Author: Coinposters

According to recent reports, the US government is currently in discussions with some of the largest US-based crypto companies about ways to limit Russia’s access to crypto services. The move is the latest in a series of significant steps taken by the White House to deter Russia aggression.

Crypto.com, Binance, Kraken, and Bittrex are among the country’s largest crypto exchange service providers, with strong regulatory ties to the US market. The US government will focus on these exchanges and other crypto service providers in order to limit undue profit exploitation from frantic Russian users.

Foreign policy experts warned last week that the Russian government was bracing for a barrage of Biden sanctions and would seek to avoid them through the use of crypto.

As the conflict enters its fifth day and a delegate meeting in Belarus fails to reach a ceasefire, Russia continues to bear the brunt of a barrage of international sanctions aimed at its financial services and access to foreign investment.

At the moment, many of Russia’s top energy and finance companies have been barred from meeting global deadlines due to a list of assets allegedly linked to Vladimir Putin that have been targeted for seizure.

The EU’s top nations have already moved to exclude Russia’s entire banking system from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network, limiting access to desperately needed funds for war sustenance.

Other digital financial services, such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, have expressed their support for Ukraine. Hundreds of Russians were stranded at pay points after these services were temporarily disconnected, unable to make purchases. Even conflict-free countries, such as Switzerland, have expressed support for Ukraine and threatened sanctions against Russia.

Although it is unclear whether the US is acting in response to Ukraine’s request that the world restrict Russia’s access to crypto-financial services, its decision is favorable in all aspects. A few weeks ago, the Kremlin government struggled to legalize digital currencies before agreeing to a conditional approval in the first week of February.

To repel the Russian invasion, the Ukraine government is seeking cryptocurrency donations. According to government tweets, wallets for Bitcoin and Ethereum have already received $4.9 million in cryptocurrency. On Saturday, nearly $3 million was donated to Ethereum wallets.

The Bitcoin wallet had received nearly $1 million in bitcoin, some of which had already been sent. Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov offered addresses for donating Bitcoin, Ether, and the stablecoin Tether (USDT) in a tweet posted by Ukraine’s official Twitter account.

Due to the ongoing conflict, civilians-turned-refugees in Ukraine report losing access to their account balances and credit cards. According to the United Nations, over 150,000 people had fled Ukraine as of February 26. (UN).

While there was confusion over the intended use of the crypto donations, Ethereum’s Russian-born co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, shared a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) initiative that focuses solely on Ukraine.

Pussy Riot member Nadya Tolokonnikova led UkraineDAO in releasing a 1/1 nonfungible token (NFT) of the Ukrainian flag in order to raise funds for Ukrainian nonprofits assisting victims of Putin’s war.

Despite the lack of confirmation, it now appears likely that communications to Ukrainian government addresses will be used directly by the government, while communications to the DAO will be redirected to the welfare of citizens via an NGO.

As soon as the Russia-Ukraine conflict erupted, prominent cryptocurrency entrepreneurs stepped in to help Ukrainians. FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was one of the first Ukrainian traders to receive financial assistance from FTX.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, has urged cryptocurrency exchanges to block Russian-based customers’ addresses.

 Fedorov said in a tweet on Sunday that it is critical to freeze not only the addresses associated with Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-fledged military strike on Ukraine, there has been bloodshed and tears. In response to the unjustified assault, the international community has slapped Russia with a slew of sanctions.

For example, Russia’s central bank’s assets, as well as those of President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, have been frozen. Furthermore, the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union have removed Russia from the international financial intermediary SWIFT, effectively preventing Russia from sending and receiving transactions to and from its allies such as Belarus.

Nonetheless, there are concerns that the Russian government, as well as the heinous oligarchs, may turn to crypto to avoid the crippling sanctions imposed on the country following the invasion of Ukraine. Cryptocurrencies, according to observers, can be used as a workaround for the sanctions because they allow for borderless payments.

