Ukraine will issue NFTs to fund war effort after raising $50M in cryptocurrency donations

To fund its armed forces, Ukraine will issue Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). The country’s ongoing conflict with Russia is also being heavily funded by donations in cryptocurrencies.

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s vice-prime minister, sent out a Tweet indicating the Ukrainian government will soon issue NFTs to help pay for its military. Fedorov refrained from offering any more details. However, the minister did indicate that NFTs would essentially replace the previously tabled idea of “Airdrops”.

NFTs confer and confirm ownership of a unique item that purely exists in the virtual world. These entirely digital items, particularly pieces of virtual art, are proving highly popular with buyers. These items can usually be copied or replicated easily. However, ownership is permanently recorded on a digital, decentralized ledger called a blockchain.

The Ukrainian government had previously planned on rewarding cryptocurrency donors with an airdrop. Essentially, these are free digital tokens, handed out to donors who mostly donate in the form of cryptocurrencies. These airdrops are meant to encourage participation in the donation drives, and serve as a token of anticipation, like a virtual trophy.

Instead of offering airdrops, the Ukrainian government will now “offer” NFTs. Since there’s no follow-up Tweet, it is difficult to gather more details. However, Fedorov did categorically mention that the country will not issue any “fungible tokens”.

According to Elliptic, there have been more than 102,000 crypto-asset donations since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last week. The country has raised $54 million in cryptocurrencies. The Ukrainian government has received the lion’s share of the funds, but a small portion has gone to Come Back Alive, an organization that funds the “real-time needs of defending Ukraine”.