Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation: $14 million has been spent on cryptocurrency, and more currencies will be supported

Original Author: Ingrid Lunden, Techcrunch

Original Title: “Ukraine deputy minister talks IT Army and deploying $25M in donated crypto”

Compiled by: Richard Lee, Chain Catcher

On March 2, the tech media Techcrunch conducted an exclusive interview with Oleksandr Bornyakov, the Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, in which he disclosed recent information about Ukraine's cryptocurrency crowdfunding.

Oleksandr Bornyakov revealed that as of March 1, Ukraine had raised $100 million through various online donations from around the world, of which $25 million came from cryptocurrency donations to Ukrainian officials and public-private partnership accounts. As of Techcrunch's publication, approximately $14 million in cryptocurrency had been used to purchase supplies to help Ukraine resist the Russian invasion.

Oleksandr Bornyakov explained that the cryptocurrency crowdfunding fund announced recently on social media platforms like Twitter is operated by Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchanges, with the Ukrainian government partnering with the exchanges. Several local exchanges, including Kuna, provide fiat currency exchange services for Ukrainian authorities.

To ensure the safety of funds, most crowdfunding accounts are multi-signature addresses, requiring at least three signatures to access the funds. The Ukrainian government and the Ministry of Digital Transformation have certain control over these accounts.

Oleksandr Bornyakov promised that in the future, Ukraine will provide a complete transparency report on the use of funds to everyone.

Oleksandr Bornyakov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, source: Techcrunch

Regarding the use of funds and procurement processes, it is reported that in addition to local cryptocurrency exchanges, the Ministry of Digital Transformation has also collaborated with the Ministry of Defense. "Basically, we understand the needs, and they help us with logistics," Bornyakov stated. Bornyakov declined to disclose specific types and names of equipment.

Local cryptocurrency exchange Kuna told Techcrunch that the government has currently procured supplies including drones and other auxiliary equipment using the aforementioned crypto assets.

In addition, Oleksandr Bornyakov also mentioned that he understands many people want to donate using cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT, so the department is developing a crypto wallet that supports other crypto assets.

Previously, Polkadot founder Gavin Wood stated that he would donate $5 million if DOT addresses were supported, Vechain CEO Sunny LU stated he would donate $8 million if VET addresses were supported, and Tron founder Justin Sun stated he would donate $1 million if TRX addresses were released.

Public information shows that the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine was established in August 2019 and is responsible for promoting the introduction of electronic services in many economic sectors in collaboration with other public institutions and international partners— including construction, land services, ecology, business registration, subsidies, and national aid.