In the chaos of the war between Russia and Ukraine, many parties tried to hand out contributions in the form of a cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC) to the attacked country.
Based on the disclosure of United Kingdom (UK) analytics firm, Elliptic, one of the NGOs - Come Back Alive - has received a total of bitcoins worth $ 400,000 (RM1.7 million) within 24 hours.
Come Back Alive is an organization established to support the Ukrainian military forces.
Since August 2021, Come Back Alive has received bitcoin donations that are not equivalent to the latest record, around $ 4,000- $ 5,000 per month before reaching the highest amount on 22 February.
But, there is unpleasant news when it is understood that the contribution in BTC is not actually accepted by the Ukrainian government.
What happen?
It is understood that the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has opened a special bank account for contributions from legal entities and foreign individuals who want to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
However due to national laws that do not recognize Bitcoin, such contributions had to be rejected, including those that use PayPal.
This was realized through a statement on the official website of Ukraine NOW: “National legislation does not allow the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to use other payment systems (“ Webmoney ”,“ Bitcoin ”,“ PayPal ”, etc.).
This raises big questions because last week Ukraine has already approved the acceptance of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin in the country’s economic activities.
Not sure why, but perhaps Ukraine is worried if the use of cryptocurrencies against war activities is seen as an act of ‘terrorism financing’.
While the recent adoption of crypto assets is to support economic growth including protecting investors from misuse or fraud.
Community reaction
On average those who followed the development of the Russo-Ukrainian war urged the country to accept donations in Bitcoin because it was easy for people around the world to send support.
However, some deny the capabilities of Bitcoin in this bitter situation. One Twitter user claimed: “Don’t donate in crypto. Its value is very unstable during times of turmoil. The currency has high liquidity and is easier to use. ”
Undoubtedly, the global crypto and asset markets are witnessing price instability.
At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $ 38,685, up more than 12% since yesterday’s daily record low, $ 34,521.
Some major altcoins: Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX), XRP, and Cardano (ADA) recorded jumps of around over 0% to almost 7% in 24 hours.
