In December, the United Nations announced a plan to start sending aid to Ukrainians displaced by the ongoing war with Russia using a stablecoin. Beginning in the cities of Kyiv, Lviv and Vinnytsia, the Office of U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) would send direct payments of USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market cap, to people to pay for things like rent, food and heat.
“Speed is of the essence in humanitarian action,” Karolina Lindholm Billing, the UNHCR representative to Ukraine, said in a statement announcing the move. “It’s also essential to provide people with a range of options for receiving aid, as one size does not fit all.” The plan requires people to download a smartphone-based wallet, called Vibrant, and redeem the payments sent via the Stellar blockchain for euros, dollars or Ukrainian hryvnias at one of 4,500 MoneyGram locations.
(By Daniel Kuhn)
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