Ukraine’s fundraising plea vanished in China as crypto donations pour in from around the world
- The Ukrainian embassy in China appeals for donations on Weibo, drawing criticisms from pro-Russia netizens
- People around the world donate to the Ukrainian government in cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether
The embassy’s post, which called on people to donate in yuan, dollar, euro or sterling to Ukraine’s central bank, was originally published on Friday. It disappeared from the microblogging site Weibo, before the embassy published an identical post on Monday.
“To resist Russia’s armed invasion and safeguard Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the National Bank of Ukraine has announced the opening of a special fundraising account,” the post read.
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On Sunday, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on the embassy’s plea in a Weibo post, along with an image of the message, according to a screenshot widely circulated on Chinese social media. A hashtag on the news, which appeared in CCTV’s post, drew more than 3 million clicks on Monday.
Some pro-Russia netizens in China, however, saw CCTV’s post as an endorsement of Ukraine’s appeal for funds. Some alleged that Ukraine’s call for donations may constitute “illegal fundraising”.
The CCTV post has since been deleted.
It is unclear how many people in China offered donations to Ukraine. The Chinese government has refused to label Russia’s military action in Ukraine as an “invasion”, and China’s foreign ministry has said it opposes economic sanctions.
On Saturday, the Ukrainian government posted a plea for cryptocurrency donations through its official account on Twitter. “Stand with the people of Ukraine,” it read, along with three addresses for people to donate in bitcoin, ether or tether (USDT). The tweet had been liked by around 180,000 users by Monday.
The Ukrainian government and non-governmental organisations providing support to the country’s military had raised US$22.8 million of donations in cryptocurrencies by Monday, according to UK-based blockchain analysis firm Elliptic.
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On Monday, cryptocurrency exchange Binance pledged to donate US$10 million to support humanitarian efforts on the ground, with the equivalent of around US$6 million having already arrived, according to the company’s press release.
“This is where blockchain shines, global fundraising,” Binance chief executive Zhao Changpeng wrote in a tweet on Sunday.
Chinese cryptocurrency billionaire Justin Sun, founder of cryptocurrency platform Tron and CEO of software company BitTorrent, announced on Twitter on Sunday that he donated US$200,000 worth of USDT to Ukraine.
Cryptocurrencies and related assets have emerged as an increasingly popular crowdfunding tool during military conflicts, helping countries on both sides of the war to overcome financial barriers, according to Robbie Liu, a senior researcher at Babel Finance, a Hong Kong-headquartered crypto financial service provider for investors.
“In the short term, [cryptocurrency] is a good way for people in Ukraine to gain access to major foreign currencies for daily needs and [as a] store of wealth,” Liu said. “In the long term, using cryptocurrencies to avoid sanctions remains unrealistic for Russia. But currently, major crypto exchanges are working out ways to target sanctioned entities in Russia and protect their users in the region.”
