Ukraine sold 1,282 NFTs on the first day of sale for a total of 190 Ether (ETH), which equates to roughly $655,000 at the time of writing, Bloomberg News reported, citing an email from the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
The country intends to use the proceeds to rebuild cultural and heritage sites like museums and theatres that were destroyed amid the war with Russia.
The Ukrainian MetaHistory NFT-Museum tweeted the sales’ progress throughout the day with the last public tally announced at 1,153 NFTs sold for more than $500,000. The country also announced that it would give away one of the unique NFTs for free to celebrate hitting the half a million mark.
Additionally, META HISTORY announced that only people who owned one of the NFTs would be eligible to purchase the prospect 100 winning artworks, as well as the first four artworks created under the project.
Ukraine’s reliance on crypto amid war
When Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February, people from around the world began donating crypto to various NGOs that were helping in the war effort. Ukraine quickly jumped on board and began posting official wallet addresses that people could donate to.
In response, the crypto community and industry turned up in full force and donated millions in cryptocurrency and even NFTs. The government’s official website for the donations states the country has received more than $70 million in crypto since the war began.