Ukrainian government receives over $52 million in cryptocurrency donations

The Ukrainian government and organizations supporting its fight against the Russian invasion have received more than $52 million in cryptocurrency donations.

As of Thursday morning, Wallet addresses linked to the Ukrainian government and NGOs supporting its military have received over 60,000 donations, according to blockchain analytics firm Merkle Science. More than 10,000 donations were made on Wednesday morning, which is an all-time high.

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The donations include $6.5 million in proceeds from a Ukrainian flag NFT auctioned off Wednesday by the Ethereum-based group Ukraine DAO – marking the tenth most expensive NFT ever sold, said Tom Robinson, chief scientist at blockchain research firm Elliptic.

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Ukrainian government’s official wallet addresses have received about $34 million in Bitcoin, Ether, Tron and Polkadot, including $5.8 million from Polkadot founder Gavin Wood and a highly sought-after CryptoPunk NFT worth over $200,000, according to Elliptic. The Ukrainian government also started accepting dogecoin Wednesday morning.

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Ukraine’s Kuna Exchange has been helping the country to manage the cryptocurrency received. On Twitter Wednesday morning, Kuna founder Michael Chobanian said around $14 million worth of donations had already been used, with a majority of spending happening exclusively in cryptocurrency transactions.

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In an interview with CoinDesk, he said funds have gone to Ukraine’s military and special forces to help purchases equipment, food and gas, but he stopped short of providing additional specifics “due to a level of secrecy involved.”

Cryptocurrency donations to help in the fight against the Russian invasion after some NGOs and volunteer organizations successfully raised more than $5 million within a few days.

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Despite the boom in support for cryptocurrencies, the large portion of aid is still likely to come in the form of traditional currency. On Tuesday, the United Nations put out a call to raise $1.7 billion for humanitarian support in Ukraine and refugees in neighbouring countries.