The United Nations decided to aid people who have been displaced from Ukraine due to the Russia war with cryptocurrency.  The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the refugee agency of the organization.  The UNHCR is looking to send cryptocurrency to fund for rent, food, and heat in USDC.  USDC is a stable coin pegged to the US Dollar.

UPROOTED UKRAINIANS AND MONEYGRAM

Ukrainians who have been uprooted will be able to exchange it for cash at MoneyGram locations from across the world. Thus, with the use of USDC, displaced Ukrainian’s will be able to get some funds to keep survived.  The USDC will be sent to eligible recipients to Vibrant – A Stellar-based digital wallet. Vibrant was specifically designed to expand access to dollar-based stable coins such as USDC.

ANOTHER LAYER OF USDC CONVERSION IN AID

Critics state that adding another layer of conversion to getting aid when the cryptocurrency market is already in trouble will be risky and problematic.  However, the deal here is that since the USDC is at par with USD value, there is little to lose in exchanges.  The worry is about the conversion process as several cryptocurrency exchanges are filing for bankruptcy and the blown-up fear is about the money getting locked in wallets in unsure exchanges.

MONEY GRAM AND USDC CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGES

Money Gram is a global Money Transfer Service.  Ukrainians can now exchange their USDC with Money Gram.

UNHCR treasurer Carmen Hett, clarified stating, “With the USDC being given in aid to uprooted Ukrainians they are not going to be exposed to the unsavory parts of the cryptocurrency space. The purpose of the aid in USDC is not to provide training to anyone in gambling or enticement to that effect.”

HUMANITARIAN ACTION AND SPEED

Karolina Lindholm Billing, the UNHCR representative to Ukraine, is said to have implied that speed is very important when it comes to rendering humanitarian action. Also, when it comes to receiving aid, people need to have a range of options because one size does not fit all.

The UNHCR has been collaborating for years with different technology groups.  This has now helped in delivering quick assistance and therefore it is not possible to send aid quickly to the recipients.

UN AID PROGRAM REAL LIFE USE CASE

 Several months after Russia has invaded Ukraine it is now possible to send direct funds to refugees and the Ukrainian Government.

Previously reports were launched about Ukrainian government launching cryptocurrency donation website in March – backed by FTX. There were also some viral conspiracy theories about FTX being used by Ukraine to launder money.  There was no evidence for such claims and the reality is that neither Zelensky nor Ukraine have invested even a cent in to FTX, let alone billions.