Prolonged Ukraine War... Cryptocurrency Donations Also 'Plummet'

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The wave of cryptocurrency donations that continued to help Ukraine after Russia's invasion has sharply declined as the war drags on.

According to cryptocurrency data firm CryptoQuant on the 10th, as of the 9th, the amount of Bitcoin deposited into the Ukrainian government's Bitcoin wallet address was 0.003 BTC. This amounts to about $90 (approximately 110,000 KRW), compared to 0.002 BTC on the 8th, and 2.43 BTC on the 6th, which was the highest deposit volume this month.

After the war broke out on February 24, Bitcoin donations to the Ukrainian government were active in the early stages. On February 26 alone, the amount of Bitcoin donated was 26.51 BTC, which, considering the price at the time, amounted to $1,036,806 (approximately 1.31052 billion KRW). The next day, February 27, recorded the highest Bitcoin deposit volume with 85.36 BTC, worth $3,219,693 (approximately 4.06969 billion KRW). On February 28, 49.47 BTC was deposited to the Ukrainian government. Donations continued in March as well, with 30.26 BTC on the 9th, 15.90 BTC on the 15th, 26.00 BTC on the 22nd, and 24.44 BTC on the 26th.

However, deposits sharply declined from April. Except for 35.75 BTC on the 4th and 12.46 BTC on the 11th, most donations were between 1 and 2 BTC or less than 1 BTC. Since May, there have been no days with deposits exceeding 3 BTC.

The Ethereum donation situation was similar. On February 26, 1,430 ETH, worth $3,973,970 (approximately 5.02468 billion KRW), was donated, followed by 2,300 ETH on March 2, worth about $6,784,000 (approximately 8.57314 billion KRW), but the trend has since declined, shrinking to 0.86 ETH the day before. The Ukrainian government also accepts donations through fiat-pegged stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) and USDC. However, the deposit trends for these cryptocurrencies have also followed a downward curve similar to Bitcoin and Ethereum since the early stages of the war.

The decline in donations appears to be due to reduced interest as the war prolongs. On February 26, the Ukrainian government announced an online address for cryptocurrency deposits via Twitter and appealed for donations with a goal of $200 million. An official cryptocurrency donation website was also launched. On February 27, Bitcoin donation transactions reached 3,482, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk's appeal for cryptocurrency donations drew significant attention. However, since April, the number of Bitcoin deposit transactions has fallen below 60, dropping to 2 this month. Furthermore, the amount raised has fallen short of the target; the Ukrainian government explained through the official cryptocurrency donation website that more than $60 million has been raised to date.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.