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Cryptocurrency exchanges FTX and Kuna, and betting platform Everstake, have teamed up with the Ukrainian government to launch a donation website for users who want to send cryptocurrencies to help the country and its people.
In a statement on Monday, Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation said that the government had launched Aid for Ukraine. It is a platform that accepts donations in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), Polkadot (DOT), Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), Monero (XMR), Icon (ICX), and Neo (NEO) "to support people in their fight for freedom." Parts of the country have been attacked by Russian troops since February 24.
According to the website, users submitted more than $48 million in cryptocurrencies when it was announced, about 24 percent of the platform's $200 million goal. The funds will be sent to the National Bank of Ukraine and used for "ammunition and essentials" to support the country's military forces and humanitarian organizations. Donations in various legal currencies to ukraine's central bank are also accepted.
Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana Labs, said" Aid for Ukraine shows how the global cryptocurrency community and the traditional financial system can work together." "Cryptocurrency contributions to decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) are stored and managed on-chain ( data located on the Blockchain), which are then transferred to FTX, a centralized exchange, to be sold in USD and sent to the Ukrainian government via SWIFT."
Crypto proved to be a real life saver thanks to its ease of use. We at @mintsyfra made crypto donations even easier. Together with @everstake_pool and @FTX_Official we announce https://t.co/8LsgXj0HSB — a website where you can donate crypto to save Ukraine.
— Alex Bornyakov (@abornyakov) March 14, 2022
The platform reinforces the list of wallet addresses that were previously provided by the Ukrainian government through its Twitter account. However, since Russia attacked Ukraine, many cryptocurrency companies have also stated their support for Ukraine. Kraken pledged to distribute $1,000 to each user who created an account in the country by March 9, while bored Ape Yacht Club said it would donate $1 million in ETH.
The funds for Ukraine come as Russia faces economic tensions imposed by U.S. and EU sanctions. Many private companies including major banking firms such as Goldman Sachs, Visa and Mastercard have stopped cooperating with Russia in the past two weeks.
