The war in Ukraine has in many ways marked a turning point in the world order, one of which has been in showing the power and use of digital currencies, the BBC wrote.
Bitcoin up 14%, Ethereum 11%
Bitcoin (BTC/USD) is up 14% in the last 24 hours, trading at $43,000 at the time of writing. Its profit is just less than 18% in the last 7 days. The second largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum (ETH/USD), jumped 11% in 24 hours. Its weekly profit is around 15%.
Binance Coin (BNB/USD), the fourth largest crypto and native token of Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, grew 9% today and 12% over the past 7 days.
The development comes amid reports that Binance will not block Russian users’ accounts despite being asked by the Ukrainian government to do so. Crypto exchange Kraken has also declined.
Russia will use crypto to evade sanctions
On Sunday, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov called on all major crypto exchanges to block Russian users. He tweeted:
It is important not only to freeze addresses associated with Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users.
The Ukrainian government is concerned that Russia will use crypto to circumvent Western sanctions by denying access to the global financial system.
Millions in bitcoins come from donors
World Media reported that in Ukraine, unidentified entities have so far donated more than $11 million in bitcoin to the war effort. The Ukrainian government, voluntary groups and NGOs raised funds by advertising their bitcoin wallet addresses online. Thousands have been donated.
The Ukrainian government took to Twitter on Saturday afternoon for fundraising, posting:
Stand with the people of Ukraine. Now accepting cryptocurrency donations. Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT.
The posted two cryptocurrency wallet addresses had accumulated more than $5 million within eight hours, despite hesitation from major figures in crypto such as Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin.
According to insiders, crypto has emerged as a powerful alternative as some crowdfunding and payments companies have refused to allow donations to groups that support the Ukrainian military.