Ukraine Auctions War NFT For Crypto Money Fundraising, Funds For More War

Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, Alex Bornyakov, calls for fundraising for Ukraine through cryptocurrencies. (twitter screenshot)

JAKARTA - Ukraine began auctioning off collections of non-fungible tokens (NFT) on Friday, March 25, in an expansion of its cryptocurrency fundraising drive. According to Kyiv, the fundraiser has raised more than $65 million for its war effort so far.

The 'Meta History: Museum of War' collection is a series of digital images. These NFTs include silhouettes of fighter planes, screenshots of news reports, and cartoon-style images of explosions that each mark a different day in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation began soliciting donations in digital tokens such as bitcoin and ether three days after Russia launched its invasion. The invasion was described by Moscow as a "special military operation".

Today IT, blockchain and NFT are the tools that work to preserve the statehood and history of Ukraine. With the support of our partners we’ve launched the NFT-museum @Meta_History_UA. Rebuilding the country requires modern solutions. Check here 👉 https://t.co/6iCMdBvIyw

— Alex Bornyakov (@abornyakov) March 25, 2022

According to a message on the collection's website, the new NFT series aims to spread true information among the digital community of the world and to collect donations for Ukraine's support.

Non-fungible Token (NFT) is a type of crypto asset that exploded in popularity last year. They use the technology behind bitcoin to record who owns digital files from images to videos or text.

"Ukraine has so far purchased supplies for its military with crypto donations including bulletproof vests, helmets, food, and medicine," Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, Alex Bornyakov, said on Twitter this month.

NFTs are usually purchased with cryptocurrencies such as ether. According to the website, Ukrainian NFTs initially cost just 0.15 ether, or just over 475 US dollars (IDR 6.8 million). The funds will go directly to the Kyiv digital crypto wallet.

According to a Reuters report, the explosive increase in NFT sales left many observers baffled as to why so much money was being spent on goods that didn't physically exist.

However, NFT has now become a popular fundraising tool in recent months. Because a group of people pooled their crypto funds to buy NFT to raise awareness of a particular cause.