Vitalik Buterin Sends ETH 700 to War-Scarred Ukraine as Crypto Donations Reach $133 Million

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has donated 700 Ether coins to Ukraine, which has been in war with Russia since February 24. The Aid For Ukraine, a crypto community initiative gathering and tracking donations in the war revealed the development, otherwise Buterin had remained tight-lipped about his gesture. Presently, ETH 700 amounts to nearly $2.5 million (roughly Rs. 19 crore). Earlier this month, the Russian-born Canadian programmer had also wired the same amount of money to another Ukraine-focussed charity project called ‘Unchain'.

“Thanks for your enormous help, Vitalik, and thank you for creating Ethereum,” Aid For Ukraine tweeted.

Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation penned a heartfelt note for Ethereum's 28-year-old creator, thanking him for “standing with Ukraine”.

As per CoinTelegraph, Ukraine has collected around $133 million (roughly Rs. 1,010 crore) in crypto donations.

On March 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a virtual assets bill into law to legalise cryptocurrencies in the country. Crypto exchanges and companies dealing in digital assets must register with the government to operate legally in Ukraine, and banks are allowed to open accounts for crypto companies.

The crypto capital is being used to buy basic essentials like food and fuel by Ukrainian authorities. Crypto assets are also being used to buy military equipment like bullet-proof vests and night vision goggles for the Ukrainian armed forces.

Earlier last month, Joseph Lubin, Ethereum co-founder alongside Buterin had said that the crypto asset class can be viewed as among Ukraine's best weapons against Russia.

According to Lubin, the ongoing geopolitical war in Eastern Europe is becoming a “point of no return” for the global market's integration of cryptocurrencies.