These projects sell art and digital goods in NFT to help Ukraine's military and civilians during armed conflict with Russia.
Following Russia's armed invasion of Ukraine, many initiatives have emerged to support the Ukrainian armed forces. The digital currency community has put a lot of effort into helping the country. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance donated $10 million, Polkadot founder Gavin Wood sent the Ukrainian government just over $6 million in DOT. At the same time, industry leaders such as Sam Bankman-Fried and Deepak Thapliyal have also contributed large sums.
Overall, cryptocurrency collections have been rising since the conflict began in late February. Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, declared that the Kraken donated "about $100 million" in cryptocurrency. Not all of it has gone to the government; non-governmental organizations providing support to civilians and the military also have several million dollars in digital assets, according to Slow Mist data.
At the same time, cryptocurrency enthusiasts have come together to launch Non-Fungible Token (NFT) art projects and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) focused on raising funds for Ukraine. Below we compile five NFT initiatives that are providing support to the country under threat of war:
1. Holy Water
More than 200 Ukrainian artists teamed up with technology company Holy Water to launch a series of digital collectibles supporting Ukraine. The artists, represented by the country's leading galleries, including Port Agency, IZOLYATSIA, and Ugallery, want to raise funds for the Ukrainian army, creating an NFT collection.
According to Barrons news outlet and works by well-known creators, the collection will also feature paintings made by children in bomb shelters. The initiative was launched last week and is currently auctioning 80 NFT at a minimum price of 0.08 ETH each, or about $225 by press time.
Holy Waters says it hopes to raise $1 million from the project. The funds will be sent directly to Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation, handling cryptocurrency donations. Kyiv-born artist Oleksiy Say, best known for his artistic invention, Excel-Art, invited people to participate in a statement in the auction.
"Soon, we may not have enough time to make art. That's why I invite everyone to enjoy art and donate to help one of the most important global initiatives of the 21st century."
2. Ukraine DAO
Another project supporting the country is founded by Nadya Tolokonnikova from the Russian activist group Pussy Riot. The artist of the feminist punk-rock collective, together with members of Trippy Labs and PleasrDAO, created Ukraine DAO, a collective fundraising effort to raise as much money as possible to send to the Ukrainian troops.
The group successfully conducted the sale of a Ukrainian flag in NFT for a total of 2,258 ETH (about $6.75 million). The sale of the NFT was driven as a PartyBid auction, allowing individuals to pool resources and collectively bid for fractional ownership of the digital token.
Ukraine DAO has announced the introduction of a LOVE token, distributed to donors' wallets. The tokens "will be of no use or value," the organization wrote, but "they are a lovely monument and memento of your commitment to a good cause." Developers sent the proceeds to Come Back Alive, an organization that donates supplies to Ukrainian civilians and the military.
3. Waone Interesni Kazki
Surrealism painter Waone Interesni Kazki, one of Ukraine's most prominent and influential artists, has agreed with A Gallery to sell his artwork as NFT in support of the country. According to 360 Magazine, 50% of the funds raised through NFT sales will go directly to Ukrainian protection and medical resources.
According to that media outlet, the gallery has already sold 11 tokenized artworks that bring in $1,400 to help Ukraine. The goal is to raise $7,000 by selling well-known paintings by the author such as 'The Seed of a Good Idea' or 'Prisoned Mind.' These NFTs are currently on sale for around $290 each.
"My beautiful country is under attack, for no other reason than greed for power," Kazki wrote in an Instagram post, in which he publicized the initiative:
"I have had to leave my studio, which is my livelihood, and go to bomb shelters while I watch my strong countrymen killed and our culture destroyed. I can't explain how this makes me, my fellow artists, and my friends and family feel. But we are fighting back! To help cope with this, I've been selling NFTs with @agallerynfts." Waone Interesni Kazki
4. Boxer Wladimir Klitschko launches NFT series.
Ukrainian boxing legend and two-time world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has also launched a collection of non-fungible tokens to support Ukraine amid the conflict with Russia.
The collection, called "Vandalz for Ukraine: WhIsBe x Wladimir Klitschko," has been created with artist WhlsBe and will be available for sale through the OpenSea marketplace. The digital pieces will be available for minting over the coming weeks in a tiered pricing model of $100, $1,000, and $10,000.
According to the official statement, Klitschko will donate the proceeds from the collection to the Ukrainian Red Cross and UNICEF. Klitschko talked about their work as a "superb support in the service of suffering people." "Art can be lovely on many levels when used for humanity's well-being." For his part, artist WhlsBe added:
"It's fantastic to be able to utilize my work and this growing technology to assist those in need and offer immediate aid anywhere on the planet." WhlsBe.
5. Art for Ukraine
Los Angeles-based artist Amir Fallah joined the group of creators seeking to raise funds for Ukraine through NFT. In Art for Ukraine, Fallah has brought together several artists such as Sara Ludy and Ana Maria Caballero to auction tokenized works on the Tezos blockchain.
According to ArtNews media, each artist has contributed one work, each of which has minted a series of 100 NFT. Fallah will send proceeds from the sale to seven charities that help Ukraine, although not specified. You can donate directly to XTZ using the Tezos token. The project has raised more than $20,000 in crypto donations.
In addition to auctioning an NFT collection, the project has also opened a digital space to promote Ukrainian artists in a gesture to collaborate with creators distressed by the conflict situation. The gallery show opened on the muse.place platform. Fallah commented to the news portal about the launch of this space:
"Even if they don't live in Ukraine right now or aren't on Twitter promoting their projects. They're undoubtedly distressed and attempting to find out how to assist their family and loved ones. So we thought, 'We'll promote them."
Meanwhile, the popular NFT project Bored Ape Yacht Club reported this week that it donated $1 million to help the cause. The Ukrainian government, which has been receiving donations in various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, and Dogecoin, announced that it planned to launch its NFT collection to continue expanding fundraising efforts.