Ukraine Receives Cryptocurrency Donation To Strengthen Its Army Against Russian Aggression

Ukraona opens cryptocurrency donations for its troops. (photo: twitter @Ukraine)

JAKARTA – Russia, Thursday, February 24 launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in various fields. This attack prompted a swift response from the Ukrainian government in mobilizing troops, armed civilians and calling on world leaders to come to its aid.

On the same day, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine began accepting donations to its armed forces by opening a special bank account for wire transfers of foreign currency. The Ukrainian army said there were "many requests from individuals and legal entities who are not residents of Ukraine and wish to make donations." It seems that one part of the memo caught the attention of social media users.

Donate for the Ukrainian army here: https://t.co/pVX50pPtVd pic.twitter.com/cjNYhNvWbX

— Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) February 24, 2022

“National law does not allow the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to use other payment systems ('Webmoney,' 'Bitcoin,' 'PayPal,' etc.)”

Crypto enthusiasts quickly used the Ukrainian government's Twitter account, where the link was posted, to request acceptance of digital currency donations.

For example, a TechLeakers user wrote: “Get a Bitcoin cryptocurrency address. So it will be accepted globally.” However, some have also voiced their concerns over the potential for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to accept crypto donations.

User “MMusikwolf” wrote:

“Don't donate crypto. Its value fluctuates too much to be of any use in this sense. [Fiat] Money has the highest liquidity of all assets and thus can be used most quickly.”

Donate for the Ukrainian army here: https://t.co/pVX50pPtVd pic.twitter.com/cjNYhNvWbX

— Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) February 24, 2022

Others, however, such as BiggieWhale, were quick to point out that digital stablecoins like USDT are pegged to the United States dollar and therefore, theoretically, do not experience the same level of price volatility.

At least one Ukrainian non-governmental organization, Come Back Alive, is currently accepting BTC donations, which are donated to the Ukrainian Army.

As a result of Russia's military aggression, global assets and foreign exchange prices, including the value of Bitcoin (BTC) and the Ukrainian hryvnia, are currently experiencing a sharp sell-off.

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried commented on the issue of currency destabilization in Eastern Europe due to this invasion. In a lengthy Twitter thread, Bankman-Fried wrote a pretty sharp analysis.

"If you were in Ukraine now, where would you trust your money?" Bankman-Fried tweeted. "And more importantly, there could be war. That's so bad for the world. Fuck all this pricey stuff. Go out and do it. something good for someone."

According to the Ukrainian government, as reported by Cointelegraph, 40 people died in the first hours of the Russian invasion, while several dozen people were also injured. Apart from targeting Ukrainian military installations, there have been reports of Russian missiles hitting critical infrastructure such as airports and civilian companies.