Crypto community rallies with Ukraine as local NFT artists' works sell out

It appears that crypto enthusiasts worldwide are rallying in support of Ukraine to resist an ongoing full-scale Russian invasion. 

According to reports, Bitcoin (BTC) donations to Come Back Alive, a non-governmental organization helping Ukraine's military efforts, received $3 million in BTC in a single donation on Friday. Users also took to social media to ask the country's Ministry of Defense to accept crypto donations, such as USDT. At the same time, the founder of Ukraine's Kuna exchange created a crypto fund to assist charities in the country. 

Everyone! Thank you for all the support and donations! The current plan is separated into 3 parts to involve as many as possible1) direct donations (aimed at individuals)2) NFT Auction (via telegram & Opensea) 3) Project % pledge (aiming at collections and projects)(1/4) https://t.co/eo4Vgyz95a

— dan//l pan (@pan_danil) February 25, 2022

On Friday, the outpouring of support gained further traction. Nonfungible token (NFT) artist "pan_danil" began organizing a campaign to direct donations, launch NFT auctions and pledge a percentage of project sales to NFT artists in Ukraine. At the time of publication, a group of volunteers had formed curating a community list of Ukrainian NFT artists and links to their artwork on NFT platforms such as Rarible, Foundation, and OpenSea.

I need a trackable list of Ukranian artists to support. Tweets/Lists not working...I spend time just wading through replies than helping.If a few people can volunteer their time to add links for Ukranian artists to this Sheet it would be great. DM me.https://t.co/APeZEEGGjd

— Nik Kalyani (@techbubble) February 24, 2022

Related: Ukraine Bitcoin exchange volume spikes 200% as Russia war sparks currency concerns

Meanwhile, other Ukrainian artists, such as "voplividchau," have reported their NFT drops selling out due to community support. But despite the successful sale, she wrote: 

It's very scary in Kiev [Kyiv] now; it was scary at night, and what will happen next is so scary. I admire how brave people are here.

SOLD OUT Friends! I am eternally grateful for your support! Now it means HUGE!@Ac3033 @Art_via_lens @muradon13 @unblockgallery @ALCrego_ @SashaBAM @pleshkova_art @hen_collector @berni_omar @BayBackner @HowdyDooNFT @PapaBeardedNFTs https://t.co/B09E9itngB

— Chernaya Rechka (@voplividchau) February 24, 2022

NFT platform Orica, which launched an NFT campaign to help build a school in Uganda last year and coordinated an NFT charity drop to help victims of human trafficking, voiced its support for Ukraine's NFT artists on Twitter. It also appears the platform is onboarding Ukrainian NFT artists directly for upcoming exhibitions. 

Support Ukraine's NFT artists:@voplividchau@AnaStardust_art@Avlevytska @cadaversky @PashaYouz@spasi___sohrani'A Girl With A Butterfly' by @voplividchau pic.twitter.com/0oIuMACqAl

— Orica (@orica_io) February 24, 2022

Related: Twitter users ask Ukrainian armed forces to start accepting crypto donations

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense claims that Russian troops have suffered approximately 800 losses in personnel since the beginning of the invasion on Feb. 24. In addition, the entity says Russia failed to achieve its military objectives on the first day of the attacks. At the time of publication, there is an ongoing battle between both sides in Kyiv. Ukraine's economy is only about a tenth of the size of Russia's before the fighting began, and has likely fallen further due to the invasion.

❗️A Ukrainian throws himself in front of Russian equipment to stop the occupiersAll of #Ukraine is defending its country from the occupiers. The ground forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces report that the #Russian military has suffered more than a thousand casualties today. pic.twitter.com/Vg09n5G2rC

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) February 25, 2022