Bitcoin for Navalny: $120K donated during weekend protests
A Bitcoin address tied to prominent Putin critic Alexei Navalny received 3.5 BTC ($120,000) as protests unfolded across Russia this weekend.
Supporters have so far donated more in January than any month since September 2018, back when Navalny was finishing up one of his many other prison sentences.
Navalny-linked Bitcoin addresses (there’s two) have now received 729.9 BTC since their creation in 2016 and 2017 — a stash worth more than $25 million at today’s prices.
Of that, nearly 7.5 BTC ($260,000) came in after Navalny was admitted to hospital for Novichok poisoning last August.
One of the addresses has also received about $74,000 worth of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) over the years, however there’s been no BCH donations for nearly five months.
Even if Navalny’s non-profit immediately exchanged its Bitcoin for fiat on receipt, Protos calculated it would’ve netted almost $4.3 million.
[Read more: Putin critic Navalny’s non-profit is still receiving Bitcoin]
Bitcoin was scandalous for Navalny
It should be noted that while Navalny’s campaign once advertised the two addresses we analyzed, his non-profit FBK does not currently list Bitcoin as an official fundraising tool for legal reasons.
However, Navalny’s campaign website directed supporters to visit a second website with a name that translates to Navalny’s Headquarters. That site still accepts Bitcoin donations using the same address found on archived copies of 2018.navalny.com.
Navalny’s Bitcoin caused a huge stir in 2019, when local media RT claimed FBK was fielding political donations via crypto as payment for high-profile investigations into allegedly corrupt Russian officials.
In any case, the Bitcoin flowing into Navalny’s crypto war chest still leaves just as quickly. The 3.5 BTC it received during protests this weekend has already been taken out, but it’s unclear what happened to it after that.