Ukraine is now using the crypto assets it received as donations to buy new military equipment amid the ongoing war in Eastern Europe.
According to Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister for Digital Transformation, the crypto donations funded the purchase of the following military gear and resources:
- 5,550 bulletproof vests
- 500 ballistic plates for bulletproof vests
- 500 helmets
- 3,125 thermal imager and optics
- 60 walkie-talkies
- 410,000 packed lunches
- 3,427 medicines
Bornyakov says the crypto donations are helping to save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.
“Crypto assets proved extremely helpful in facilitation of funding flows to the Amed Forces of Ukraine. Huge thanks to everyone who donated to the Crypto Fund of Ukraine. Each and every helmet and vest bought via crypto donations are currently saving Ukrainian soldiers’ lives.”
In a Bloomberg interview, Bornyakov says that Ukraine has already spent $15 million worth of cryptocurrency donations to purchase supplies for the military. Bornyakov also says the Ukrainian government expects to receive $50 million worth of crypto donations in the coming days.
Blockchain analytics and compliance firm Elliptic reveals that the Ukrainian government and an NGO providing support to the military have already received $63.8 million worth of crypto assets.
The donations are mostly in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), but one of the biggest contributions so far coming from Polkadot creator Gavin Wood to the tune of $5.8 million worth of DOT tokens.
Last week, Bornyakov revealed that somebody sent a valuable CryptoPunk non-fungible token (NFT) to support Ukraine’s cause.
“On 03/01, someone donated CryptoPunk No. 5364 by Larva Labs to Ukraine. It’s 56 ETH (around $150,000).
People ask if it helps. Two points – 1 it’s hard to cash it out. 2 – it’s a big deal since it engages more people who belong to the community. Thank you.”
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Featured Image: Shutterstock/Tithi Luadthong/Natalia Siiatovskaia