The Ukrainian government announces that $50 million in cryptocurrency was raised within a week since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. The government has so far spent $15 million in donated cryptocurrency to buy military supplies.
Ukrainian Government Spends $15 Million in Crypto for Military Supplies
Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine’s deputy minister for digital transformation, revealed on Friday that his government had spent $15 million in cryptocurrency donations for military supplies, including body armor, Bloomberg reported. 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 cryptocurrency to the Ukrainian government since the war with Russia began.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, tweeted on Friday that the Ukrainian government had raised $50 million in cryptocurrency in one week. Most donations were in bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH). Now he is aiming to double the funds raised to $100 million.
Bornyakov similarly said that the Ukrainian government expects to double its $50 million in cryptocurrency donations in the next two to three days, Bloomberg conveyed.
He revealed that two days after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, his ministry found suppliers in the United States and Europe for the military, including vests, food wraps, bandages and devices. of night vision.
In addition, the deputy minister of digital transformation noted that about 40% of the suppliers are willing to accept cryptocurrency payments. The rest are paid with crypto 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:
No one was ready to do military NFTs, the war just started eight days ago, they are still trying to figure out how to do this in terms of design.
Regarding donated NFTs, he confirmed that someone donated a Cryptopunk. However, he added: “But it’s so hard to sell. We haven’t used it at this point … We are going to keep it for now. … There’s no time to figure out how to convert them. Maybe once things settle down, we’ll figure this out.”
