Fintech

A Ukrainian crypto pioneer’s crusade: 'We need to protect our home'

Sergey Vasylchuk, who helped start up the Aid for Ukraine crypto donation project, didn’t even vote for Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but he’s a believer now.

Aid for Ukraine founder and Everstake CEO Sergey Vasylchuk

Aid for Ukraine founder and Everstake CEO Sergey Vasylchuk joined other Ukrainians in setting up a crypto donation campaign.

Photo: Everstake

Sergey Vasylchuk didn’t vote for Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and he thought Ukrainians who voted in the former actor as president three years ago were crazy.

Russia’s invasion of his homeland changed the crypto entrepreneur’s mind.

Vasylchuk, who is founder and CEO of the Ukrainian crypto company Everstake, now sees Zelenskyy as the leader who is “fighting and protecting his country.” And Vasylchuk is doing his part for the resistance from abroad, in part by launching a DAO called Aid for Ukraine to funnel crypto donations to his country.

He had just arrived in the U.S. with his family to attend flight school in Florida when Russia invaded Ukraine. It was a tough time for all of them. His parents and most of his employees bore the brunt of what quickly turned into a brutal offensive.

“I was just emotionally drained,” he said. To “stop feeling useless and helpless,” Vasylchuk joined other Ukrainians in setting up a crypto donation campaign with FTX and Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation. The campaign has already raised more than $60 million in crypto donations.

In an interview with Protocol, Vasylchuk talked about how the war has affected his family and colleagues, the crypto relief effort and the future of crypto in his homeland.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

How did you find out that the war had started?

I probably will never forget this day. It was night, and my wife woke up and said, “It started.” My brain was like, “It’s probably a nightmare.” I just went to sleep and did not pay attention. It was hard to even imagine that it would happen. But then I woke up and opened my phone. I saw thousands of messages, and I was thinking, “What the hell is going on?”

I was just shocked. My parents are still in Ukraine. Many of my friends and employees, they're still there. I could not believe it. It was just shock. I was emotionally drained. I didn’t feel anything.

Then, after one or two days, I tried to gather myself together and said, “This is not an option, to sit and do nothing. It will not help anyone.” So I started to do something.

You had just arrived in the States when Russia invaded.

Yeah, I came from Ukraine just two days before. I was planning to [go] to flight school here in Florida. Luckily, I took my kids. My plan was, while I attended school, my family could spend time on the shore instead of fog and rain. This is something that saved my family from the missiles and guns.

You still have a team in Ukraine.

We are close to a hundred. Many of them are working remotely because of COVID.

I understand some of them have joined the resistance.

Currently the feeling of probably 99% of all Ukrainians, it doesn't depend on where they are, they try to resist. Everyone is working. I don't know anyone in Ukraine who's just sitting around and observing what is going on.

Can you share conversations you’ve had with team members who have joined the fight?

Some have military experience. The conversation is simple. We need to protect our home.

How did you set up Aid for Ukraine?

I went to the guys from the Ministry of Digital Information and said, “We need to find some way to ensure that the money will be spent and accepted in the proper way.” The DAO was the only way. People were dying. We needed to act right now. It was the most fast and proven and efficient way to show the outside world that this is a group of people who have this partnership.

How long did it take you to set it up?

It took two hours.

How is it different from the Kuna Exchange initiative led by Michael Chobanian?

I’ve worked with Michael Chobanian in the crypto scene in Ukraine. All those people who are currently trying to help have known each other for years.

We have different blockchain groups inside Ukraine. They started to do their own initiatives independently.

I started to see the complaints from the tech community: “Hey guys, what’s going on?” Then we connected with the Ministry of Digital Information. We needed to unite all this stuff under the umbrella of the ministry, because we need to speak officially to the people.

So you also accept NFTs?

We cannot deny people who want to donate any type of asset. NFTs are just another type of asset which could be helpful to protect our home country.

