This week, Russia entered Ukraine with military forces, and thousands of people were displaced. In response, the crypto community quickly banded together. Their goal? To offer assistance to those residing in the now war-torn country. Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, announced that every Ukrainian who uses his platform would receive $25. The co-founder of Origin Protocol asked if any NFT creators were “interested in linking up to do a 100% for charity drop for Ukraine relief.”
Others rallied around Ukrainian NFT artists by creating Twitter threads and Google spreadsheets of creators to support. Crypto users also funneled more than $4 million in assets to an NGO supporting the Ukrainian military.
And this was just the beginning.
Today (Feb. 25), Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova, Trippy Labs, and members from the influential PleasrDAO came together to create UkraineDAO.
A DAO is a group of individuals that coordinate using a shared set of rules. Notably, these rules are immutable, as they are enforced on a blockchain. Typically, DAOs serve as a decentralized model for the purpose of co-investing, but they can be used as a governance system to accomplish other goals. And the goal of UkraineDAO? To use the power of web3 technologies to raise funds for Ukraine. Specifically, the DAO is selling non-fungible tokens, and the money gained through these sales will be given to nonprofits that help those suffering from the war.
Earlier today, Tolokonnikovao also announced that the DAO plans to purchase an NFT of the Ukrainian flag to “help those suffering from the war that Putin started in Ukraine.”
The organization already started a major crowdfund for any who wish to contribute — in crypto — towards the DAO’s efforts. To get involved, follow the UkraineDAO Twitter account and join the DAO’s Discord server.
Creating the UkraineDAO
An activist and longtime critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tolokonnikovao is the most vocal participant in UkraineDAO. This isn’t too surprising. After all, she was jailed in Russia back in 2012 for a Pussy Riot performance protesting ties between the Russian Orthodox Church and Putin.
Now that the multi-faceted artist has found a foothold in the NFT and web3 community, she is using her platform to spread information about the Ukraine situation. She is also promoting other organizations that are aligned with the mission of UkraineDAO. PleasrDAO has yet to publicly contribute to the conversation surrounding the formation of UkraineDAO. However, the organization has a history of supporting projects that take a stance against oppression and injustice.
According to The Defiant, UkraineDAO will also be launching a collection of NFTs this Saturday (Feb. 26) featuring pictures of the Ukrainian flag. Each NFT will be priced at 0.08241991 ETH. This price is directly inspired by Ukraine’s Declaration of Independence, which took place on Aug. 24, 1991.
In addition to UkraineDAO, another endeavor, RELI3F, has cropped up with a similar mission. Headed by a slew of crypto-artists and prominent NFT influencers, the project is set to initiate a large-scale NFT sale that includes pieces from more than 27 artists. 100% of primary sales go directly towards relief efforts in Ukraine. Learn more about RELI3F in this Twitter thread from Andrew Yang.
And there are many more projects and funds that we could mention. So at this juncture, one thing is definitely certain: The crypto and NFT communities have much more to give, and this is only the beginning.
