Ukraine Crypto Donations Could be as High as $200 Million

The amount of crypto donations is still climbing a year after the war in Ukraine began as crypto continues to pour in.

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis released a report on the role of crypto on the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine.

It noted that as of February 2023, almost $70 million in crypto donations had been pledged in support of Ukraine.

The report added that the majority of donations were made in Bitcoin and Ethereum. ETH was the most popular, making up around 41% of the total, while BTC donations accounted for around 32.5%. Tether (USDT) was the third most popular crypto asset to be donated at 16.5% of the total.

Crypto Continues to Aid Ukraine

While global regulators and bankers set their sights on quashing the crypto industry, it continues to serve worthy purposes. It has many benefits for donation purposes since it is much faster and cheaper to send across borders than using traditional methods such as banks.  

Aside from cryptocurrencies, there have been additional donations in the form of nonfungible tokens (NFTs). UkraineDAO’s auction of a Ukrainian flag NFT raised $6.5 million for the country’s war efforts. Chainalysis said these were small compared to fiat donations but:

“They demonstrate the philanthropy of cryptocurrency enthusiasts across the globe and Ukraine’s willingness to accept a wide variety of digital assets.”

It noted that in emerging markets such as Ukraine, crypto has the potential to act as a reliable store of value. It can also boost financial independence and reduce cross-border transaction costs.

“In addition to helping with war efforts, cryptocurrency donations are likely to encourage increased adoption and strengthen an economy that has otherwise been hampered by the war.”

According to the Financial Times, the amount of crypto donated could be much higher. Citing Elliptic research, the outlet said more than $200 million worth of crypto had made its way to pro-Ukraine causes.

“Ukraine bet big on crypto by offering donation addresses literally hours after the invasion, and it did pay off,” an Elliptic analyst told the outlet.

According to recent reports, Ukraine has been purchasing military equipment using cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, the country’s deputy digital minister claimed that 60% of suppliers were able to accept crypto in return for combat essentials.

Pro-Russia Donations Fractional

Chainalysis compared the crypto donations in support of Ukraine to those for Russian causes. It found that after a year of the war, around $5.4 million had been received by roughly 100 pro-Russia organizations.

This is less than 8% of the crypto donations sent to pro-Ukraine causes.

It added that just over 87% of the funds received by pro-Russia groups have gone to centralized exchanges.

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