Ukraine sells NFTs to fund war effort
Ukranian soldiers walk inside the destroyed regional headquarters of Kharkiv on Sunday, May 27. Credit: AFP via Getty Images/Aris Messinis
In an effort to raise funds for its war effort, Ukraine has begun selling NFTs illustrating key moments of the Russian invasion.
The effort was announced in a Tweet on March 3 by Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation.
In a Tweet on Friday, Fedorov said that the online effort was going live.
While Russia uses tanks to destroy Ukraine, we rely on revolutionary blockchain tech. @Meta_History_UA NFT-Museum is launched. The place to keep the memory of war. And the place to celebrate the Ukrainian identity and freedom. Check here: https://t.co/IrNV0w54tg
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) March 25, 2022
On the website, the Meta History Museum of War says its mission is "to spread truthful information among the digital community in the world and to collect donations for the support of Ukraine."
The artworks are produced by the Ukrainian NFT artists community in collaboration with Ministry of Digital Transformation, according to the website, which says that 100% of crypto donations will go to the ministry.
The NFTs depict key moments of the Russian invasion and Ukraine's response, beginning with the initial incursion on Feb. 24.
Fedorov also has been using the Twitter platform to pressure technology companies to cut off services to Russia and thank companies, including PayPal, Apple, IBM and Epic Games, that have joined Western efforts to isolate Moscow and assist Ukraine.
The government has raised more than $72 million in donations as of midday Tuesday on a website donate.thedigital.gov.ua that accepts cryptocurrencies as well as fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, according to the ministry.
On March 16, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bill legalizing cryptocurrency exchanges.
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, were developed from the same cryptocurrency technology that produced bitcoins.
An NFT is a unique digital certificate recorded on a secure digital ledger known as a blockchain. Most commonly, NFTs are connected to a digital property like a drawing or a video. Each NFT is distinct and has a unique code designed to track an asset and attribute ownership.
UKRAINE'S NFTs
- Ukraine is selling NFTs to fund its war effort
- The NFTs trace events in the Russian invasion
- The plan was announced on Twitter by Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation
Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.
