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MILLIONS IN BITCOIN POURING INTO UKRAINE FROM DONORS

By Joe Tidy
Cyber reporter

Published26 February
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 * Russia-Ukraine war

Image source, Getty Images

Cryptocurrency analysts say at least $13.7m (£10.2m) has so far been donated to
the Ukrainian war effort through anonymous Bitcoin donations.

Researchers at Elliptic, a blockchain analysis company, say the Ukrainian
government, NGOs and volunteer groups have raised the money by advertising their
Bitcoin wallet addresses online.

More than 4,000 donations have been made so far, with one unknown donor gifting
Bitcoin worth $3m to an NGO.

The median donation is $95.

On Saturday afternoon, the official Twitter account of the Ukraine government
posted a message: "Stand with the people of Ukraine. Now accepting
cryptocurrency donations. Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT."

It posted addresses for two cryptocurrency wallets which collected $5.4m in
Bitcoin, Ether and other coins within eight hours.


 * Bitcoin less green since China ban, research says
 * Russia's vigilante hackers join the attack on Ukraine

The Ukrainian Digital Ministry says the latest call for donations is to "help
Ukraine armed forces", but would not elaborate on how the money would be spent.

Elliptic founder Tom Robinson told the BBC: "Whereas some crowdfunding and
payments companies have refused to allow donations to be made to groups
supporting the Ukrainian military, cryptocurrencies have emerged as a powerful
alternative."

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Media caption,
Are crypto-currencies the future of money?

On Friday, fundraising platform Patreon announced that it had suspended the
donation page for "Come Back Alive", a Ukrainian NGO that has been raising money
for Ukrainian forces in conflict zones since 2014.

Patreon said the page violated the company's policies, saying in a statement:
"We don't allow Patreon to be used for funding weapons or military activity."

Cryptocurrency fund raising is becoming an increasingly prominent part of modern
conflicts around the world.

Scammers appear to be also be taking advantage of the current situation in
Ukraine, though, by tricking unsuspecting users.



Elliptic says at least one social media post was found to copy a legitimate
tweet from an NGO, but with the author swapping the Bitcoin address, presumably
for one of their own.

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Media caption,
Almaz Magaz, an employee at the Enegix crypto-mine near Ekibastuz, northern
Kazakhstan


RELATED TOPICS

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 * Bitcoin
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