Do you have any information on what the funds were used for?

There are two different accounts. One account is humanitarian. Another account belongs to the Ministry of Defense. I see the results. I see that our country is beating the second-biggest [military] in the world. So I'm pretty sure that they know what to do.

How is your family doing in Ukraine?

My parents are still in Ukraine. They don't want to leave. I tried to convince them. But they don't want to. I'm happy that I’m here with my family.

I'm guessing you have a lot of Russian friends and colleagues. What have been some of the conversations you've had with them? What has that been like for you?

For me personally, there's two types of Russian people. One of them just uses the TV instead of the brains. Others use their brains and don't do the TV. I'm surprised that Russia could build such an efficient propaganda machine.

For the people who are under the influence of propaganda, I do not even talk [to them]. It’s a waste of time. You can't convince them.

How do you view Putin? How did that view change over time?

I never liked Putin. But before, I didn't care. Right now, the majority of the people just hate him. I can assure you that. 99% personally hate him.

Do you have any thoughts on Zelenskyy?

I voted against him.

Wait, you voted against him?

I voted against him initially. I was depressed knowing that this guy who was making movies became the president. It was like this funny movie. I was like, “What? How did you use your brain?” I was disappointed.

Did you watch his show, “Servant of the People”?

Yeah, it was funny. Really, it was funny. And this was the reason why they voted for him. Those emotions were used to put him in this position. I was super angry and I was super disappointed [with] the way Ukrainians were thinking.

How do you see Zelenskyy now?

Right now, I see that the guy who has no political experience, hasn't experienced playing political games, he's doing what he can. He's fighting and protecting his country. He is playing a very significant role.

I believe that if we had any other politician that previously had this experience of political shady games, probably we will likely lose or I don't know what will happen.

So right now, you’re happy that Zelenskyy is in charge.

Yes, I'm proud that we currently have a president who is not scared to go to fight with the second-biggest army in the world.

One thing that I really like, after all the community efforts which raised more than $50 million in crypto, he took it seriously and the next day he signed the law which currently makes crypto legal in Ukraine.

This is another reason that I want to come back as soon as possible. You will be amazed what we will be able to build [with crypto].

What has been the low point for you so far in this conflict?

I cannot understand that people are killing the old and young. They’re killing seniors and they’re killing kids. I couldn't understand. If you see it, you start to hate it because … people who are bombing delivery hospitals, they’re animals. People who are using weapons against people who are not able to leave, they’re animals. You should understand, there’s a lot of hate.

What are your personal plans?

My personal plan is to return home as soon as it is safe.

Fintech

Judge Zia Faruqui is trying to teach you crypto, one ‘SNL’ reference at a time

His decisions on major cryptocurrency cases have quoted "The Big Lebowski," "SNL," and "Dr. Strangelove." That’s because he wants you — yes, you — to read them.

The ways Zia Faruqui (right) has weighed on cases that have come before him can give lawyers clues as to what legal frameworks will pass muster.

Photo: Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post via Getty Images

“Cryptocurrency and related software analytics tools are ‘The wave of the future, Dude. One hundred percent electronic.’”

That’s not a quote from "The Big Lebowski" — at least, not directly. It’s a quote from a Washington, D.C., district court memorandum opinion on the role cryptocurrency analytics tools can play in government investigations. The author is Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui.

Keep ReadingShow less
Veronica Irwin

Veronica Irwin (@vronirwin) is a San Francisco-based reporter at Protocol covering fintech. Previously she was at the San Francisco Examiner, covering tech from a hyper-local angle. Before that, her byline was featured in SF Weekly, The Nation, Techworker, Ms. Magazine and The Frisc.

The financial technology transformation is driving competition, creating consumer choice, and shaping the future of finance. Hear from seven fintech leaders who are reshaping the future of finance, and join the inaugural Financial Technology Association Fintech Summit to learn more.

