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Ukraine Update: Over $56 Million in Donations, Airdrop Cancelled and Scams Aplenty
Over US$56 million in crypto donations have now been sent to support Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia. This milestone comes amid the cancellation of a planned airdrop from the Ukrainian government and a spate of scams looking to capitalise on the crypto community’s generosity.
Crypto Generosity Providing Crucial Aid
According to the blockchain analytics platform Elliptic, over 100,000 separate donations have been made to the Ukraine government and supporting NGOs since the start of the conflict, totalling just over US$56 million. This is over 50 percent up from the US$37 million figure reported by Crypto News Australia reported just a few days ago.
The donations are made up of a variety of cryptocurrencies. Elliptic lists the approximate breakdown as:
- 31.2 percent Bitcoin;
- 33.7 percent Ethereum;
- 17 percent stablecoins;
- 14.5 percent Polkadot; and
- 3.6 percent other crypto.
In addition to crypto donations from individual users, UkraineDAO auctioned off a Ukrainian flag NFT for US$6.5 million worth of Ethereum, proceeds of which will go to the NGO Come Back Alive.
Government Airdrop Cancelled Amid Spoof
A planned Ukrainian government airdrop – designed to reward users who had donated to the Ukrainian cause – was cancelled after the Peaceful World token (WORLD) was identified as a spoof of the official Ukrainian government airdrop:
The Ukrainian government decided to abandon its airdrop to avoid exposing users to potential phishing scams and spam attacks:
Scammers Seek to Take Advantage
Amid the wave of generosity, scammers have sought to take advantage by duping well-intentioned users into donating crypto to addresses not associated with the Ukrainian government or any registered NGOs.
A range of Ukrainian crypto scams have been reported, including phishing emails purporting to be from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, fake websites, and dodgy forum posts.
Malware Hunter Team has reported a rapid increase in phishing websites with domains such as “Ukraine-donate” and “Ukraineglobalaid” since the start of the conflict.
To avoid falling victim to a donation scam and to ensure your funds go where you intend, it is recommended you only donate to wallet addresses released by officials from the Ukrainian government or supporting NGOs.
Author
Jody McDonald
Jody is a Brisbane-based freelance writer who specialises in writing about business, technology, and the future of work.
