Crypto donations have emerged as a powerful financial tool in wiring assistance to Ukraine that has been under attack from Russia since February 24. Wladimir Klitschko, famed Ukrainian boxer has released a series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the OpenSea marketplace to collect more emergency funds for his war-ravaged country. The two-time world heavyweight boxing champion collaborated with NFT artist WhIsBe for designing his digital collectibles. The donations from this NFT auction will be divided between UNICEF and Red Cross Ukraine.
The OpenSea page for Klitschko’s collection shows over thirty pieces, priced up to five Ether or nearly $13,000 (roughly Rs. 10 lakh).
The NFTs on display show stills from the boxer’s fighting days, his pixelated portraits, and his face on the top of digital payment notes.
The NFT sale that began on March 9, will be live for three weeks.
The craze of buying, selling, and collecting NFTs has steamed-up among crypto enthusiasts and the global artist community of late.
The sales of NFTs reached some $25 billion (roughly Rs. 1,84,700 crore) in 2021 as the speculative crypto asset exploded in popularity, data from market tracker DappRadar showed.
In the last two weeks, graphic videos on Twitter have been depicting the major destruction that Ukraine is witnessing as the Russian military continues to bombard Ukrainian territories.
As per UNICEF, the lives of over 7.5 million children in Ukraine are under threat at this point.
Earlier this week, crypto donations in Ukraine reached $108 million (roughly Rs. 820 crore), a CoinTelegraph report said citing its own tracking.
Kuna, a Ukrainian exchange has set up the crypto wallets for donations for the government.
Along with individual crypto holders, exchanges and NFT chains like Binance, Bored Ape Yacht Club have also been contributing to help people struggling in the war-torn nation.
The authorities of Ukraine are using crypto assets to purchase food, fuel, medical supplies, bullet proof vests, as well as night vision goggles among other essentials.
Despite several rounds of diplomatic talks, Russia and Ukraine have not reached any settlement so far.