NFTs
BTC, ETH, NFTs: how did they help Ukraine resist the Russian invasion?
The crypto community is helping Ukraine during the war on all fronts. These were colossal donations from famous people and small replenishments from ordinary citizens. The crypto community has come together in the fight for justice.
This article proves once again that Bitcoin and the entire cryptographic community are a power capable of significantly changing the situation.
How did BTC, ETH and NFTs help Ukraine in difficult times?
Many representatives of the crypto community immediately responded to the need to contribute to helping Ukraine in the fight against the occupiers by transferring cryptocurrencies to the wallets of verified charitable foundations. Digital asset charity is very beneficial for Ukraine as time is life for Ukrainians and blockchain transactions can be completed in minutes, which is not the case with banking systems.
Furthermore, this charitable format encourages senders to donate due to its ease and the absence of third parties who could ask the sender about where the BTC came from.
Government Funds
At the Ukrainian government request$63.8 million was raised in the early days of the large-scale hack, including a $5.77 million donation from Polkadot founder Gavin Wood and NFT CryptoPunk for more than $200,000.
The tweet was later updated and the Polkadot address was added to the comments. At the time of writing, donations were as follows:
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The Ethereum address received over 11,000 ETH and CryptoPunk NFT ~$200K.
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The Bitcoin address received more than 650 BTC.
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Address Polkadot received more than 700 DOT.
Another US$1.86 million came from the sale of NFTs created by Julian Assange and digital artist Pak.
Unidos24
On the initiative of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, the official fundraising platform of Ukraine UNITED24 was created on May 5, 2022. Its peculiarity is that there are five separate NBU accounts to which anyone who wants to donate money can:
- Defense
- Humanitarian Demining
- Health care
- Rebuild Ukraine
- Education and Science
Donations collected go to 5 different ministries respectively:
- Ministry of Defense
- Ministry of Health
- Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development
- Economy minister
- Ministry of Education and Science
United24 accepts donations in fiat and cryptocurrency. As of June 2024, more than $650 million in donations have been sent to Unitaed24. In May 2022, a week after the project launched, around $362,000 in cryptocurrency was received through payments company Whitepay.
On September 10, 2022, United24 received the biggest donation in crypto: Donor of US$500,000 distributed equally between Defense, Humanitarian Demining and Medical Aid. The contribution was made anonymously.
United24 cooperates with companies that donate revenue generated by crypto or NFT. For example, the UACats Division The team and INCRYPTED created the world’s first national NFT collection. Their goal is to raise $1,000,000 for a fleet of maritime drones. NFT sales began on February 22, 2023.
Aid for Ukraine 
O Aid for Ukraine The fund was created in March with the help of cryptocurrency exchange FTX (now transferred to Kuna) and staking provider Everstake. In three months, cryptocurrency donations totaled approximately $100 million.
More than $64 million was spent in total. 8,558 armored vests, 4,317 helmets, 79,881 military clothing and accessories, 5,338 tactical backpacks, 5,082 digital telescopic sights, 1,450 thermal imagers and 220 monoculars were purchased.
Main direct aid funds
Of course, there are many more direct aid funds in Ukraine than on my list. Each region has humanitarian centers that help the army and the population. They also accept donations in cryptocurrency, but it is impossible to calculate the amounts, as you need to contact each of these funds to inform them.
Come Back Alive Foundation
The Come Back Alive Foundation began accepting cryptocurrencies as donations in 2018. On February 26, 2022, the foundation published addresses and details for donations. A report on funds received can be found in your website.
The majority of cryptocurrency donations to the Come Back Alive Foundation have been in BTC, ETH, and USDT. Crypto donations in February-March 2022 amounted to 7-digit amounts. On February 25th, the fund received an anonymous donation of 80 BTC.
The Come Back Alive Foundation participated in the NFT auction with the help of UkraineDAO.
UkraineDAO is an organization that raises funds for crypto assets to support the Ukrainian military outside of Ukraine. An image of Ukrainian flag sold for $6.5 million in ETH—the tenth most expensive NFT ever sold. Profits were donated to the Come Back Alive Foundation. Total crypto donations to UkraineDAO totaled 2,468.085656 ETH.
Serhiy Prytula Charitable Foundation
TV presenter Serhiy Prytula has been helping the military in Ukraine since the first days of the war. First, he met the needs of the Kiev Territorial Defense Forces (TrD Forces). Then, he moved on to larger-scale tasks. The showman appealed to the crypto community to donate crypto so that Ukraine could meet the current needs of the army. Overall, the Serhiy Prytula Charitable Foundation has received significant crypto donations. She received over 1000 ETH and 20 BTC.
