Some of the crypto is being used to supply civilians with food, gas, medicine and firearms, while another wallet has been set aside to provide funding for the army.
Cryptocurrencies worth more than $30 million have now been donated to Ukraine — with the country announcing plans to perform an airdrop to those who have made a financial contribution.
Michael Chobanian, the founder of Ukraine's Kuna exchange, shared a spreadsheet that showed huge sums of Bitcoin, Ether, DOT and Tether have been pledged, alongside smaller amounts of altcoins.
It's believed that close to half of these funds have already been dispersed. While some is being used to supply civilians with food, gas, medicine and firearms — amid fears of a looming humanitarian crisis in major cities — another wallet has been set aside to provide funding for the army.
Speaking to CoinDesk, Chobanian said he was determined to give as much transparency as possible when it comes to how funds are being used — but at the same time, he warned some discretion was required.
He explained that the Kuna exchange has been working closely with the government to convert cryptocurrencies into fiat where necessary, because officials have little experience when it comes to managing digital assets. Contributions made in smaller cryptocurrencies such as DOT are also being converted into the likes of BTC and USDT, which are better known and more widely accepted.
Gavin Wood Sparks Controversy
A number of high-profile entrepreneurs and developers have offered their assistance to Ukraine.
Polkadot's founder Gavin Wood had pledged to make a $5 million donation to the country if it posted a DOT address where contributions could be made.
Some had accused him of attempting to advertise his platform — and asked why Wood couldn't just convert his donation to BTC or ETH instead.
Ukraine had initially announced it planned to accept BTC, ETH and USDT over the weekend. Crypto addresses where donations could be sent were posted on the country's official Twitter account over the weekend. Given this was out of the blue — and wasn't backed up by an announcement on a government website — some, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, suspected there may have been a hack.
On Saturday, Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation confirmed to CoinMarketCap that the messages were genuine and its communications were secure. It said:
"We are trying to contribute to Ukraine’s victory and raise the awareness of international society on what's happening in Ukraine. We will use the funds in the most efficient way: to destroy as many Russian soldiers as we can. Truth is ours. We can fight this evil only together!"
Details are sketchy when it comes to the airdrop that Ukraine has proposed, but Deputy Prime Minister Mykhalio Fedorov is expected to provide further information through his Twitter account soon.
A snapshot of all donors is set to be taken on March 3 at 6pm Kyiv time — with a "reward to follow."
This has sparked a flurry of crypto donations in recent hours.
