Russia-Ukraine War: Ukraine Govt. Aims $200M in Bitcoin and Crypto Donations

The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine on Monday launched the “Aid For Ukraine” initiative to help the Ukraine government raise $200 million in Bitcoin and crypto donations. The crypto community has already donated nearly $51 million to help Ukraine fight the Russian invasion.

To streamline the donations, the Ukrainian government launched a website, which is powered by crypto staking platform Everstake, in collaboration with crypto exchanges FTX and Kuna.

Crypto Assistance to Ukraine

The “Aid For Ukraine” aims to raise funds for humanitarian aid programs for the people impacted by the war. Also, to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine to align military equipment and supplies in their resistance to the Russian army.

The government seeks donations in crypto as well as fiat to the fundraising account of the National Bank of Ukraine. Crypto exchanges convert the donations received into fiat and send the donations to the National Bank of Ukraine. The website reads:

“This marks the first-ever example of a cryptocurrency exchange directly cooperating with a public financial entity to provide a conduit for crypto donations.”

The donations in cryptocurrencies can be made in BTC, ETH, USDT, DOT, SOL, DOGE, XMR, ICX, and NEO. The first million raised in SOL have already been transferred for the military needs of the Ukrainian government.

For fiat donations, the government accepts donations in USD, Euro, GBP, Australian dollar, and Canadian dollar.

In response to the “Aid For Ukraine,” Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, said:

“Every helmet, bulletproof vest and night vision device save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. Thus, we must continue to support our defenders. Thanks so much for everyone from the crypto community for supporting Ukraine!”

Other Aid for Ukraine

Ukraine has been receiving donations in crypto and fiat since the start of the war. Ukraine’s Vice-Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted the wallet addresses asking for donations in BTC, ETH, and USDT. He also requests crypto exchanges to block Russian accounts.

On March 4, Alex Bornyakov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, said that Ukraine has received nearly $50 million in crypto donations in light of the Russian invasion. From which, 69% was used for army support and the remaining for humanitarian and general aid.

Other organizations including United Nations have also raised funds for the humanitarian aid of Ukraine.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a $1.5 trillion bill ‘Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022’ from which $13.6 billion will be sent in support for Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion.