As the war between Ukraine and Russia rages on, the crypto community’s sympathy for Ukraine grows. The renowned NFT collection, Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC), contributed $1 million to Ukraine’s official Ethereum address. According to the NFT group, after watching various members give about $1 million in solidarity to Ukraine, it has chosen to equal that amount by contributing $1 million. The NFT group published the etherscan of the transaction valued at 388.99 ETH, which is somewhat more than a million dollars at the current exchange rate. As of now, there is more than $88 million worth of crypto donations in favour of Ukraine.
It's been inspiring seeing our community come together in support of Ukraine – almost $1m in ETH has been donated to @Ukraine by wallets containing a BAYC ecosystem NFT. Today we're matching that with a $1m ETH donation of our own. 🦍♥️🇺🇦
— Bored Ape Yacht Club (@BoredApeYC) March 8, 2022
BAYC has become the second most successful NFT collection and a worldwide icon. Its NFTs are owned by some of the world’s most famous celebrities like Justin Bieber. It has generated more than a billion dollars in aftermarket sales despite being only one year old.
While Ukraine continues to get millions of dollars in crypto contributions, Russia is having a different scenario. Despite the restrictions, available evidence suggests that Russians are aggressively investing in cryptocurrencies. According to statistics, trade volume for ruble-denominated Bitcoin touched a year high last week. It also appears that the majority of ruble-denominated crypto transactions are taking place via Tether (USDT).
Ukrainian authorities recently criticized cryptocurrency exchanges for failing to stop serving Russian customers. One of Ukraine’s deputy ministers recently said that the public should boycott crypto exchanges that are not supporting Ukraine’s demand for a blanket crypto ban on Russia. However, the majority of cryptocurrency exchanges oppose a blanket ban.
