Donation with cryptocurrencies
According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, people from all over the world sent more than $54 million to an NGO called Come Back Alive, which provides support to the Ukrainian government and Ukrainian military. Supporters are also donating NFTs and stablecoins. Polkadot founder Gavin Wood made a single donation of $5.8 million.
While the donation amount is far less than the billions of dollars the US government has sent to Ukraine, cryptocurrency has proven to be a much faster way to get directly into the hands of those who need it.
The Ukrainian government has started accepting cryptocurrencies as donations made through traditional banking methods can be difficult and time consuming. Crypto makes it possible for people to send money to anyone, anywhere in the world, whenever they want.
Financial sanctions are a deadly weapon
In the past few weeks, Western countries have imposed massive sanctions on Russia to paralyze its economy. Russia has become the world’s most sanctioned country, worse off than Iran and North Korea. “We will cause the collapse of the Russian economy,” the French finance minister said earlier this month.
Several Russian banks have also been kicked out of the SWIFT bank messaging system, making it harder than ever to facilitate international money transfers. The Western arming of finance has seriously damaged the Russian economy. The ruble has lost nearly 50% of its value against the US dollar.
He has harmed the people of Russia, including those who oppose Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. And they pay the price for the war they didn’t want in the first place.
The arming of financial sanctions on such a large scale will cause concern not only in Russia, but also in other countries. Countries like China and India will be more inclined to reduce their reliance on the West’s financial infrastructure. And it will lead to the fragmentation of the global economy, in which crypto will play an active role.
