Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has deeply impacted the Olliv team and our thoughts and prayers are with the Ukrainian people and those around the world affected by this unprovoked attack.

The understandable response to this emotional situation might be, “What can I do to help?” We've decided to make a cryptocurrency donation and this is one of the scenarios where the utility of decentralized finance (DeFi) makes an immediate and significant difference.

Crypto’s positive role in global humanitarian aid

The ease of cross-border humanitarian aid is one of the built-in advantages to cryptocurrency. Besides quickly and effortlessly sending funds across the globe directly to those who are being impacted by humanitarian crises, crypto can withstand pressures from external factors in ways that traditional monetary aid can't. For example, if banking networks get shut down or a fiat currency collapses, crypto can serve as a hedge against these external pressures thanks to its decentralized nature. And traveling with crypto is far less fraught than extracting money from a bank because a crypto wallet is either installed on a smartphone or as portable as a mini USB drive. And that’s why we’re highlighting the ways that the crypto community can donate directly to the people of Ukraine.

How the international crypto community can help Ukraine

If you are looking for ways to donate crypto to Ukraine, the country’s official Twitter account has posted wallet addresses to receive bitcoin (BTC), ethereum, and USDT (ERC-20) donations. Shortly after the initial call for donations went live, @Ukraine also enabled donations made via the cross-chain Polkadot (DOT) network. More types of accepted crypto donations are expected to follow. Stay tuned to the official Twitter handle of the Ukrainian government for updates.

Learn more about the ways crypto accelerates global humanitarian aid by keeping up with the Olliv blog.