Ukraine Receives Bitcoin Donations to Equip Armed Forces

CNBC reported that Ukrainians have been trying to raise funds through Bitcoin in the face of increasing threats from Russia, which currently has 100,000 troops stationed along the Ukrainian border.

Previously, the organizations received funds from private donors through a network of banks or applications, but now cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have become increasingly popular. This is because they do not have to go through intermediary financial institutions that may not approve money transfers to Ukraine.

Donations of over hundreds of thousands of dollars have been made to Ukrainian non-governmental organizations and volunteer groups, according to a report by Elliptic, a blockchain analytics tools provider. The donations then went to the Ukrainian military for military equipment and drones or were used for medical supplies. In addition, the funds have been spent on security-related systems such as a facial recognition app. This is supposed to identify Russian spies or mercenaries.

Elliptic Chief Scientist Tom Robinson said: “Cryptocurrency is increasingly being used to crowdfund war, with the tacit approval of governments,” adding, “Cryptocurrency is particularly suited to international fundraising because it doesn’t respect national boundaries and it’s censorship-resistant — there is no central authority that can block transactions, for example in response to sanctions.”