Non-fungible tokens, better known as NFTs, are often-derided assets that live on various blockchains. While some fail to understand what value they could possibly hold, they are turning out to be quite useful in Ukraine’s war effort. The Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Alex Bornyakov, confirmed that CryptoPunks #5364 – which had previously been donated to the country – sold for 90 ETH which was more than $100,000 at the time of sale.
Breaking news on crypto donations: #CryptoPunk #5364 has been sold for 90 ETH. It"s over $100K. Few months ago this NFT was donated for @_AidForUkraine fund. Crypto community continues to support Ukraine.
— Alex Bornyakov (@abornyakov) June 20, 2022
The country’s ministry of digital transformation has been soliciting crypto donations to help with the costs of the war – of course, you can pay with currencies like dollars and euros but there is a heavy focus on crypto. So far, 482 bitcoins, 9711 Ether, 1.2 million USDC, and many other tokens have been donated.
The website claims that the community has raised more than $60 million (Bornyakov’s Twitter has cited an updated figure of $135 million) which has been spent on a whole host of things related to the war. As of April 14 it has spent $45 million.
Even though Ukraine raised over $135 million in crypto in response to the Russian invasion, the first wave of crypto donations has subsided. We still need your help. Please support our defenders via @_AidForUkraine. https://t.co/oQg6Mck5B3
— Alex Bornyakov (@abornyakov) June 11, 2022
In a more recent update, Alex Bornyakov said that $135 million in crypto has been raised to date. This first wave of crypto donations has run out and he requests that more is sent by those who can spare it. Currently, the price of Bitcoin is hovering around $20,000 – down from $67,000 at its last peak. This means donated crypto holdings you send now won’t go as far in terms of the things Ukraine can buy for the war.