Ukraine Flag NFT Raises $6.75 Million to Fund War Efforts

An NFT of the Ukrainian flag has sold for 2,258 ether – about US$6.75 million – with the proceeds directed to ‘Come Back Alive’, an organisation that donates supplies to Ukrainian civilians and members of the military.

DAOs to the Rescue

The sale of the NFT was organised by UkraineDAO – a crowdfunding effort led by radical Russian art collective Pussy Riot and NFT token studio Trippy Labs to support Ukraine’s efforts against the Russian invasion. The bid that won the sale for the 1-of-1 flag was placed on behalf of a group of 3,271 donors via a service called Party Bid:

This is where the DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation) was able to purchase the NFT from itself through donations from its members. On February 27, Pussy Riot had already organised the DAO to raise money for Ukrainian soldiers facing down the Russian Army:

The project is taking cues from other politically minded fundraiser DAOs such as AssangeDAO and ConstitutionDAO. UkraineDAO joins the government itself in asking for crypto donations to aid the resistance against Russia.

Ukraine Turns to Crypto for Aid

Cryptocurrencies have been proving to be Ukraine’s financial saviour amid the turmoil the country is currently experiencing. The Ukrainian government recently succeeded in raising US$37 million in crypto after appealing to the public for assistance. The Ukrainian vice prime minister has also called on crypto exchanges to block Russian and Belarusian users from accessing their crypto accounts.