Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister Asks Local Crypto Exchanges to Block All Russian Users

Ukraine has turned to crypto largely post Russia’s escalation of an invasion last week. Ukraine’s central bank has suspended all digital transactions and transaction in the local currency.

Last Saturday, February 26, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said that the country has started accepting crypto donations in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and other USD stablecoins.

Later, on Sunday, Fedorov appealed all crypto exchanges to block Russian users. He further added: “I’m asking all major crypto exchanges to block addresses of Russian users. It’s crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users”.

Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine last week, Ukraine has received crypto donations which have now tootled to $20 million. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has said that a majority 56.4% of donations have arrived in BTC, and another 31.8% have arrived in Ethereum.

Earlier today, crypto exchange Binance also joined the list of donors announcing $10 million in donations. The crypto exchange announced: “The donation will be split between major intergovernmental organizations and nonprofit organizations already on the ground, including UNICEF, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, iSans and People in Need, to help support displaced children and families in Ukraine and its neighboring countries.”

Furthermore, Binance has also setup an crypto donation web portal dubbed the Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund.

On the other hand, U.S. and the other NATO allies have been banning Russia from using the SWIFT system for global financial transactions and settlements. This is likely to give a further boost to countries adopting digital assets.

Furthermore many analysts are suggesting that Russia with the help of China could easily shift to using the central bank digital currency (CBDC) to reduce their dependency on the SWIFT systems.

John Hopkins economist Steve Hanke said: “Weaponizing the SWIFT international payments system might cut Russia off, but risks eroding the dollar-dominated global financial system. Indeed, it will give rise to alternative systems developed by China & Russia. Just another example of why sanctions are counterproductive”.