From The Economist:
Crypto may turn out to be far more useful to those looking to move in the open, rather than in the shadows. On February 26th the official Ukrainian Twitter account published digital-wallet addresses through which it is accepting bitcoin, ethereum and other tokens. Nearly $100m-worth of tokens has since been donated. Much of this is being spent on things like bulletproof vests and night-vision goggles, according to Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine’s deputy minister for digital transformation. In extreme events, where it is helpful to shrink the time that elapses between someone deciding to make a donation and that money being put to work, crypto has an obvious advantage. Tokens can be sent to another wallet in seconds, whereas international bank transfers can take days.
All this makes for an interesting transition for crypto. The conflict in Ukraine has brought into focus the financial-crime risks it poses, but also the advantages of speed and ease of transfer it offers over fiat currency—which could help during or after other types of extreme, time-sensitive events too, such as natural disasters. The war makes it clear that there are serious uses for crypto, but that it can expect to be policed more seriously, too.
Western Decline 