Cryptocurrency Aid Fundraising For Ukraine Reaches IDR 1.5 Trillion, Accounts From Russia Also Help

Crypto money is increasingly being used to help Ukraine. (photo: doc. blog.kraken.com)

JAKARTA - As of Wednesday, March 9, the total cryptocurrency donations in wallet addresses of the Ukrainian government, from charities and other relief efforts tracked by Cointelegraph has reached 108 million US diesel (Rp 1.5 trillion).

The top three recipients of the fund are Bitcoin and Ethereum wallet addresses, authorized by the Ukrainian government, and BTC donation addresses for Come Back Alive.

On the same day, Kraken announced that it would distribute more than US$10 million (Rp 143 billion) to clients who created accounts from Ukraine before March 9 for relief efforts.

Regardless of their account balance, Kraken clients in Ukraine will receive 1,000 US dollars (Rp. 143 million) each in BTC during the first stage of disbursement of funds, which can be withdrawn immediately.

This cryptocurrency exchange also waives currency exchange fees for withdrawals of up to 1,000 US dollars.

Kraken will distribute over $10 million worth of to aid clients in Ukraine. Tranche 1 recipients will be credited $1000 of #BTC, withdrawable tomorrow. The package is funded by historical Ukraine revenues and H1 2022 revenues from Russia-based trading.https://t.co/DdkY2TsVoB

— Kraken Exchange (@krakenfx) March 9, 2022

“Cryptocurrencies remain an important humanitarian tool, especially at a time when many people around the world can no longer rely on traditional banks and custodians,” said Jesse Powell, CEO of Kraken, of the aid package.

Funds will be distributed throughout the year, in part to allow Ukrainian residents time to complete the “Intermediate” Know Your Customer verification process. Perhaps ironically, the fees collected from Russia-based Kraken accounts will also partially fund the aid package.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club, or BAYC, also joined the crypto fundraising effort for Ukraine on Wednesday, March 9. After raising nearly 1 million dollars (Rp 14.3 billion) in ETH from a wallet containing non-exchangeable BAYC tokens. The developers behind BAYC said it would match their own $1 million ETH donation contribution.

It's been inspiring seeing our community come together in support of Ukraine - almost $1m in ETH has been donated to @Ukraine by wallets containing a BAYC ecosystem NFT. Today we're matching that with a $1m ETH donation of our own. ️🇺🇦

— Bored Ape Yacht Club (@BoredApeYC) March 8, 2022

Another important contribution has also come from Binance's Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund, which has received over $11.3 million in BTC, BNB and Binance USD since its inception.

Moreover, during its last update on March 3, it seems that Kuna's Ukrainian Crypto Fund has received more than 14 million US dollars (Rp 200 billion) in major altcoins such as Polkadot (DOT), Tether (USDT), Candle (CNDL), USD Coin (USDC) and Dai (DAI).