Bitcoin News and Finance
Ukraine Blocks Crypto Wallet Used to Raise Funds for Russian Forces Skip to main content

Ukraine Blocks Crypto Wallet Used to Raise Funds for Russian Forces

Ukraine Blocks Crypto Wallet Used to Raise Funds for Russian Forces

The law enforcement and counter-intelligence agency of Ukraine has managed to seize the funds in a cryptocurrency wallet used to finance the Russian military campaign in the country. Officials in Kyiv claim that money collected through the wallet has been spent on military equipment for the pro-Russian separatist forces in the east.

Ukraine Seizes Crypto Donations Funding Russia’s Invasion

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has for the first time implemented a mechanism to curb fundraising through cryptocurrency for the troops fighting on the Russian side in the ongoing hostilities in the country. The conflict escalated into a full-scale war when the Russian army crossed the Ukrainian border in late February in what Moscow calls a “special military operation” in support of the pro-Russian breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.

In a press release on Tuesday, the SBU announced that a crypto wallet operated by a citizen of the Russian Federation and used to sponsor Russia’s military effort in Ukraine has been blocked. The man, who presented himself as a volunteer, has been gathering money for the needs of the Russian forces since the start of the invasion.

The wallet had accumulated digital coins worth 800,000 hryvnia (almost $22,000 at current rates) by the time it was blocked, the SBU said, adding that the funds have since been seized. Experts are now working to track the related transactions and transfer custody to Ukraine. The agency did not specify how it seized the wallet but revealed that it was assisted by foreign crypto companies.

Ukrainian investigators have been able to establish that the wallet’s owner devoted a significant portion of the donated crypto to the purchase of military supplies for the separatist fighters of the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics. Representatives of the National Police of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General’s Office also took part in the operation.

Russian ‘Volunteer’ Active on Social Media

The Russian activist has been actively seeking financial assistance on social media platforms since the latest phase of the conflict began. To promote his efforts, he has been creating and regularly posting photo and video content, distributed posts published by associates and reported on the use of the collected funds, the SBU detailed without revealing the Russian’s identity.

A report by the blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis unveiled last month that 54 pro-Russian groups have collectively received over $2.2 million worth of cryptocurrency. These organizations, operating out of Donetsk and Luhansk, got most of the donated amounts in bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) but other cryptocurrencies as well.

Ukraine itself has been relying on crypto donations, with both the government in Kyiv and volunteer groups raising digital money to fund defense efforts. Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov recently announced on Twitter that $54 million worth of crypto funds collected through the Aid For Ukraine initiative have been spent to purchase body armor, medicines, night sights, and even vehicles for the Ukrainian army.

The Ukrainian people has also received purely humanitarian aid from the crypto community and industry. European crypto exchange Whitebit, which has Ukrainian roots, offered to support Ukrainian refugees through its representative offices abroad and the world’s largest coin trading platform, Binance, issued a special crypto card for Ukrainians forced to leave their homes.

You can support Ukrainian families, children, refugees, and displaced people by donating BTC, ETH, and BNB to Binance Charity’s Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund.

Do you expect Ukraine to block more crypto wallets used to finance the Russian military offensive? Tell us in the comments section below.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians

On September 18, a Redditor posted to the r/bitcoin forum and explained how he discovered a way to “attack [the] lightning Network’s custodial services.” The Reddit account dubbed “Reckless Satoshi” wanted to figure out if a “discrepancy between real routing fees and service’s transaction fee can be exploited for a profit.” The researcher disclosed that he wanted to see how large the damage could be and said “it is bad.” 6 Lightning Network Custodial Services Attacked, Researcher Discloses Findings to Offenders Prior to Public Disclosure A Redditor called Reckless Satoshi published a disclosure post on r/bitcoin this past Saturday and disclosed how he had found a vulnerability with routing fees and some of the Lightning Network’s custodial services. The research attack was done in good faith and after it was complete he disclosed the bugs to the offending services before publishing his findings. Reckless Satoshi used the Lightning Network (LN) attack on six different services incl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Axie Infinity Down 40% Since Last Week’s Price High, Protocol Revenue Outshines Competitors

Last week, the game token leveraged within the Axie Infinity gaming universe skyrocketed to all-time highs, while other crypto markets remained extremely lackluster. During the last seven days, Axie Infinity’s platform token has dropped significantly in value shedding more than 12%. Meanwhile, the game platform’s smooth love potion token has slid over 8% over the last 24 hours. Axie Infinity Down More Than 40% Since All-Time High Not too long ago, the axie infinity (AXS) token was a topical conversation because it reached an all-time high on July 15. At the time, AXS managed to capture $28.93 per unit and since then it has shed 12.8% during the last seven days. The axie infinity (AXS) token is used within the blockchain-based game that involves battles between token-based creatures called “Axies.” AXS is used for the game’s governance system as well as other actions within the game. At the time of writing axie infinity (AXS) is exchanging hands for $16.70 per coin. AXS/USD on Ju...
Post a Comment
Read more

Play-to-Earn Game From Polker (PKR) Exchange Listing – Endorsed by Akon

The Play-to-Earn NFT based Polker.Game ‘s native token $PKR has been officially listed on the popular centralized exchange BitMart. Polker.game has been in the spotlight recently as Akon, the American R&B superstar and record producer gave his official endorsement of polker stating that the “game is revolutionary” and that Polker is “hands down.. the best play to earn, NFT game in the space.”. With the BitMart listing and celebrity endorsement from Akon, Polker is perfectly positioned to become a major player in the Play-to-Earn league. Watch Akon’s Video Here What is Play-to-Earn? Although not a new concept, play-to-earn has become a trending term due to the popularity of the NFT game AXIE infinity. In the past, previous play-to-earn games have also achieved success – however, thanks to the huge amount of development in the blockchain space in recent years the gaming experience is now massively improved. Play-to-Earn games are essentially free to play and open to anyone and...
Post a Comment
Read more

China to Crack Down on Copyright Infringement Through NFTs

Authorities in China are going after creators of digital collectibles based on other people’s works of art, the use of which was not authorized. The government offensive is part of a campaign to combat online copyright infringement and piracy with the participation of several departments. Regulators in China Move to Strengthen Copyright Supervision of Online Platforms The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) has recently launched a campaign against copyright infringement and piracy on the internet, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Internet Information Office of the People’s Republic. A major objective of the initiative is to improve copyright supervision of online businesses by investigating cases involving the sale and distribution of infringing products on short video, live broadcast and e-commerce platforms, and promptly dealing with infringing content, the agency announced in a press r...
Post a Comment
Read more
Blogarama - Blog Directory