Fighting economic warfare with crypto’s double-edged sword
In his monthly crypto tech column, Israeli serial entrepreneur Ariel Shapira covers emerging technologies within the crypto, decentralized finance and blockchain space, as well as their roles in shaping the economy of the 21st century.
Economic warfare can’t be separated from geopolitical conflict, and just like in the violence of physical war, innocent civilians often fall in the crosshairs. The advent of cryptocurrency, however, is slightly transforming the dynamic this time around. As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sends shockwaves across the global markets, many are championing digital assets as a safe haven during destruction and unrest. Indeed, Russians and Ukrainians are taking advantage of the traditional-finance alternative.
On the Ukrainian front, crypto has been leveraged as a tool to raise funds for millions of fleeing refugees and citizens remaining to defend their homeland. The narrative gets more complicated on the Russian front. Some predict that oligarchs could bypass NATO sanctions with crypto. On the other hand, 17.3 million Russians hold crypto. Most of those people certainly aren’t oligarchs. One can reasonably conclude most of them are innocent citizens using digital assets to save their livelihoods.
So, it’s time to clear up the narrative here: The Ukraine crisis has shown crypto as a powerful tool that empowers ordinary people across the globe to assist others in their darkest hour. Crypto has previously been intertwined with charity, with companies like XMANNA, a metaverse gaming platform, giving back 40% of its profits to users via rewards. Now, crypto’s once low-key charitable side is being weaponized publicly to support Ukrainian refugees and innocent Russians alike.
Related: Crypto offers Russia no
Read more on cointelegraph.com
