The government of Ukraine announces that in the week since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, $50 million in cryptocurrency has been raised. So far, the government has spent $15 million in donated cryptocurrencies to purchase military supplies.
Ukrainian government spends $15 million in cryptocurrency on military supplies
Alex Bornyakov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, said on Friday that his government has spent $15 million in cryptocurrency donations on military supplies, including body armor, according to Bloomberg. In a Zoom interview from an undisclosed location in Ukraine, he confirmed that the purchased military equipment was delivered on Friday.
Many people have donated cryptocurrencies to the Ukrainian government since the start of the war with Russia.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, tweeted on Friday that the Ukrainian government has raised $50 million in crypto in one week. Most donations were in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). He now intends to double the funds raised to $100 million.
Bornyakov also said that the Ukrainian government expects to double its $50 million cryptocurrency donations in the next two to three days, Bloomberg reported.
He said that two days after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, his ministry found supplies in the US and Europe for the army, including vests, food kits, bandages and night vision goggles.
In addition, the Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation noted that about 40% of suppliers are ready to accept payments in cryptocurrency. The rest are paid in cryptocurrency converted into euros and dollars.
The ministry is also working with two companies to launch a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to raise additional funds, the publication said.
Noting that it could be ready in less than two weeks, Bornyakov opined:
Nobody was ready to do military NFT, the war only started eight days ago, still trying to figure out how to do it in terms of design.
In regards to donated NFTs, he confirmed that someone has donated cryptopunk. However, he added, “But it’s so hard to sell. We haven’t used it for now… We’re going to keep it for now. … No time to figure out how to convert them. Maybe when things settle down, we’ll figure it all out.”
What do you think about the use of cryptocurrency by the Ukrainian government to pay for military equipment? Let us know in the comments below.
Kevin Helms
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