According to cryptocurrency specialists, anonymous Bitcoin donations have raised at least $13.7 million for the Ukrainian war effort.

According to Elliptic, a blockchain research firm, the Ukrainian government, NGOs, and volunteer organisations raised the funds by posting their Bitcoin wallet addresses on the internet. So far, over 4,000 gifts have been made, with one anonymous contributor sending $3 million in Bitcoin to an NGO.

The average gift value is $95.

The Ukraine government posted a message on its official Twitter account on Saturday saying “Stand with the people of Ukraine. Now accepting cryptocurrency donations. Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT.”

It published the addresses of two cryptocurrency wallets that received $5.4 million in Bitcoin, Ether, and other currencies in less than eight hours.

The current appeal for donations, according to the Ukrainian Digital Ministry, is to “assist Ukraine’s military forces,” although it does not specify how the funds would be spent.

“Whereas some crowdfunding and payments companies have refused to allow donations to be made to groups supporting the Ukrainian military, cryptocurrencies have emerged as a powerful alternative,” said Elliptic founder Tom Robinson.

On Friday, Patreon reported that the contribution page for “Come Back Alive,” a Ukrainian NGO that has been gathering funds for Ukrainian military in combat zones since 2014, had been stopped.

Patreon said the page violated the company’s policies, saying in a statement: “We don’t allow Patreon to be used for funding weapons or military activity.”

Cryptocurrency fundraising is becoming a bigger aspect of today’s conflicts all around the world.

Scammers, on the other hand, appear to be using the present crisis in Ukraine by duping innocent people.

Elliptic claims that at least one social media post was discovered to be a replica of a valid tweet from an NGO, with the author substituting their own Bitcoin address for the NGO’s.

(Adapted from BBC.com)