Ukraine’s Deputy Digital Minister Rejects ‘FTX-Democrats Narrative’

Claims that Ukraine has invested military aid into the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX have been rebutted by a representative of the Ukrainian government. Speculation circulated on social media suggested such funds have been returning to the U.S. via FTX donations for the Democratic Party.

Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Oleksandr (Alex) Bornyakov, has rejected claims that money sent in support of his war-torn nation has been invested in FTX, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges which is currently in bankruptcy proceedings.

The rumors spread on social media last week with some commenters linking the alleged investment in FTX to donations made by the troubled coin trading platform to the Democratic Party in the United States.

#BREAKING ⚡️🇺🇦UKRAINE “MILITARY AID” FROM USA – WAS INVESTED IN CRYPTO “FTX” BY UKRAINE!

— UKR REPORT (@UKR_Report) November 12, 2022

Since the beginning of the Russian military invasion in late February, the Ukrainian government and volunteer organizations have relied heavily on foreign aid to fund their defense and humanitarian efforts. Millions of dollars have been raised through cryptocurrency donations.

A dedicated portal, Aid For Ukraine, was launched in March to collect digital funds. According to its website and Twitter account, more than $60 million, a figure announced in May, in various digital currencies have been received, including over 600 BTC, 10,000 ETH, and 15 million USDT. The current balance of the BTC address provided by the initiative is a little over 0.08 BTC.

The foundation had three main crypto partners: staking service provider Everstake, FTX, and the Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchange Kuna. FTX was employed to convert the donated digital assets into fiat currency, Bornyakov explained in a tweet posted on Monday. He also said the “whole narrative … is nonsense.”

A fundraising crypto foundation @_AidForUkraine used @FTX_Official to convert crypto donations into fiat in March. Ukraine’s gov never invested any funds into FTX. The whole narrative that Ukraine allegedly invested in FTX, who donated money to Democrats is nonsense, frankly 🤦‍️

— Alex Bornyakov (@abornyakov) November 14, 2022

Aid For Ukraine’s latest report on how the money is being spent, published in July, shows that a large portion of the raised cryptocurrency was used to acquire military equipment, including rifle scopes and thermal imagers, radio communication kits, armor vests and helmets, other clothing and field rations, as well as fuel. A global anti-war media campaign has been funded with over $5 million.

Studies conducted by blockchain analytics firms Chainalysis and TRM Labs revealed that pro-Russia groups have been also accepting donations through crypto exchanges and managed to raise millions of dollars in digital coins used to support the Russian side in the military conflict.

What are your thoughts on the alleged Ukrainian investment in crypto exchange FTX? Tell us in the comments section below.