The government of Finland has decided to put the Bitcoin (BTC) they have seized over the several years to good use. A total of €75 million worth of Bitcoin is currently with the Finland government, who plans to donate it to Ukraine.
Customs has, over the years, launched operations against drug trafficking and several other crimes. These operations have resulted in a large accumulation of Bitcoins.
The government is willing to give a part of it to Ukraine in its current struggle against the attack launched by Russia.
A government official said, “Of course, no universal money is earmarked that way. But here, as if mentally, this money from bitcoins is earmarked so that it can be used to support Ukraine.”
The initiative has been discussed earlier this year in Finland. The authorities have even sought the confirmation of Sauli Niinistö, the President.
How much Bitcoin will be donated remains in the hands of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There have been rumors that all of the seized Bitcoins might be donated.
Even though Ukraine accepts direct cryptocurrency donations, for political reasons such as the possibility of crypto being linked to crime, the government of Finland cannot donate the Bitcoins directly.
The Customs department has already employed Coinmotion and Tesseract, two digital asset service providers to serve as brokers for the donation.
Thus, the customs will give 1,981 BTC to these companies who will sell them and convert them into fiat currency, which will then be sent to Ukraine.
In the constant barrage of attacks against Ukraine by Russia, Ukraine has received massive support from nations and organizations around the globe in the form of crypto donations. Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin made a silent and substantial donation to Ukraine of 1500 ETH which converts to around $5 million, just this month.
Renowned former NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly sold his first-ever NFT, “Dreams Out of this World” to support Ukrainian victims by donating 100% of net proceeds to the Global Empowerment Mission.
