Ukraine Launches NFT ‘Museum of War’ in Crypto Push To Fund War Effort

Ukraine has expanded its growing cryptocurrency push to fund its armed forces with the auction of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in a project chronicling the Russian invasion through art.

Digital images included in the Meta History: Museum of War collection detail aspects of each day of the conflict that has entered its second month.

Launched on Friday by Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, the goal of the NFT series is both to raise funds for the army and civilians and “to preserve the memory of the real events of that time,” according to the collection’s website

NFTs are a type of crypto asset using the technology behind bitcoin to record who owns a digital file from an image to a video or a piece of text.

Submissions show the diplomacy, military operations and human suffering of the war. Images such as warplanes, news reports, screengrabs and explosions aim to give expression to the trauma faced by the Ukrainian people as well as their resilience.

“The NFTs are facts accompanied by personal reflections,” the website said. The NFTs will be created in chronological order, according to the events “so the true history will be saved and cherished.”

“Artists will depict how the war is perceived by the peaceful population of sovereign Ukraine—from its full outbreak to the moment of Ukrainian victory celebration,” it said.

Ukrainian and international artists looking to make submissions can submit a portfolio with their work to be reviewed by art directors, CoinDesk has reported.

If chosen, the artist will be given a historical event to create their work from and the museum will mint the final product as an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain.

NFTs are usually bought with cryptocurrencies like ether and Ukraine’s NFTs will initially cost 0.15 ether, or just over $475, Reuters has reported.

Ukraine has used crypto donations to pay for supplies such as bulletproof vests, helmets, lunches and medicines, according to Ukraine’s deputy minister of digital transformation, Alex Bornyakov.

The country has created its own website to accept crypto donations which had reached $60 million, Bornyakov said said earlier in March.

Bornyakov told CoinDesk that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “shares our vision” over cryptocurrency funding the country to help it deter Russian aggression. “We have the total support of the president,” said the deputy minister.

Ukraine’s government has created its own website to accept crypto donations which are forming a significant part of the war effort.