It's been a tough, disheartening week since we last saw each other, friends. Not sure about you, but we're feeling at a loss for words. It feels inappropriate to just proceed with this as we normally would so instead we're dedicating this space to the people of Ukraine and the ways people have organized and rallied around them, as well as a few ways to help.

Quip of the Week

The resilience of the Ukrainian people has been evident this past week. 

The Latest

Ukraine receives $35M+ in crypto donations

The official Ukraine Twitter account posted on the weekend asking for donations in Bitcoin or Ethereum. Because of the transparency of the technology, you can view the total donations, major donors and more. I have to admit, it was incredibly inspiring seeing donations pour in live on Etherscan from around the world. They've since expanded to accepting Dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies as the vice president of Ukraine tweeted "@dogecoin exceeded Russian ruble in value. We start to accept donations in meme coin. Now even meme can support our army and save lives from Russian invaders.” 

NFTs as a funding mechanism to support Ukraine

UkraineDAO was organized by a few DAOs in partnership with Ukrainian humanitarian activists to raise funds for organizations helping civilians impacted by the war. Their iniatiative was simple but effective: hold an auction on PartyBid for a 1/1 Ukrainian flag NFT. They've already raised over $5 million. Another initiative, RELI3F, was an NFT collection featuring 37 artists, including some who call Ukraine home. They were able to raise $1M in 30 seconds, fully selling out the collection. 

Ways to help - from crypto to fiat

• To contribute with crypto, consider donating to the above addresses posted by the (verified) Ukrainian government twitter account

• To channel your funds through a Canadian organization, consider donating to this effort by the Canada-Ukraine Foundation

• To support some of the marginalized populations in Ukraine, particularly individuals of African descent who have been experiencing anti-Black racism and discrimination in leaving the country, consider this PayPal campaign

• if you want to learn more and consider ways to help beyond financial, considering reading this comprehensive Notion doc

Ok So What?: the precedence war sets for crypto

SWIFT action against Russia results in tanking ruble, growing crypto

As Russia begins to be hit with sanctions and cut off from centralized exchanges like SWIFT (effectively blocking Russia's ability to conduct international transactions), crypto takes on a whole new meaning and value.A surge has already been seen in Bitcoin and Ethereum buying, with analysts saying the increased demand is coming from Russian and Ukrainian buyers, likely a direct response from the tanking Russian ruble due to the sanctions and resulting instability of the current financial system.

Ok so what?

Governments and people everywhere (including here in Canada) are starting to see the downfall of the current systems: financial censorship that can cripple them with a single press of a button. Everyone is starting to see the value of crypto and it will likely change the way that governments approach their reserves in the future, and the way individuals approach how and where they hold their assets.Beyond its ability to bypass financial censorship, crypto has also helped the world mobilize and support Ukraine financially across borders, as we've seen in the stories above. We love it. We're here for it. But what if this was used in the reverse case in the future, with crypto being leveraged to fund dictators who want to start wars? It feels a little less wonderful to imagine a world where these types of sanctions and measures can't be imposed, where fighting with banks is not a substitute for fighting with tanks. Yes, crypto ultimately is a technology and a tool that is not inherently "good" nor "bad". But despite that, we have to wonder what can be done to ensure that we can maximize "good actors" in these new systems and minimize "bad actors" as much as possible moving forward.

Want to dive in more?

Something to read

• War in the time of crypto

• Canada needs crypto 

• A Web3 Guide for Absolute Beginners 

Something to do

• Join our discord

• Check in with friends and family

Some Crypto Lingo

• WAGMI - we're all gonna make it

• memecoin - an internet joke coin

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Till next time,

w3 the North