Militias in Ukraine Raise $2.2M in Bitcoin and Ethereum to Support Russia

In Ukraine, organizations supporting Russia are reportedly raising money in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and other cryptocurrencies to finance their operations, according to a new study by on-chain analytics company Chainalysis. According to the research, these organizations raised more than $2.2 million by leveraging social media. The majority of donations have been made using the TRON network-based cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), and USDT. These monies were connected to approximately a dozen social media profiles in the investigation. 1/ Since the start of the war in Ukraine, 54 pro-Russian groups have collectively received over $2.2M worth of #crypto, primarily from BTC and ETH donations. In this thread, we break down who’s receiving these funds and how the donations are being spent. pic.twitter.com/gRpg1z6Smh — Chainalysis (@chainalysis) July 29, 2022 According to other posts, these militias reportedly spend money on medical supplies like first aid kits, SIM cards, communication equipment, and other things. The folks running this supposed account regularly give their funders in-depth reports on the equipment they’ve bought. The paper asserts that even organizations with minimal success in fundraising can contribute to the war effort. A group of people raising $1,000 can combine their resources to buy radios and enhance the militia’s reconnaissance equipment with $3,000 worth...