Cryptocurrency donations for Ukraine: another reason why crypto should exist
The Russian invasion of Ukraine posed a series of challenges and dilemmas for the world. However, the efficiency of solutions is best measured during times of adversity.
In particular, cryptocurrency has shown itself to be more than just a casino payment method or a way to stick it to the central bankers. In this current conflict, it is proving that it is useful to have direct access via the blockchain.
In March, over $136 million worth of donations was reportedly received via cryptocurrency wallets. It is the first time in the community's history that such a substantial contribution has been made to a humanitarian cause.
Small and large donations continue to pour into the wallets on a regular basis. This article will examine how and why Ukraine might gain so much from cryptocurrency, as well as how this sequence of events can serve further crypto advocacy.
Why cryptocurrency donations?
Cryptocurrency is a completely digital form of wealth which is immune to monitoring and centralised authority. Unlike banks, nothing, let alone an invading army, can modify, halt, or reverse the transaction or ownership of crypto tokens.
As a result, transactions are affordable, anonymous, quick, and straightforward. That is why it was considered the most appropriate means of soliciting funds from the outside world during such a hostile period.
Furthermore, Ukraine has been a backer of cryptocurrency from its beginning. According to a reputed blockchain research firm, Chainanalyis, Ukraine ranks fourth in crypto adoption. In 2021, it legalised Bitcoin as well as other cryptocurrencies.
As the government and administration are already technologically equipped to handle cryptocurrency, they could take the liberty of tweeting wallet addresses to accept contributions directly instead of the more traditional methods.
Another reason for shifting to cryptocurrency contributions was rejection from Patreon.
It halted a crowdfunding effort organised by a Ukrainian NGO called 'Come Back Alive'. Claiming that the donations were intended to be used to purchase military equipment, which violated their guidelines.
It is the point at which people everywhere discovered the limits of conventional monetary transactions due to red tape and bureaucracy and saw what cryptocurrencies could offer as their alternative.
According to an interview of Nadya Tolokonnikova with New York Times, a spokesperson for Ukraine DAO, an organisation that coordinates decentralised humanitarian aid for Ukrainians, "blockchain enables us to expand our efforts in ways that were previously impossible. The old ways of raising money sometimes are really slow and just clumsy."
Not only Bitcoin
The Ukrainian fundraising organisations have not limited themselves only to Bitcoin. They have opened a variety of token wallets for contributions.
Solana
On 1st March 2022, Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, tweeted about a fundraising campaign jointly arranged by the Ukrainian government and Solana, a blockchain-based crypto project.
This project, namely 'Aid for Ukraine', allows contributors to donate via Solana crypto tokens.
DogeCoin
On 2nd March 2022, Fedorov tweeted about Dogecoin donations, "Now even memes can support our army and save lives from Russian invaders."
Dogecoin was initially intended to be a meme (joke) coin but was subsequently pushed by Twitter owner Elon Musk's tweets and has since become a well established cryptocurrency.
NFTs
The Ukrainian Authority is accepting donations through NFT (non-fungible tokens) too.
NFTs are a type of digital art or creations whose worth is determined mainly through market and demand; they may be purchased and sold in the same way as other tangible forms of art.
Moreover, the unique data format of NFTs enables simple verification and validation of their ownership and the transfer of tokens between owners.
Donations via Uniswap
Reputed cryptocurrency exchange Uniswap has announced its fundraising interface where the contributors can donate with any Ethereum-based cryptocurrency they wish.
The platform will automatically convert them to Ether and send them to the concerned department of the Ukrainian government.
How to donate cryptocurrency for Ukraine?
These are the officially verified wallet addresses of the Ukrainian government for contributions:
BTC : 357a3So9CbsNfBBgFYACGvxxS6tMaDoa1P
(Posted on verified Twitter page of Ukraine on 26th February 2022)
ETH and USDT (ERC-20): 0x165CD37b4C644C2921454429E7F9358d18A45e14
(Posted in verified Twitter page of Ukraine on 26th February 26, 2022)
DOT: 1x8aa2N2Ar9SQweJv9vsuZn3WYDHu7gMQu1RePjZuBe33Hv
(Posted on the verified Twitter page of Ukraine on 1st March 2022)
DOGE: DS76K9uJJzQjCFvAbpPGtFerp1qkJoeLwL
(Posted on the verified Twitter page of Mykhailo Fedorov on 2nd March 2022)
SOL: 66pJhhESDjdeBBDdkKmxYYd7q6GUggYPWjxpMKNX39KV
(Posted on the verified Twitter page of Mykhailo Fedorov on 1st March 2022)
Uniswap: donate.uniswap.org
(Posted on the verified Twitter page of Uniswap Labs on 1st March 2022)
How has cryptocurrency been affected?
Any influence on cryptocurrency cannot be measured as an immediate pump or dump.
Cryptocurrency is still a relatively new idea to the general public, and in order to thrive in this hostile environment, it must demonstrate its value via persuasive use cases.
The Ukrainian crisis provided the ideal opportunity for this, and the cryptocurrency community did not fail to grasp it.
The cryptocurrency community reacted quickly since the very first fundraising tweet by the Ukrainian government. Within 24 hours, Gavin Wood, the founder of Polkadot, joined the first responders.
He stated that if the Ukrainian government accepted the tokens, he would give $5 million in DOT tokens. The offer was welcomed by the Ukrainian government.
Other cryptocurrency titans such as Binance and Justin Sun (creator of Tron) quickly followed suit. These initiatives demonstrate that the cryptocurrency community is composed of decent individuals who are determined to contribute to the greater good.
Following this scenario, cryptocurrency cannot be casually dismissed by detractors as "merely a ransom payment technique."
It has always had its share of detractors. They have been continually criticising this digital asset for both relevant and irrelevant flaws.
However, no one can dispute its brighter aspects now that it has demonstrated its competence by financing a war torn country with the maximum level of transparency and in the shortest amount of time feasible.
Conclusion
The contribution of cryptocurrency transactions in this crisis has been a significant one.
However, no matter how feel good this is, there will always be fraudsters and scammers on the internet, and users should exercise caution and only donate to wallets posted by verified concerned authorities.
