A nonprofit that supports Ukrainian soldiers has received donations in cryptocurrency. This was after Russia attacked Ukraine. Over $5 million worth of bitcoin have already been raised. Meanwhile, the group’s fundraising page on Patreon has been abruptly removed.
Crypto Donations Rise After Russia Invades Ukraine
One of the largest non-governmental organizations (NGOs) providing support to Ukraine’s military, Come Back Alive, has received over $5 million in bitcoin donations after Russia launched a large-scale offensive against Ukraine.
This Kyiv-based support group was established in 2014 and provides military, medical, and other supplies to the soldiers of Ukraine.
Donations to the BTC address listed on the organization’s website soared Thursday after Russia launched a full-scale military attack on Ukraine. As of the writing date, 131.78144015 BTC had been received to the wallet address.
A review of all donations made to the address reveals that 2207 total donations, 126.04304091 BTC, were received between February 24 and late February 25. Based on Bitcoin.com Markets data, the bitcoin price is currently $39,676.51, which means that donations received between Feb. 24 and February 25 are more than $5,000,000.
Compared to this, the wallet received only 1.60976481 BTC (76 contributions) on February 23, and 0.42272864 BTC (22.5 donations) on February 22.
Tom Robinson, chief scientist and cofounder of Elliptic blockchain analytics platform, sent this tweet Thursday
Donations of cryptocurrency to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces are on the rise.
“Cryptocurrency is increasingly being used to crowdfund war, with the tacit approval of governments,” he was quoted by CNBC as saying.
Elliptic performed a analysis of the donations to Come Back Alive. According to Elliptic, the organization reported that Come Back Alive had received $2.7 million in donations by February 24, and more than $675,000 in bitcoin on February 24. By 9:30 AM on Feb 25, the group had received $3.4 Million. Noting that over $3 million (80 BTC) was sent by a single donor, the firm wrote: “This pushes the total the group has raised in just 24 hours to over $4 million.”
Since 2018, bitcoin donations have been accepted by the Come Back Alive organisation. According to Elliptic, bitcoin donations are on the rise. Nearly $200K was received during the second half 2021. The platform released a report earlier this month showing that digital asset donations to Ukrainian non-governmental organizations and volunteers increased by 900% in the last year.
Patreon Removes Come Back Alive’s Fundraising Page
Meanwhile, Come Back Alive’s fundraising page on Patreon has been removed by the platform.
Taras Chmut of Come Back Alive told CNBC during an interview that they were receiving very small payments for several months via their Patreon page. After Russia invaded Ukraine, more than $300,000 was added to the account.
However, when he tried to transfer the money out to pay for equipment, he discovered that his organization’s page on Patreon had been removed. The platform informed him that it was investigating the matter.
CNBC was told by a spokesperson for Patreon:
Patreon will not support any cause that is violent or the purchase of military gear.
Chmut opined, “We have people dying because they don’t have body armor,” adding that Ukraine is not a rich country, and Come Back Alive has helped soldiers receive the equipment they need.
How do you feel about Bitcoin donations flying to Ukraine’s military against Russia? Comment below.
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