Palianítsia Foundation
O Palianytsia Charitable Foundation was created by businesspeople and volunteers from Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, they focused their efforts on helping people who arrived in Lviv: finding accommodation, adapting to new conditions, providing food, hygiene products, medicines and the like. They also provide humanitarian, psychological and legal assistance to Ukrainian refugees traveling to the western regions of Ukraine and abroad.
The Foundation also launched a cryptocurrency fundraiser to purchase equipment, machines, fuel, helmets, bulletproof vests, portable chargers, memory cards, laptops and other items needed by the AFU and transport them to Ukraine. Donations can also be made in fiat currency.
Considering all donations, the fund raised a total of US$4.7 million. In cryptocurrency, the fund raised around 1 BTC and 150 ETH.
How NFT helps Ukraine
Since the start of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, several NFT auctions have been held and the proceeds have been used to help Ukraine.
UaCats Division
This is a charity NFT collection which aims to raise $1,000,000 for a fleet of maritime drones. It involves the Ministry of Defense, the UNITED24 platform and encrypted media encryption. The project will allow the Ministry of Defense to acquire four combat drones, which Ukrainian heroes really need now.
In total, the collection consists of 10,000 art tokens in the style of AFU cats. Each NFT is unique. An art token can be resold or kept as a reminder of your participation in such a useful cause. But the main task is still donation. The team also promises token holders participation in the UACatsDivision VIP club, exclusive products and other privileges.
UaCatsDivision collection in numbers:
- 10,000 digital NFT cats are counted in the collection.
- It is planned that US$1,000,000 will be collected and donated to UNITED24 for a fleet of marine drones.
- $55,000 was raised in the first 10 minutes after the collection sold.
- $130,000 was raised in less than 3 hours after the sale.
- US$180,000 was raised in less than 24 hours.
- 99 SEALs worth US$10,500 – maximum single purchase in the first 24 hours.
It’s not too late to participate in the collection!
Berehynia by DOUBLE TOP
O Berehynia NFT Collection by DOUBLE TOP it consisted of 2,400 NFTs. During the 11 days of auction (March 6-16, 2022), 120 ETH was raised, which was sent to the Come Back Alive Foundation. According to DOUBLE TOP co-founders Alexander Gnatenko and Anton Dzyuba, the company also makes many crypto donations without being advertised in the media.
RELI3F UKR
According to OpenSea, RELI3F UKR raised around 2 million dollars in crypto. The first collection in support of Ukraine sold out in 30 seconds and generated 1 million dollars in aid for Ukrainians.
Crypto exchanges, major crypto investors, and trading communities have not been left out. They brought Ukraine many crypto donations; let’s consider the biggest ones.
Binance
In the early days of the large-scale invasion, Binance Charity created a crowdfunded Emergency Relief Fund to provide immediate support and safe haven to refugees. Binance’s $10 million donation is one of the largest donations made by a private company to Ukraine.
WhiteBIT
Since June 3, 2021, the Ukrainian exchange WhiteBIT has partnered with the Serhiy Prytula Foundation. Between August and December 2022, 1,729 donations were made. As of December 22, the total value of cryptocurrency donations amounted to more than $500,000.
Cryptocurrency exchange WhiteBIT is also known for buying back Crystal Microphone – Kalush’s Eurovision 2022 prize. The $900,000 raised was sent to the Serhiy Prytula Charitable Foundation to purchase drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
WhiteBIT also participates in other charitable projects. Thus, at the RM Sotheby’s auction, the company’s CEO purchased Freddie Mercury’s Rolls-Royce for more than $270,000. They were used to build a medical center for Ukrainians affected by military aggression.
Vitalik Buterin
Vitalik Buterin did not stay aside; he transferred 1,500 ETH to support Ukraine. The recipients of the donation were the Help Ukraine Foundation and the Ukrainian Unchain Foundation.
Conclusion
It is very difficult to calculate the total value of cryptocurrency donations in favor of Ukraine. Only official state funds received more than 200 million dollars. If we add the funds from the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation and the Come Back Alive Foundation here, the value will be around US$500 million, and possibly more.
At the start of the war, the volume of cryptocurrency donations broke every record imaginable. Now, to attract donations from the crypto community, Ukrainians organize various events, including NFT auctions.
It is obvious that the global crypto industry, led by Bitcoin, is developing and will only flourish. The contribution of the crypto community to helping the AFU and Ukrainians affected by military aggression cannot be underestimated. Approximately 5% of the total amount of aid to Ukraine was donated via cryptocurrency and NFT.