Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation, FTX, and Everstake Launch Crypto Fundraising Site Aid For Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine, March 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The official website for Aid For Ukraine, an initiative that raises funds from the crypto community for the benefit of Ukraine's military and humanitarian needs, has officially launched. The initiative is powered by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, FTX, and Everstake. This is the first instance of a cryptocurrency exchange providing a conduit for crypto donations to a public financial institution.

The launch of an official website enables users from around the world to have a simple way to make cryptocurrency donations to Ukraine. Anyone is now able to select the desirable amount in selected cryptocurrencies to donate, connect a wallet, and confirm a transaction within the same user-friendly interface.

The fundraising process will be traceable in real-time on the website. The overall amount of donations will be summed up and tentatively expressed in USD at the Coingecko rate.

The website also makes it possible to add more cryptocurrencies to the initiative thanks to the involvement of Everstake, the biggest decentralized staking provider in the industry. The company's officers are in direct contact with the community representatives willing to take part in helping the people of Ukraine. The crypto community does not want to stand aside and watch Ukrainians suffer from the unprovoked aggression by the Russian Federation and the subsequent humanitarian disaster unseen in Europe since the Balkan war.

"Freedom has always been at the bedrock of the crypto community. It is the same fundamental value that Ukraine is currently fighting for, and the crypto community expressed its strong desire to help Ukraine right after the onset of this abysmal war. As a part of this great community and as a Ukraine-based company we feel an obligation to help in whatever way we can. That is how and why Aid For Ukraine came to be," Sergey Vasilchuk, CEO at Everstake said.

So far, users can donate to the existing wallets of the Ministry of Digital Transformation in BTC, ETH, USDT (TRC-20), DOT, SOL, DOGE, and XMR. The initiative has also added ICX, EOS, and NEO. Aid For Ukraine will add other cryptocurrencies over time.

"ICON Foundation is joining global community efforts by pledging $1M towards aid and relief for the Ukrainian people. I hope that our technology and community can make a small contribution in this time of need," Min Kim, founder of ICON states.

Aid For Ukraine is cooperating with the cryptocurrency exchange FTX which converts crypto funds received into fiat and sends the donations to the National Bank of Ukraine. This marks the first-ever instance of a cryptocurrency exchange directly cooperating with a public financial entity to provide a conduit for crypto donations. Earlier this month, FTX already converted $1 million worth of SOL and transferred it to the National Bank of Ukraine.

"At the onset of the conflict in Ukraine, FTX felt the need to provide assistance in any way it could. By working with the Ministry of Digital Transformation to set up payment rails and facilitate the conversion of crypto donations into fiat currency, we have given the National Bank of Ukraine the ability to deliver aid and resources to the people who need it most. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Sergey and the Everstake team as they continue to work tirelessly in helping Ukrainians as they suffer from this conflict," Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and CEO of FTX commented.

The crypto community has already donated more than $80 million to Ukraine, with over $50 million going to the official accounts of Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation. Aid For Ukraine seeks to raise more donations for Ukraine in the crypto community. Every contribution is important and valuable. 

"Today, crypto is playing a significant role in Ukraine's defense. Crypto assets proved extremely helpful in facilitation of funding flows to Ukrainian citizens and soldiers, as well as in raising awareness and engaging people worldwide. The amount of crypto crowdfunding for our country is already the biggest in history so far. We expect that the NFT collection will give the next boost to the crypto fundraising process. Huge thanks to the crypto community for this unprecedented support of Ukraine and its defense of the principles of democracy and freedom in face of the war waged by the Russian Federation," Oleksandr Bornyakov, the Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine on IT industry development said.

The funds will be used to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine as well as Ukrainian civilians in dire need of humanitarian aid.

To learn more about Aid For Ukraine and support its efforts, please visit: https://donate.thedigital.gov.ua/.

About the initiators of Aid For Ukraine

About the Ministry of Digital Transformation
The Ministry of Digital Transformation is one of the governmental authorities in Ukraine. Main mission is to build the most convenient and user-friendly country in the world. The Ministry is focused on creating "state in a smartphone". This combines both Diia mobile application and Diia web portal, where citizens store e-docs and get access to public services.

The Ministry's vision is that the state should not be associated with a scary monster, corruption and bureaucracy, but become a convenient friendly service. State must provide quality and efficient service to citizens and businesses. This global goal is expanded into 4 specific strategic goals of the Ministry until 2024:

• Transfer 100% of all public services for citizens and businesses online.
• Provide 95% of transport infrastructure, settlements and their social facilities with access to high-speed Internet.
• To teach 6 million Ukrainians digital skills.
• Increase the share of IT in the country's GDP to 10%.

About FTX
FTX.COM is a cryptocurrency exchange built by traders, for traders. It offers innovative products, including industry-leading derivatives, options and volatility products, tokenized stocks, prediction markets, leveraged tokens and an OTC desk. FTX.COM strives to be an intuitive yet powerful platform for all kinds of users, and to be the most innovative exchange in the industry. FTX.COM has grown quickly since its founding, becoming one of the most respected cryptocurrency exchanges in the world in less than 3 years.

To learn more about FTX.COM, please visit: https://ftx.com/

FTX.COM is not available to US residents or residents of other prohibited jurisdictions, as set out in its Terms of Service.

About Everstake
Everstake is a Ukraine-based company and the biggest decentralized staking provider in the blockchain industry, trusted by 625,000 users. The company has used enterprise-level hardware to run nodes for the most popular blockchain networks since 2018. Everstake employs 100+ experts across the world and creates complex blockchain products, such as lending protocols, staking pools, blockchain bridges, and marketplaces. The company has been heavily involved in the development of projects like Metaplex, Wormhole, and Everlend.

Media contacts
Liliia Tulupenko, PR & Communications at the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine: tulupenko@thedigital.gov.ua
M Group Strategic Communications (for FTX): ftx@mgroupsc.com
Vlad Likhuta, Head of Growth at Everstake: v.likhuta@everstake.one