While Ukraine continues to be ravaged on all fronts by Putin’s military, the Ministry of Digital Transformation announced today the opening of the Meta History Museum of War to financially support the Ukrainian people and military.
The museum doesn’t exist in physical space but rather will live on the blockchain eternally, immune from Putin’s bombs. In collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, the museum is creating a collection of digital artworks that reflect on recent events in Putin’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine.
Buying NFTs sight unseen to Support Ukraine
Each image on the site is linked to a non-fungible currency created by the Fair NFT platform using the Ethereum blockchain and Polygon network. But all photographs are concealed until sold, so you don’t know what you’re purchasing until you buy it. Buy MetaHistory, says the museum, and “unveil the truth.”
For the “Warline” collection, each NFT will cost 0.15 ETH (about $468), with the assets auctioned in chronological sequence. “These assets celebrate Ukrainian identity and freedom,” said Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.
A clear and simple formula
“The formula of each NFT is clear and simple: each token is a real news piece from an official source and an illustration from artists, both Ukrainian and international,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation writes on its Meta History Museum of War website. “The NFT’s will be created in chronological order, according to the events so the true history will be saved and cherished.”
Ukraine’s aim is threefold: support, relief and remembrance. A fourth and equally important component is a boosting of morale.
NFT sales proceeds will directly benefit the Ukrainian military and civilians via the Ministry of Digital Transformation official cryptocurrency accounts. Since much of the Ukrainian populace is actively fighting against Russian forces, the aid is desperately needed.
UkraineDAO
To date, the global response the Putin invasion has brought over $100 million in bitcoin donations. The majority has gone to the Ukrainian government, according to Merkle Science. UkraineDAO raised $6.75 million in ETH earlier this month by selling an NFT of the Ukrainian flag.
Several crowdfunding campaigns have sprung up in support of Ukrainian operations, including direct financing for the Ukrainian army and other non-profit groups. Donations in crypto total over $36 million ($36.3 million as of March 1).
Merkle Science found 13 crypto addresses asking for donations from Ukrainians. Six are Bitcoin addresses, five are Ethereum addresses, one is BNB Chain, and one is Litecoin.
NFTs have clearly demonstrated the value of community and the importance of multiple voices in gathering support for the Ukrainian people and military.
Final thoughts
With the NFT Project, Ukraine is using digital assets to support its defense and people. Since the war began, Ukraine has received over $100 million in cryptocurrency donations, and President Volodymyr Zelensky recently signed legislation legalizing the industry. Could NFTs and cryptocurrency writ large be the deciding factor in the war? Probably not. Ukraine needs military hardware and the ability to strike and defeat Russian conventional forces in Ukraine before their country is destroyed. Yet, NFTs could be the fulcrum upon which the world pivots, along with the Russian people, in finally removing Putin from the world stage.