Bitcoin Donations to Alexei Navalny Surge After Russian Opposition Leader Is Jailed

After the arrest of Alexey Navalny, a prominent Russian opposition leader, there was a significant surge in Bitcoin donations to his cause. Navalny, who has been a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, received a notable increase in Bitcoin contributions following his detention.
 

Navalny’s fundraising campaign, which had been accepting Bitcoin for the past five years, saw a rapid acceleration in donations after his arrest and the release of an investigative report by his team. This report alleged the existence of a luxurious estate linked to Putin, which the Russian president later denied any ownership of.
 

In the week following Navalny’s arrest, his Bitcoin wallet received almost 3.7 BTC, valued at approximately $119,600 at the time. This amount was nearly three times the total raised in the first two weeks of January and exceeded the total donations received throughout the entire previous year.
 

The increase in donations was partly attributed to a few large contributions, one of which was a full Bitcoin from Evgeny Chichvarkin, a Russian millionaire in exile and a friend of Navalny. The surge in support via Bitcoin donations highlighted the role of Bitcoin in political activism and its potential to provide a financial lifeline to causes and individuals facing political repression.