Abstract：A Ukrainian refugee has reached Poland with approximately 40% of his life savings held in Bitcoin.
A Ukrainian refugee, who goes by the pseudonym Fadey, has reached Poland with $2,000 worth of Bitcoin held in a USB drive.
“I couldn‘t withdraw cash at all, because queues to ATMs were so long, and I couldn’t wait that much time,” Fadey told CNBC. The funds reportedly represent approximately 40% of his life savings. “I could just write my seed phrase on a piece of paper and take it with me.”
Fadey also said that he made a peer-to-peer exchange with a friend, and traded $600 worth of his Bitcoin savings for Polands national currency, złoty.
He used these funds to pay for transport into Poland, a hostel, and some food.
Ukraine and Crypto
Fadey added that he was unable to transfer his traditional funds to Poland—hence the importance of crypto to his financial welfare.
Other than his Bitcoin holdings, Fadey also holds an undisclosed amount of the privacy cryptocurrency Monero on Binance.
Fadey‘s story is just one part of Ukraine’s growing reliance on cryptocurrencies in the wake of Russias invasion last month.
On February 26, 2022, just two days after Russias invasion of Ukraine began, the Ukrainian government announced that it was receiving donations in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Per blockchain records, these addresses have received over $15 million and $24 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum, respectively.