Keep ReadingShow less
FTA
The Financial Technology Association (FTA) represents industry leaders shaping the future of finance. We champion the power of technology-centered financial services and advocate for the modernization of financial regulation to support inclusion and responsible innovation.
Enterprise

AWS CEO: The cloud isn’t just about technology

As AWS preps for its annual re:Invent conference, Adam Selipsky talks product strategy, support for hybrid environments, and the value of the cloud in uncertain economic times.

Photo: Noah Berger/Getty Images for Amazon Web Services

AWS is gearing up for re:Invent, its annual cloud computing conference where announcements this year are expected to focus on its end-to-end data strategy and delivering new industry-specific services.

It will be the second re:Invent with CEO Adam Selipsky as leader of the industry’s largest cloud provider after his return last year to AWS from data visualization company Tableau Software.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donna Goodison

Donna Goodison (@dgoodison) is Protocol's senior reporter focusing on enterprise infrastructure technology, from the 'Big 3' cloud computing providers to data centers. She previously covered the public cloud at CRN after 15 years as a business reporter for the Boston Herald. Based in Massachusetts, she also has worked as a Boston Globe freelancer, business reporter at the Boston Business Journal and real estate reporter at Banker & Tradesman after toiling at weekly newspapers.

Image: Protocol

We launched Protocol in February 2020 to cover the evolving power center of tech. It is with deep sadness that just under three years later, we are winding down the publication.

As of today, we will not publish any more stories. All of our newsletters, apart from our flagship, Source Code, will no longer be sent. Source Code will be published and sent for the next few weeks, but it will also close down in December.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bennett Richardson

Bennett Richardson ( @bennettrich) is the president of Protocol. Prior to joining Protocol in 2019, Bennett was executive director of global strategic partnerships at POLITICO, where he led strategic growth efforts including POLITICO's European expansion in Brussels and POLITICO's creative agency POLITICO Focus during his six years with the company. Prior to POLITICO, Bennett was co-founder and CMO of Hinge, the mobile dating company recently acquired by Match Group. Bennett began his career in digital and social brand marketing working with major brands across tech, energy, and health care at leading marketing and communications agencies including Edelman and GMMB. Bennett is originally from Portland, Maine, and received his bachelor's degree from Colgate University.

Enterprise

Why large enterprises struggle to find suitable platforms for MLops

As companies expand their use of AI beyond running just a few machine learning models, and as larger enterprises go from deploying hundreds of models to thousands and even millions of models, ML practitioners say that they have yet to find what they need from prepackaged MLops systems.

As companies expand their use of AI beyond running just a few machine learning models, ML practitioners say that they have yet to find what they need from prepackaged MLops systems.

Photo: artpartner-images via Getty Images

On any given day, Lily AI runs hundreds of machine learning models using computer vision and natural language processing that are customized for its retail and ecommerce clients to make website product recommendations, forecast demand, and plan merchandising. But this spring when the company was in the market for a machine learning operations platform to manage its expanding model roster, it wasn’t easy to find a suitable off-the-shelf system that could handle such a large number of models in deployment while also meeting other criteria.

Some MLops platforms are not well-suited for maintaining even more than 10 machine learning models when it comes to keeping track of data, navigating their user interfaces, or reporting capabilities, Matthew Nokleby, machine learning manager for Lily AI’s product intelligence team, told Protocol earlier this year. “The duct tape starts to show,” he said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kate Kaye

Kate Kaye is an award-winning multimedia reporter digging deep and telling print, digital and audio stories. She covers AI and data for Protocol. Her reporting on AI and tech ethics issues has been published in OneZero, Fast Company, MIT Technology Review, CityLab, Ad Age and Digiday and heard on NPR. Kate is the creator of RedTailMedia.org and is the author of "Campaign '08: A Turning Point for Digital Media," a book about how the 2008 presidential campaigns used digital media and data.

Latest Stories
Bulletins