Ukraine issues non-fungible tokens to finance armed forces | Ukraine

Ukraine has announced that it will issue non-fungible tokens to fund its armed forces, as cryptocurrency has become an increasingly popular way to provide support to the government in Kyiv.

Mikhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, said on Twitter on Thursday that the government would soon issue NFTs to help pay for its army.

NFTs grant ownership Unique digital element – with Pieces of virtual art Proving especially popular – with the buyer, even if this item is easy to copy. Ownership is recorded on a decentralized digital ledger known as a blockchain.

Fedorov did not provide further details of the NFTs but said the government had scrapped previous plans to reward cryptocurrency donors with an airdrop, a free digital token used by the crypto community to encourage participation in the project.

The move comes as a Ukrainian appeal for donations in cryptocurrency exceeds $50 million (£38 million), after Fedorov posted a request for donations in bitcoin, ethereum and linkage on Twitter last week.

Call now Raised $54.7 Million The Ukrainian government and a Ukrainian NGO, according to Elliptic, a blockchain analytics and data company. Most of the money went to the government, with a smaller amount sent to come alivean organization that funds “Real Time Needs for Defense of Ukraine”.

According to Elliptic, there have been more than 102,000 donations of crypto assets since the start of the invasion last week, including a donation of $5.8 million from Gavin Wood, British co-founder of blockchain platform Polkadot. Elliptic added that a donation of $1.86 million appears to have arisen from the sale of NFTs that was originally intended to collecting money For Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks. a CryptoPunk NFT $200,000 worth was also sent to the Ukrainian government.

“The majority of donations received so far have been in bitcoin and ether, although US dollar stablecoins contribute a significant proportion,” Elliptic said this week. However, the company added that scammers appear to be taking advantage of the fundraising campaign by deceiving users who are trying to donate to Ukrainian causes.

The global NFT market reached $25.5 billion last year, according to DappRadar, a company that tracks sales, a surprising rise from just $100 million in 2020. The soaring value of NFTs has led to warnings from skeptics that the token craze is bearing all the hardship . fingerprints speculative bubble. DappRadar’s head of finance and research, Modesta Masoit, said the Ukrainian move was a “watershed moment” for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

Ukraine also raised larger sums through traditional means. Last week it raised £200m from the sale of war bonds and is in discussions with the IMF and World Bank about raising more funds.