Ukraine Is Turning To Online Crypto Crowdfunding

Skip to Content

Russia has stunned the world with the speed of its advance through Ukraine this week. Part of the reason it’s overwhelmed its neighbor so quickly, beyond the shock timing, is the vast imbalance between the two countries’ military resources. At $6 billion, Ukraine’s defense budget is just 10% of Russia’s, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 

Desperate to raise cash, and quickly, Ukrainians are resorting to crowdfunding for military equipment. GoFundMe is full of pages that purport to be raising money for Ukrainians in need, and the website of the Ukrainian foundation Come Back Alive, a nonprofit charity benefiting the country’s military, has raised a staggering $4 million in cryptocurrencies as of Friday, with a single anonymous donation clocking in at $3 million. 

New Elliptic research shows how war in the Ukraine is being crowdfunded with #crypto. Crypto funds are used to equip the Ukrainian army and fund cyberattacks against Russia. Crypto donations to these groups increased by over 900% in 2021. https://t.co/7clIA9hZYz pic.twitter.com/1PXcyqfDKG

— Elliptic (@elliptic) February 8, 2022

Military-focused crowdfunding efforts are not a new phenomenon for Ukraine. Nor is using cryptocurrency for the purpose. In 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea, crowdfunding funneled funds to the country’s army and wider armed resistance, buying medical equipment and military supplies. Civilians have signed up to fight alongside the country’s military with government-provided weapons.

Volunteers lined up to receive their weapons on Friday after the Ukrainian government’s announcement that it would arm civilians to resist the Russian invasion. Once armed, they took cover as jets flew overhead.https://t.co/NPiAq4KROd pic.twitter.com/oqjk9gOhDi

— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 25, 2022

Today, the Come Back Alive Foundation is one of the largest, most prominent groups assisting Ukrainian forces. It was founded in 2014 by Vitaliy Deynega, a Kyiv-based volunteer who began to raise money and supply bulletproof vests to soldiers fighting in the Donbas region of Ukraine immediately after Russia annexed Crimea. Deynega wrote “Come Back Alive” on each vest, inspiring the name of his group. Its efforts have been promoted by the Ukrainian government, which has called Come Back Alive “Ukraine’s main charity fund.” Potential donors have also been directed to the National Bank of Ukraine’s “special account” through American and British Chase Bank accounts. 

But on Thursday, the foundation encountered a major setback: one of its primary sources of international funding, the crowdfunding platform Patreon, kicked it off. It remained offline as of 1 p.m. US Eastern time on Friday, February 25. 

A Patreon spokesperson cited the company’s policy on “harmful and illegal activities” to justify the move, saying: “Patreon does not allow any campaigns involved in violence or purchasing of military equipment, regardless of their cause. We have suspended the campaign in question while we investigate.”

The backlash from Ukrainians was swift. Critics accused the platform of cutting off a crucial lifeline for self-defense against Russia and questioned why it had made the decision now, given that the page had been online for years. 

Patreon has become the go-to source for crowdfunding in this conflict; other established Ukrainian organizations like the English-language media outlet the Kyiv Independent also raise funds on the platform. Thus far, GoFundMe has not released any statements on the Ukrainian crowdfunding that’s taking place on its platform.

Such platforms hold tremendous power for their ability to help people raise and move vast sums of cash. But one problem they face is that, especially in the fog of war, it isn’t always clear who is giving and receiving money. There are already countless Ukraine-related scams floating around the internet. To offer an example, one Twitter account was previously used for gambling. Now it’s sharing Bitcoin links and claims to be raising money to help fund the fight against Russia. 

• Popular

  1. 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2026Amy Nordrum
  2. The great AI hype correction of 2025Will Douglas Heaven
  3. The 8 worst technology flops of 2025Antonio Regalado
  4. China figured out how to sell EVs. Now it has to deal with their aging batteries.Caiwei Chen

Keep Reading

Most Popular

10 Breakthrough Technologies 2026

Here are our picks for the advances to watch in the years ahead—and why we think they matter right now.

By

• Amy Nordrumarchive page

The great AI hype correction of 2025

Four ways to think about this year's reckoning.

By

• Will Douglas Heavenarchive page

The 8 worst technology flops of 2025

The Cybertruck, sycophantic AI, and humanoid robots all made this year’s list of the biggest technology failures.

By

• Antonio Regaladoarchive page

China figured out how to sell EVs. Now it has to deal with their aging batteries.

As early electric cars age out, hundreds of thousands of used batteries are flooding the market, fueling a gray recycling economy even as Beijing and big manufacturers scramble to build a more orderly system.

By

• Caiwei Chenarchive page

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates fromMIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Enter your emailPrivacy Policy

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at [email protected] with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.