- Elliptic found that crypto donations to pro-Russian entities have been rising.
- Most such donations are made in one specific coin.
- Over half of the donations to pro-Russian groups come from sanctioned entities.
Crypto has been playing a significant part in the war in Ukraine. Millions of people have used it to escape crashing fiat currencies and avoid bank runs.
Militaries – both Ukrainian and Russian – have also used cryptocurrencies to fund their operations. While the Ukrainian military has been more successful at attracting crypto payments, the Russian military has also been able to raise significant amounts through crypto lately.
Russian Military Raises $20 Million Through Crypto
A report published by Elliptic on Wednesday, June 28, revealed that the Russian military has been increasingly successful at receiving funds through cryptocurrencies.
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According to the Crypto in Conflict report, the Russian military fundraisers have attracted around $20 million in cryptocurrencies since NATO allies started sanctioning new Russian financiers.
Most of that $20 million has been paid with bitcoin (BTC). Over half of the donations are linked to entities sanctioned by the United States.
Compared to when the war in Ukraine started in February 2022, the Russian military and various disinformation groups had managed to raise only $4.2 million. Ukraine, on the other hand, had raised around $212 million through crypto payments.
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Interestingly enough, Eliptic highlighted the fact that the pro-Russian entities spend their crypto donations mostly through centralized exchanges. In fact, around 80% of all donations end up in exchanges, which Elliptic said emphasizes the “significant risks of sanctions exposure to such services if compliance precautions are absent.”
Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, on the other hand, aren’t that popular among such activities. Elliptic found that only 2.2% of all donations go through DeFi protocols. There have also been attempts to raise funds by pro-Russian entities through non-fungible tokens (NFTs) but those efforts have been mostly ineffective.
On the Flipside
- As with any technology, crypto can be used for both bad and good reasons. In the end, crypto is seen by most industry thought leaders as a net positive for the world.
Why This Matters
Eliptic’s report shows how increasingly important crypto is becoming in the real world.
Read more about a recent partnership between Polygon and Warner Music Group:
Polygon-Warner Music Group Collab Pinpoints 5 Key Areas
Read more about crypto scams in 2022:
$7.8 Billion Lost in Crypto Ponzi and Pyramid Schemes in 2022: Report
