Earlier today, Aid for Ukraine – the crypto fundraising arm of the country – sold a donated Cryptopunk NFT for over $100,000. The funds will be used to support the ongoing war against Russia.
In March, the Ukrainian crypto fund received Cryptopunk #5364 as a donation, which it sold yesterday for 90 ETH to an anonymous buyer.
Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, announced the sale over a tweet. The Ministry of Digital Transformation is the department supervising fundraising activities for the country during the war.
Interestingly, the country could’ve raised about three times more money had it sold the NFT when it was first transferred in March. NFT values have precipitously dropped since then amid the crypto market downturn.
Ukraine started securing crypto funds and NFT donations in February, following the infiltration of Russian troops. Since then, it has managed to raise over $135 million through crypto and NFT sales, including a single Ukrainian flag NFT deal of $6.75 million.
Funds raised through the crypto route are mainly used to purchase non-lethal supplies to aid Ukraine’s military. Some of the supplies include bullet-proof jackets and medical goods. Kuna, the Ukraine-based crypto exchange, manages the wallet associated with the fund’s treasury.
The usage of cryptocurrencies over fiat money to sail through periods of crisis might serve as a great case study on the potential benefits of crypto. Even Russia is mulling the idea of using crypto for international payments after several sanctions were imposed on the country.
