When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, it wasn’t just unleashing the war – it frozen the financial system. Foreign currency trading was banned under martial law, making it almost impossible to obtain a critical supply at the forefront.
“My teammates on the frontline needed real supplies, but the financial system was down,” Everstake CEO Sergii Vasylchuk told Thestreet Roundtable.
At that time, Crypto intervened.
One of the biggest advantages of crypto is that you don’t have to wait for the usual 3-4 business days that traditional banks take to process their transactions. Even slow networks such as Bitcoin have an average time to process transactions at 10 minutes.
When Russia attacked, Vasylchuk reached out to everyone as much as possible and asked for help. “I tweeted for help. Within a few hours, people are United people,” recalls Vasirchuk. “The foundation sent millions and thousands of small transactions took part around the world.”
“In a few days, we set up a crypto wallet, converted our donations to USDT or USDC, and got our products on the ground,” he said. “It circumvented bank restrictions and concentrated aid where it was needed. Traditional systems couldn’t do that. That’s not nostalgia. That’s true.”
Cryptographers have long argued that the industry lacks true utility, but Vasylchuk disagrees.
“People call Crypto a scam, but they don’t understand its power,” he said.
As CEO of Everstake, a company building blockchain infrastructure and tools, Vasylchuk believes industry promises are far beyond money. From voting verification to digital identity, he sees Crypto as the backbone of future public infrastructure.
Still, he is clear about what it takes to become mainstream: simplicity. “People don’t use cryptography unless it’s easier than what already exists,” he said.