beincrypto.com
Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister has canceled the airdrop announced yesterday with officials instead opting for an NFT solution to support the country’s armed forces.
The Vice Prime Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, announced in a tweet today that “After careful consideration, we decided to cancel airdrop”. He added it was the government’s intention to use non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to support Ukrainian armed forces.
The airdrop was scheduled for 6pm Kyiv time today. No reason was given for the change in plans. The airdrop had prompted confusion when it was originally announced.
The total raised for Ukraine reaches $50m
Since the start of the Russian invasion on Feb 24, crypto tech has provided various ways to generate funds without the need of a centralized organization. The total raised in crypo so far stands at almost $50m.
Citizens from all over the world – and a few crypto industry heavyweights – have donated funds to support the Ukrainian defense effort.
The first wave of the global crowdfunding effort raised $4m in donations within the first 24-hours.
But as the drama continued, and sanctions and economic pressure on Russia began to mount, calls were made by Ukrainian government officials to block Russian addresses on crypto exchanges.
Many crypto companies, including Binance, Uniswap, and Polkadot, have supported Ukraine with donations .
Only three days into the invasion, crypto donations hit the $20 million mark. And digital platform Ikonia launched an NFT collection to raise money for Ukraine by donating the royalties from their sales to charity in perpetuity.
Bitcoin to hit $50k this week?
As a result of the increase in activity, Nigel Green, the CEO of financial advisory firm deVere Group, anticipates bitcoin hitting $50,000 this week.
“The Ukraine-Russia situation has caused significant financial upheaval and individuals, businesses and indeed government agencies – not just in the region but globally – are looking for alternatives to traditional systems,” Green explained.
“The appeal of global, digital currencies in our increasingly tech-driven world is, of course, not going unnoticed by institutional investors who include credit unions, banks, large funds such as a mutual or hedge fund, venture capital funds, insurance companies, and pension funds,” he added.