On February 24th at 9 am, 20 y/o Fadey woke up in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv to his phone being blown up with messages from his friends asking what was happening on the ground in his location. As Fadey scrambled to check the news, he concluded that His country was under attack from one of the most powerful military forces on the globe and that he had to get out.
Fadey, who has chosen to remain anonymous, realized that if he wanted to make it out of Ukraine, he would have to get through the border before it was locked down by officials. If he was unsuccessful, he would undoubtedly be forced to stare down his death by having to serve on the frontline, due to the conscription for Ukrainian nationals ages 18 to 60. He Identified the 2 key things he needed in order to get out, money and a negative Covid test.
Fadey Had one dire issue, due to the large queues of people at ATMs he couldn’t withdraw any cash, and there was no way he could afford to wait. Thankfully he had a couple thousand dollars saved in Bitcoin. He quickly found a friend and made a $600 exchange of his Bitcoin for złoty, (the polish national currency) in order to pay for transportation, food, and a place to stay for him and his girlfriend. Fadey was then able to get across the border with 40% of his savings – $2,000 in Bitcoin – on a USB hard drive secured by a password.
Because of its lightning-fast and dirt-cheap settling process, and its peer-to-peer nature, Bitcoin was a literal lifesaver. Furthermore, it can be stored almost anywhere, between a digital wallet, a hardware wallet, or even a USB hard drive, making it more convenient and secure than cash.
Fadeys story highlights a couple of key features of why Bitcoin is wildly valuable, these being:
It’s secured directly to its owner via a password that is not stored anywhere, essentially making it money that can literally be stored in an individual’s brain technically speaking.
It’s Valid across borders and can be exchanged peer-to-peer, from anyone to anyone, and for anything, while remaining off the record, like physical cash. Yes, the transaction can be seen on the blockchain, but it can’t be tied to an individual’s identity.
Ukraine’s financial system has been drastically constrained by the War:
- ATMs have been running out of cash
- $33 limits per transaction have been implemented
- Central bank suspended electronic cash transfers
- No one could transfer money out of their national bank account
- The national currency has steeply declined
As a result, people have resorted to cryptocurrency. Despite its current volatility, its utility has shined through the darkness of crisis, and between the recent examples in Canada and Ukraine, its value has very much begun to manifest.