Ukraine Raises Over $100,000 From Cryptopunk NFT Sale

The government of Ukraine has sold a Cryptopunk NFT donated in support of the war-torn country a few months ago. The token has been purchased by an unidentified buyer who spent more than $100,000 in ethereum for the collectible, the country’s digital transformation ministry said.

Ukrainian authorities have raised over $100,000 from the sale of a Cryptopunk non-fungible token (NFT), Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov and his deputy, Alexander Bornyakov, announced on social media. The unique collectible was acquired by an unknown investor for 90 ethers (ETH).

Breaking news on crypto donations: #CryptoPunk #5364 has been sold for 90 ETH. It’s over $100K. Few months ago this NFT was donated for @_AidForUkraine fund. Crypto community continues to support Ukraine.

— Alex Bornyakov (@abornyakov) June 20, 2022

The NFT, Cryptopunk #5364, was donated to the Aid for Ukraine crypto fundraising campaign in early March. At the time, Bornyakov tweeted it was worth 56 ETH but the price of ethereum and other cryptocurrencies was significantly higher before the latest crypto market slump.

The East European nation, a former Soviet republic, was invaded by its much larger neighbor, Russia, in the early hours of Feb. 24. The government in Kyiv and a number of volunteer organizations have since increasingly relied on crypto donations, including NFTs. The country has already collected millions of dollars to fund its defense and humanitarian efforts.

A few months ago someone donated #CryptoPunk #5364 for @_AidForUkraine. And now we sold it for 90 ETH/ over $100K. Just wanted to thank crypto community for such generous donations. With your help we are able to support our defenders.

— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) June 21, 2022

The global crypto community continues to support Ukraine, Alex Bornyakov noted in a tweet on Monday, announcing the sale of the token from the Cryptopunk collection. “Just wanted to thank crypto community for such generous donations,” Mykhailo Fedorov, who also serves as Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister, tweeted on Tuesday.

Cryptopunks is an NFT collection on the Ethereum blockchain. Launched in 2017, the project offered some of the first crypto collectibles. Cryptopunk #5364 is not the first non-fungible token used to collect funds for Ukraine. In March, the sale of an NFT of the Ukrainian flag raised over $6.7 million in ethereum.

You can support Ukrainian families, children, refugees, and displaced people by donating BTC, ETH, and BNB to Binance Charity’s Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund.

What do you think about Ukraine’s decision to sell the Cryptopunk NFT now? Tell us in the comments section below.