Ukraine-based blockchain firm blasts 'fake news' for crypto donation rumors amid FTX collapse

cointelegraph.com:

Everstake, a blockchain firm that partnered with the Ukrainian government to launch a donation website amid the country’s war with Russia, has pushed back against online rumors and conspiracy theories that the platform was used for politically motivated money laundering. 

Ukrainian government officials partnered with Everstake, Kuna and the now infamous crypto exchange FTX to launch Aid for Ukraine in March following the Russian military’s invasion. According to the platform, crypto users and Ukraine supporters sent roughly $60 million in crypto and fiat aimed at supporting Ukraine’s armed forces and other humanitarian causes. However, with FTX’s liquidity issues and bankruptcy, Sam Bankman-Fried seemingly falling from grace, and possible legal action against the firm and its executives, social media users have taken many liberties with the truth speculating over the final destination of the crypto donations.

The conspiracy theories promulgated online falsely claim that due to its association with FTX and Bankman-Fried’s previous political donations, Aid for Ukraine’s funds ended up being funneled to the United States Democratic Party. An Everstake spokesperson branded such rumors as Russian propaganda, which was spread by North Carolina Representative Madison Cawthorn’s Twitter account, and “biased media, like Fox News and Russia Today.”

According to Everstake, the false claims do not “correspond with reality” given that the majority of the funds already went towards helmets, bulletproof vests, and night vision technology for Ukraine’s military, as the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov reported in August. The spokesperson added that the situation with FTX “does not affect the operation of Aid For Ukraine,”