Binance’s $10M donation adds to the growing support funds for Ukraine

• The Binance Charity Foundation has also set up a crypto-priority emergency relief fund
• The Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund is nearing $6 million in donations.

According to an announcement posted by Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao, the world’s largest crypto exchange by transaction volume has donated $10 million to help in the crisis resulting from the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine.

The exchange’s non-profit charitable arm has also started a crowdfunding initiative and lobbied for crypto donations which will be used to help allay the situation in the country.

“#Binance is donating $10M to help the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine & @BinanceBCF launched the crypto-first crowdfunding Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund. Our focus is providing on-the-ground support. We just care about the people,” CZ wrote.

The emergency relief fund has so far received more than a quarter of its goal of nearly $20 million. At the time of writing, the exact figure is $5,928,884.09.

“Watching this conflict escalate over the past four days has shocked our community to its core. We are proud to have been able to quickly rally our network to provide relief and support on the ground to those in need. This includes helping provide food, fuel, supplies, and shelter for Ukrainians, which include countless Binance community members,” Zhao said in a statement.

More action could follow

Binance said that the $10 million donation would be divided among the leading organisations helping deal with the crisis. Some notable ones are People in Need, UNICEF, iSans, UNHCR, and UN Refugee Agency. A fraction of the funds will be allocated to assisting displaced communities.

The exchange is additionally working with refugee groups to hasten the movement across the borders for Ukrainians fleeing the conflict.

Further, Binance has recently confirmed that it is taking the relevant actions against entities sanctioned by the West following the Russian incursion. A spokesperson from the exchange said a compliance task force with sanctions professionals is working on implementing the necessary measures, with an intention to avoid uninvolved casualties.

Support initiatives for the Ukrainian people

The news of Binance’s donation comes amid a growing number of efforts to support Ukraine that sprung up over the weekend.

According to a tweet shared by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, as a collective effort involving blockchain investment group PleasrDAO, NFT creators Trippy Lab, and punk protest art group Pussy Riot, UkraineDAO was launched on Saturday. The DAO is focused on raising funds to support the citizens suffering as a consequence of the war.

The Ukrainian government has also set up Bitcoin and Ethereum wallets towards the same initiative, and according to Elliptic, the addresses had received $12.1 million by yesterday.

According to the post by the blockchain analytics firm (last updated yesterday), the government of Ukraine and other organisations have in total received $18.9 million so far to support the military. The donations are primarily denominated in BTC – 56.4%, followed by ETH – 31.8%, and stablecoins take a collective third place with a 10.9% share.