Cryptocurrency in Russia-Ukraine conflict

Many observers have noticed a surge in Bitcoin (BTC) trading volumes on a major Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchange since the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Meanwhile, cryptocurrency donations to the Ukrainian government and NGOs reportedly total close to $10 million. Yesterday, Ukrainian officials posted a message on social networking sites that they would accept cryptocurrency donations, and announced the USDT donation addresses in BTC, ETH and trc20 formats.

However, ETH co-founder Vitalik Buterin later warned against sending BTC/ETH/USDT to accounts calling for Ukrainian fundraising without verification.There have also been many hacking attacks recently.

Later, Vitalik Buterin confirmed that it was legal and called for support for locals in Ukraine through UkraineDAO, a locally created folk decentralized autonomous organization started by Nadya Tolokonnikova, a founding member of Russian rock band Pussy Riot. Come Back Alive is a charity they support. The agency has raised more than $4 million in cryptocurrency over the past few days.

The CNBC report also shows how cryptocurrencies are doing in this conflict. According to reports, as the Russian-Ukrainian conflict continues to intensify, the inflow of cryptocurrency donations into Ukraine has continued to increase. The cryptocurrencies were used to supply the Ukrainian army with military equipment, medical supplies and drones.

According to Elliptic, the total amount of cryptocurrency donated to the Ukrainian government and NGOs since the Ukraine-Russia conflict is close to $10 million. According to Tom Robinson, Elliptic’s chief scientist, cryptocurrencies are particularly suitable for international fundraising because they have no borders, such as in response to sanctions,  there is no central authority to block transactions.

It is worth noting that the Ukrainian parliament passed the virtual assets bill proposed by the president not long ago. The bill recognizes the legality of virtual assets in Ukraine. Under the new bill, the National Securities Commission will regulate the virtual asset market. Earlier, European Central Bank (ECB) President Lagarde called on lawmakers to approve a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, suggesting the move could prevent Russia from evading economic sanctions.