As of now, no major cryptocurrency exchange has chosen to freeze Russian users’ accounts. However, the Ukraine-based digital asset marketplace DMarket has “severed all ties with Russia and Belarus as a result of Ukraine’s invasion.” As a result, DMarket will freeze all previously registered users’ accounts and donate the proceeds to the war effort.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government is accepting cryptocurrency donations to help fund its military campaign against Putin’s army. Since the start of the donation campaigns, Ukraine has received over $30 million in various cryptocurrencies, according to estimates. Bitcoin has been trading sideways in recent months, with the latest hostilities between Ukraine and Russia only worsening its prospects.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Bitcoin plummeted last week, triggering a crypto market freefall that saw more than $200 billion in value wiped out in less than 24 hours, a loss of more than 11%. The market’s decline boded ill for its safe-haven status, as investors unloaded their holdings as a result of the chaos caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The crypto market correction was mirrored in mainstream financial markets, with the American S&P 500 and Nasdaq both falling by more than 2% in response to geopolitical developments.

BTC is currently trading at $41,207. The global cryptocurrency market cap is estimated to be around $1.8 trillion. It remains to be seen whether BTC and the broader crypto market will rise further as peace talks between Ukraine and Russia begin in Belarus.

The Ukraine government reached out to the crypto community on Twitter during the first week of the Russia-Ukraine war to raise funds to support its civilians and troops. Ukraine has begun accepting donations in the form of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether (USDT).

The Ukrainian government sought assistance from a number of international organizations in response to military threats across the country. However, because time is of the essence, Ukraine’s official Twitter account extended its call for help to Crypto Twitter.

Furthermore, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, shared three crypto wallet addresses, urging the crypto community to donate and assist Ukraine in its fight against Russian troops. While the BTC and ETH addresses remain unchanged, Fedorov’s USDT wallet address is TRC20-based (as opposed to the address shared by Ukraine’s official Twitter handle).

Notable crypto entrepreneurs, such as Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, suspected that the accounts requesting crypto donations had been hacked at first. However, Ukraine Ambassador Olexander Scherba later confirmed its legitimacy to American diplomat Tomicah Tillemann.

Ukrainian civilians who have become refugees have reported losing access to their fiat savings and credit cards. As of Feb. 26, the United Nations (UN) reported that over 150,000 people had been displaced from Ukraine.

While there was some confusion about the intended use of the cryptocurrency donations, Buterin shared another decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) initiative that is solely focused on Ukrainian citizens.

UkraineDAO, led by Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot, launched with the release of a 1/1 nonfungible token (NFT) of the Ukrainian flag to raise funds for Ukrainian civilian organizations to assist those suffering from Putin’s war. On February 24, it was reported that Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense had received numerous requests for cryptocurrency donations from foreigners.

However not confirmed, it is now believed that proceedings to the addresses shared by the Ukrainian government will be used directly by the government, whereas DAO proceedings will be redirected to citizen welfare via an NGO.

On Saturday, Ukraine official Twitter account issued direct appeals for cryptocurrency donations in the midst of Russia’s ongoing invasion.

The official account, @Ukraine, had shared three such messages as of press time, though the first two had been deleted. The addresses posted remained consistent – for both bitcoin and ether/USDT – though the wording of the appeals changed with each iteration. It is unclear whether the messages were deleted and reposted on purpose, or if the inclusion of cryptocurrency addresses triggered Twitter controls implemented in the aftermath of the 2020 account hacks.

The donation addresses were also shared by Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov’s verified Twitter account and Telegram channel.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation, which Fedorov leads, stated that communications channels of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and Minister Mykhailo Fedorov are secure when reached via a press contact email listed on its website. They have not been hacked, it has been added. This is their official position and the messages they wish to convey.

“We are attempting to contribute to Ukraine’s victory and to raise international society’s awareness of what is going on in Ukraine. We will assist you in any way we can “The representative went on.

Olexander Scherba, a Ukrainian diplomat, also shared the Ukrainian account’s donation appeal. According to blockchain data, the BTC address has received a total of 9.78612041 BTC as of press time, with the first transaction occurring on February 24.

Approximately 85 ETH has been sent to the specified address. According to Etherscan data, donations have also been made in the form of USDT, USDC, and several non-fungible tokens.

Nonetheless, the messages have raised questions about their veracity, particularly given that the Russian military conducted cyberattacks during its invasion. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin was among those urging caution, advising people to avoid sending donations in the absence of additional verification.

Buterin stated that there have been numerous hacks in conjunction with this invasion, and that this could easily be a hack. This information environment is as hostile as it gets, so exercise extreme caution.

Buterin later stated that he would be deleting his message, writing: “I’ve received confirmation from a couple of sources that it’s genuine. For the time being, I’m removing my warning. However, remain vigilant, and always proceed with caution when sending irreversible crypto transactions.”

Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, claimed on Twitter that he spoke with the World Trade Organization’s Ukrainian embassy and that the messages were confirmed by the embassy.

Elliptic, a blockchain analytics firm that has been tracking donations during the Ukrainian invasion, announced on Saturday that $5.1 million in cryptocurrency has been donated in the last few days across nearly 3,000 donations.

When reached for comment on the donations, Elliptic co-founder Tom Robinson told The Block that about $200,000 in bitcoin donations were sent to an exchange in Ukraine. “It’s a little suspicious that the funds are being transferred to an exchange so quickly,” he wrote. “I haven’t been able to verify whether this is a genuine fundraising campaign.”

The posts come as Russian invasion forces approach Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. According to reports, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has turned down US offers to evacuate.

The crypto community has reacted strongly to Russia’s military incursion in Ukraine. The invasion’s news sent Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies plummeting at first.

Since then, the US government has retaliated against Russia’s invasion with tough economic sanctions, which have helped cryptocurrency prices recover from their initial price drop. There are a few voices of hope in the crypto world among all the doom and gloom.

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum and a Russian citizen, has spoken out against Russia’s invasion, saying that the country should not have given up hope of a peaceful conclusion.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of FTX, has committed to help Ukrainian traders financially. Bankman-Fried declared on Twitter that any Ukrainian account holder enrolled on the FTX cryptocurrency platform is eligible for $25 in free money, writing: “we just awarded $25 to everyone Ukrainian on FTX do what you need do.”

The crypto community reacted to a Twitter message calling for donations to the country’s troops by urging the Ministry of Defense to develop a crypto wallet; due to the country’s restrictions, none has yet been formed.

As the situation between Russia and Ukraine worsens, more people are turning to Bitcoin to help fund the Ukrainian military. People have donated almost $400,000 worth of BTC to the non-governmental organization Come Back Alive, according to a report from blockchain analysis firm Elliptic. The local army receives military equipment, as well as medical and food supplies, from the NGO. In addition, an anonymous donor recently donated 80 BTC to a charity group helping the Ukrainian army, which is worth over $3 million at current pricing.

Over the preceding year, the Cyber Alliance, a community of Ukrainian cyber activists, received around $100,000 in Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and a mix of stablecoins.

UkraineDAO was created by Pussy Riot, a Russian rock band famed for its anti-government protests, in collaboration with Trippy Labs and PleasrDAO. The UkraineDAO will sell Ethereum NFTs to help Ukrainians who have been displaced by the conflict. The NFT drop will consist of 10,000 NFTs of the Ukrainian flag. The proceeds from the sale of this coin will go to the Proliska NGO and the Return Alive Foundation.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and volunteer groups in Ukraine have raised $4 million in bitcoin donations to aid soldiers fighting in the ongoing conflict with Russia.

According to Elliptic, a blockchain analytics firm, the NGOs had received several bitcoin donations in varying amounts, with one donor sending more than $3 million in digital currency.

The NGO Come Back Alive is one of the recipients of these donations. Come Back Alive, a Ukraine non-governmental organization founded in May 2014, raises funds to assist soldiers in times of war.

The organization, which began accepting cryptocurrency as a donation option in 2018, provides medical supplies, humanitarian aid, weapons, and psychological support.

This news comes at a time when Ukrainian NGOs and volunteer groups are raising funds through crowdfunding. Elliptic recently revealed that in 2021, these organizations raised a total of $570,000, with Come Back Alive receiving $200,000 in bitcoin.

Previously, NGOs and volunteer groups all over the world received donations in fiat currency. However, in recent years, these organizations have turned to crypto, viewing it as a dependable funding option and accepting it as donations.

One of the primary reasons crypto is being used as an option recently is because of its decentralized nature, which allows it to circumvent restrictions imposed by banks and other financial institutions.

A growing number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and volunteer groups are now accepting cryptocurrency as a means of raising funds.

In 2020, an NGO called the “Human Rights Foundation,” or HRF, began accepting Bitcoin donations through BTCPayServer, a self-hosted, open-source crypto payment processor.

Susan G. Komen, a breast cancer organization in the United States, announced a partnership with The Giving Block last month to accept cryptocurrency donations.

Meanwhile, Ukraine Vice Prime Minister, Mykhailo Fedorovon, recently announced on Twitter that the country’s parliament passed legislation making Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies legal in the country.