If you’re not familiar with Vitalik Buterin, he’s a Russian-Canadian programmer and writer primarily known as a co-founder of Ethereum, a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts. He made a cryptocurrency donation to Ukraine, crypto capital as some would see it. To many, this is a great example of how crypto can be used to help people in need. As indicated by the entity, in spite of the huge cryptocurrency donation total, Buterin didn’t make a declaration in regards to the exchange. It was at the end connected to him by means of the Ethereum Name Service area name “vitalik.eth,” which was filled in at the beginning of the exchange.
Vitalik Buterin is one of the most influential figures in crypto and co-founded Ethereum, a platform for smart contracts and decentralized apps. He’s also known for his generosity. Last year, Buterin donated $1M worth of ETH as an ETH donation to GiveDirectly, an organization that provides direct cash transfers to the world’s poorest people. “This is the single largest donation in the history of Ethereum,” The Ethereum co-founder noted. “I believe that blockchain technology can play an important role in helping to overcome some of the challenges faced by this country today.” The Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is a decentralized naming system for the Ethereum blockchain, which allows users to create human-readable names for their wallets, smart contracts, and other resources. The ENS was developed in 2017 by the Ethereum Foundation and can be used to access addresses on the network.
The ETH donation will be part of the money raised to help support a joint drive made by the Ukrainian government, FTX, Everstake, and Kuna to revitalize digital asset donations for the nation. Additionally, Buterin reportedly donated $30 million in cryptocurrency to the SENS Research Foundation in support of research to halt the aging process and extend human life. Ethereum’s blockchain platform is well-suited for “DeFi” (Decentralized Finance), a term that refers to cryptocurrency that exists on a blockchain instead of a centralized server. It is also used by “DApps,” or decentralized applications, which are simply apps that run on a decentralized platform.
Despite facing a global economic decline, Ukraine’s economy remains buoyant. It has become the third-largest cryptocurrency market in Europe with nearly $133 million in tracked crypto donations being sent to the Ukrainian government, military, and charities. NEAR tokens and ETH account for much of this sum. But with increasingly fewer contributions coming through, it seems that cryptocurrency is no longer the go-to method of donation.
While cryptocurrencies have been the dominant form of donation for the Ukrainian people, other forms of currency have also come through to help fund relief efforts. Banks and online payment systems including Paypal and Stripe have made it relatively easy for supporters to send money without incurring fees. The Ukrainian government is also accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment for taxes and fees as part of a bigger effort to make the country more crypto-friendly.
The amount of money flowing into Ukraine for cryptocurrency donations increased exponentially this month despite a recent wind-down in enthusiasm for such efforts. As of March 9, the total amount of money tracked for crypto donations to Ukraine had risen from $37 million on February 28 to $108 million. The rise in donations came after the Ukrainian government made a U-turn on an anticipated airdrop.
Buterin Has a Good Track Record of Donating to Charities and Good Causes
Buterin Vitalik is known to donate cryptocurrency to charity. During the height of the COVID pandemic, he made a gigantic crypto donation by selling an enormous number of canine-themed tokens based on memes that he got from the makers of Shiba Inu, Dogelon, and Akita Inu coins. Following Dogecoin’s inconceivable push throughout the pandemic, these digital forms of money have taken off. Notwithstanding being founded on comparative sources (memes), these clones have a lot bigger token reserves. His charity cryptocurrency donations don’t stop there, however. Buterin gave 50 trillion SHIB tokens worth $1.2 billion to India as his part in their Covid efforts for their people.
The charity cryptocurrency donation was facilitated by the growth of Dogecoin (DOGE), the cryptocurrency once based on a popular internet meme. The currency’s value has grown significantly on crypto exchanges like https://redot.com amidst widespread interest in cryptocurrencies, owing to its coin supply and market cap. Vitalik Buterin and his dad, Dmitry, have recently given to aid ventures in Ukraine. Both have upheld the Ukraine DAO, a decentralized independent association raising assets for Ukrainians. Alona Shevchenko, author of the Ukraine DAO, recently let Fortune know that she talked with Buterin on the telephone, saying he was exceptionally sympathetic.
Alongside Buterin, Dmitry joined the DAO’s multi-sig, composed its declaration, and empowered it to keep giving guidance to those out of luck, Dmitry recently affirmed to Fortune. Buterin transparently censured Russian President Vladimir Putin in February, at the beginning of the attack. Unbeknownst to many, Ukraine is one of the crypto hotspots of the world. After the legalization of crypto in the nation, it’s now number 4 in the world when it comes to crypto adoption.
Cryptographic digital assets are presently a more standard piece of the worldwide monetary framework than they used to be, and that means – for better or worse – it’s unavoidably a piece of the global struggle, as well. This is on full showcase as Russian powers attack Ukraine. A few Ukrainians are likewise going to crypto as an option in contrast to Ukrainian monetary foundations, which are restricting individuals’ admittance to financial accounts and foreign money. In a situation where states are in turmoil, it’s challenging to depend on conventional banks, and there’s apprehension about possible reconnaissance. So a generally anonymous framework where no administration is involved is engaging.
It’s unknown how long the war will continue, but one thing is for sure; it’s opened our eyes to the usefulness of crypto not just on a personal level and in our everyday lives, but also in geopolitical global battles.
