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Ukraine-based blockchain firm announces ‘we’re still hiring’ amid market downturn, war

According to the CEO, Everstake had made preparations for a “special fund” to tide the firm over in the event of a bear market.

Sergey Vasylchuk, the chief executive officer of Ukraine-based decentralized staking provider Everstake, has said the company will continue to hire crypto professionals amid a market downturn and ongoing conflict in the country. 

In a Wednesday Twitter thread, Vasylchuk said Everstake had hired 30 people since the Russian war against Ukraine started in February, and the firm still had more than 10 positions in marketing and development to fill. According to the CEO, Everstake is “not firing anybody” and had made preparations for a “special fund” to tide the firm over in the event of a bear market.

“An important part of doing business is assessing and addressing all potential risks,” said Vasylchuk. “We couldn’t help but expect another market crash simply because risk management dictates that one must always expect things to go south.”

The Everstake CEO hinted that part of this preparation was due to the possibility Russian forces would invade Ukraine. Vasylchuk said similar precautions taken in the event of a market downturn had allowed the firm to avoid letting employees go — “though I must admit we underestimated the risks of Terra,” he added — and turn the crisis into an opportunity.

Many firms operating in the crypto space from the United States and across the world have reported downsizing as trillions of dollars have vanished from the market in the last 30 days. Coinbase, Gemini, and Crypto.com announced that between 5-20% of their workers would be cut amid the bear market, while Kraken said it would continue hiring for more than 500 roles in various departments.

Related: FINRA may hire employees terminated from crypto firms: Report

Along with Kuna, Everstake is a Ukraine-based company in the crypto space that has coordinated with the local government to launch a crypto donation website aimed at military and humanitarian aid amid the conflict with Russia. Since the war began in February, the firm has helped accept more than $100 million in donations in the form of nonfungible tokens and major cryptocurrencies.

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Ukrainian government launches crypto donation website with FTX, Kuna and Everstake

Users have sent more than $48 million USD in crypto to government wallet addresses, roughly 24% of the platform’s $200 million goal.

Crypto exchanges FTX and Kuna and staking platform Everstake have partnered with Ukrainian government officials to launch a donation website for users wishing to send crypto to help the country and its people.

In a Monday announcement, Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation said the government had launched Aid for Ukraine, a platform that accepts donations in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), Polkadot (DOT), Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), Monero (XMR), Icon (ICX), and Neo (NEO) “to support people in their fight for freedom.” Many parts of the country have been under attack by Russia’s military since Feb. 24.

According to the website, users have sent more than $48 million in crypto at the time of publication, roughly 24% of the platform’s $200 million goal. The funds will be sent to the National Bank of Ukraine and used for “ammunition and necessities” to support the country’s armed forces and humanitarian aid programs. Fiat donations to Ukraine’s central bank in various currencies are also accepted.

“Aid For Ukraine shows how the global crypto community and the traditional financial system can work together,” said Solana Labs co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko. “Crypto donations to the DAO are stored and governed on-chain, then transferred to FTX, a centralized exchange, to be sold for fiat USD sent via SWIFT to the Ukrainian government.”

The platform consolidated the list of wallet addresses previously provided by the Ukrainian government using its Twitter account. However, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some crypto firms have also announced they would be donating to Ukraine. Kraken pledged to distribute $1,000 to each user who created an account in the country before March 9, while the Bored Ape Yacht Club said it would match a $1 million donation in ETH.

Related: Ally or suspect? The war in Ukraine as a stress test for the crypto industry

Cointelegraph reported that as of March 9, various organizations and government-run wallets have received more than $108 million towards helping Ukraine. The funds intended for Ukrainians come amid Russia facing economic stress due to sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union. Many private businesses including major banking firm Goldman Sachs, Visa and Mastercard have all cut ties with the country in the last two weeks.

Cointelegraph reached out to FTX, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

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