By Elizabeth Howcroft

LONDON (Reuters) – Ukraine, battered by three months of war, plans to continue to tap crypto investors to help raise funds after a plunge in prices decimated the country’s fundraising efforts in May.

After the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the Ukrainian government sought cryptocurrency donations via social media. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ukraine’s Vice-Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov was this week.

The government had already raised over $60 million in cryptocurrency funds by March 19. Two months later on May 19, $51.5 million was raised, according to Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine’s deputy Minister for Digital Transformation.

In recent weeks, cryptocurrencies fell sharply. It has seen a drop of more than 20% so far in May after a 17% plunge in April. This clearly shows the dangers that cryptocurrencies pose to holders.

Bornyakov wrote that the money raised through the “Aid for Ukraine” funds were kept in cryptocurrency, and the government could spend $45 millions of the proceeds on equipment for Ukraine’s military before the crash.

The war effort of Ukraine was partially funded by cryptocurrencies. In the year preceding war, there was a significant increase in bitcoin donations to Ukrainian volunteer organizations. Some of these groups supplied equipment for government forces.

Cryptocurrency may be a good option, but Kiev still estimates it requires $15 billion to rebuild its war-torn economy over the next three years.

NFTS WATER

Ukrainians who are looking for funds can still use crypto assets, even with their volatility.

Obolon, Ukraine’s most independent beer brand plans to offer non-fungible tokens to aid in humanitarian aid distribution.

The Ministry of Digital Transformation in Ukraine has led the way with 286 ether, or around $550,000. Its online collection “Museum of War”, NFT collections have raised 286ether.

Obolon will sell 5,000 NFTs at 0.1ether, which is around $200. These can then be traded for commemorative beer bottles after the war.

Olexander Chub (Obolon’s director for foreign trade), stated in a video interview that the project was directly designed to assist us in scaling up.

Graphic: Bitcoin so far in 2022 – https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/xmvjoxbngpr/Bitcoin.png a065df22-d28f-4ebb-be21-37db4e9706ed1