Uniswap builds interface to swap altcoins into ETH donations for Ukraine

On Tuesday, decentralized exchange Uniswap launched an interface that directly converts ERC-20 tokens — such as Aave, Chainlink’s LINK and Decentraland’s MANA — to Ether (ETH). The coins are then sent to the official crypto wallet addresses of the Ukrainian government, all in a single transaction. 

In explaining the rollout, Uniswap claimed that the address shared by Ukraine is located on a centralized exchange and only accepts Ether and Tether (USDT). Thus, the feature simplifies the donation process for anyone holding ERC-20 tokens on Uniswap’s list and who wishes to donate by connecting their wallet to the DEX.

2/ The address shared by the Ukrainian government is a centralized exchange that appears to accept only USDT and ETH. We built this interface so anyone who wants to donate but holds other ERC-20 tokens can do so with one click.https://t.co/0BfhARcgxS

— Uniswap Labs (@Uniswap) March 1, 2022

But in a tweet cited by the Uniswap team, some members of the crypto community express concern that “The keys to these wallets are held by a centralized Ukrainian exchange” and are asking for a more “secure custody approach.” Nevertheless, Ukraine rolled out support for donations in Polkadot’s DOT earlier today. Polkadot’s founder, Gavin Wood, personally donated $5.8 million in DOT to the newly supported address. The blockchain community has been active in helping Ukraine resist an ongoing war. Donations aside, efforts such as nonfungible tokens drops to support Ukrainian artists and UkraineDAO have also gained traction. 

Per data tracked by Cointelegraph, the Ukrainian government and nonprofit organizations operating in the country have received more than $53 million in donations at the time of publication. The numbers are based on tracked projects and do not account for donations between individuals or those made via various altcoins. Notable donation initiatives include Kuna’s Reserve Fund of Ukraine, Come Back Alive, and Bitcoin (BTC), Ether, Tether and DOT sent directly to wallet addresses verified by the Ukrainian government. It’s worth noting, however, that the surge in the donations’ value partly stems from capital appreciation due to an ongoing rally in the cryptocurrency markets.