying to do since day one: move capital effortlessly, smoothly, and cheaply without intermediaries, as its users believe is the right thing to do. The crypto community around the world has shown with their massive donations that they support peace, stability and, to be honest, the people of Ukraine.

Related: NFT philanthropy demonstrates new ways to give back

From an economic point of view, the millions of dollars in crypto sent to the Ukrainian government could be a breakthrough. It is a clear demonstration that the people support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Crypto's ability to cut red tape is one of the best ways to provide immediate service to Ukrainians as they need help more than ever. This is what Bitcoin was created for: to move capital to where it is needed without any hindrance.

NFT, DAO and Web3 communities come to the rescue

NFT platforms, DAOs, and other players in the development of Web3 have shown the world what they stand for by donating everything from crypto to NFTs to the Ukrainian government.

Related: Fight economic warfare with the double-edged sword of cryptocurrencies

The people behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) donated $1 million in ETH to the Ukrainian government. The BAYC team donated the matching funds to members of the BAYC community, who also raised nearly $1 million in donations to Ukraine. Additionally, Everstake, a Ukraine-based decentralized staking provider, sent the first tranche of financial aid to Ukraine in the amount of $1 million, which had been donated by the extended Solana community.

There are countless examples of NFTs and DAOs rushing to respond to the Ukrainian government's request, from someone transferring CryptoPunk #5364, worth over $200,000, to Ukraine's Ethereum wallet to UkraineDAO. raise over $6 million through a sale of NFTs to help Ukrainian citizens. The DAO and NFT companies have made their position clear: they are against the war and want the Russian invasion to end as soon as possible.

Crypto: The Future of Support Causes?

During this tragic situation in Europe, we have seen that blockchain allows us to scale our efforts in a way that was simply not possible before. The old ways of raising money were slow, expensive, and often riddled with fraud and corruption.

Borderless money has transformed the way people contribute money to the causes they want to support. With Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, donors can be 100% sure that the causes and campaigns will receive the funds. They simply need the wallet address and send the crypto to that address. They can go to the blockchain, like Etherscan, and see their donation, giving all donors peace of mind that their capital has made it to the recipient.

Related: Is the Ukraine war intensifying regulatory pressure on crypto businesses?

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have proven that they are the cheapest, fastest and safest way to carry out financial transactions around the world. The Ukrainian government can safely store cryptocurrency without worrying about it being stolen by an invading force or its financial system collapsing due to war. Let's be clear: for Ukraine, digital currencies have lived up to their reputation for moving money easily across international borders.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should do their own research when making a decision.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

raymond hsu He is the co-founder and CEO of Cabital, a cryptocurrency wealth management platform. Before co-founding Cabital in 2020, Raymond worked for fintech and traditional banking institutions, including Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank, eBay, and Airwallex.