Ukraine: Half a million US dollars in crypto donations

The situation on the border between Ukraine and Russia is getting worse and worse. Cryptocurrencies also play a role in the conflict from a new report of the blockchain analysis company Elliptic emerges. It states that Ukrainian NGOs are increasingly receiving donations in the form of Bitcoin. But these NGOs are by no means charities, as one might assume. Rather, it is about hacktivists and military associations.

Elliptic has managed to identify several cryptocurrency wallets used by these volunteer groups and NGOs. In total, a little over $570,000 in funds flowed into Ukraine.

One of the largest organizations supporting the Army of Ukraine is Come Back Alive. Founded in 2014, the group takes its name from the inscriptions on the bulletproof vests that were its first donations to the army. The group now offers a range of military equipment, training services and medical supplies. It even funded the development of a drone-based reconnaissance and targeting system for Ukrainian artillery units.

Hackers in Ukraine also benefit from donations

Other beneficiaries include the hacktivist groups Ukrainian Cyber ​​Alliance and Belarussian cyber partisanswho have launched cyberattacks on Russian targets. According to Elliptic alone has the Ukrainian Cyber ​​Alliance raised nearly $100,000 in bitcoin, litecoin, ethereum and stablecoins in the last year. Unlike the other NGOs that rely heavily on bank transfers, the public fundraising relies on the Ukrainian Cyber ​​Alliance exclusively on crypto donations.

The idea for such crowdfunding did not come from Ukraine itself. Rather, Elliptic says that the organizations adopted the idea from pro-Russian groups that started Bitcoin fundraising back in 2014. With the exception of Ukrainian Cyber ​​Alliance however, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies account for only a small portion of the funds flowing into Ukraine.

Ukraine operates a much more crypto-friendly policy than Russia, where after a crypto ban that was initially discussed, a regulatory solution could now be near.

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