NFT capsule launched by the Ukrainian government to finance resistance

Perhaps, after months of "Metaverse fever" in which there was much talk about tokens and blockchain without it really being clear what direction these emerging realities were taking, we have finally found a use for NFTs in the most unexpected circumstances. Late last month, a few days after the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, the Ukrainian government started accepting donations in cryptocurrencies, from Bitcoin and Ethereum, including meme currencies such as Dogecoin or SHIB. So far, total spontaneous donations amount to $63.8 million, including a single $5 million donation from Polkadot founder Gavin Wood, nearly $2 million linked to a collaboration between Julian Assange and digital artist Pak, and a CryptoPunk NFT worth around $200,000, but the Ukrainian government has decided to make the most of the token world in a project designed to fund resistance after weeks of gruelling conflict.

Titled Meta History: Museum of War, the NFT project is described as "an NFT-museum of Putin's Russia's war against Ukraine", currently consisting of 54 blockchain-based digital images that follow the chronology of the invasion. Issued by the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the NFTs have been on sale since 29 March for 0.15 ETH (about $500). Each one includes a tweet that marks a significant moment in the ongoing conflict, such as President Volodymyr Zelensky's video messages to the Ukrainian people, or NATO's call to Russia to cease its aggression on 26 February; each tweet is also accompanied by an illustration, produced in collaboration with Ukrainian artists. An unexpected way of using NFTs for charity that will surely change the common perception of the world of cryptocurrencies, providing them with legitimacy with a project that starts from the top of a state, indeed Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov announced the launch of the collection on Twitter, stating «while Russia uses tanks to destroy Ukraine, we rely on revolutionary blockchain technology.»

100% of the proceeds from the sales will be transferred to the "official crypto accounts of Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation" and distributed to support the country's military and civilians, along the lines of war bonds - debt securities issued by a government in times of conflict, to help finance the military and fend off inflation. As noted by the project's founders, NFTs are also intended to combat Russian propaganda and misinformation: «Misinformation is used by Russia on par with deadly military weapons in Ukraine - reads a tweet from the official Meta History account - the NFT-museum is based on a deep intention to maintain the memory of real war events via blockchain and collect charitable donations to support Ukraine.»