“Invest in peace, bro, that’s what we coo,” the doves of peace are rapping together with Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's youngest minister at 31. The earworm melody featuring trippy birds was produced by the Kyiv-based creative agency Bickerstaff.734. Ilia Anufreinko, the Creative Director of the agency, explained where they got the concept from.
"People rarely think about peace as an investment. But if there is no peace, there will be no opportunity to pump your Lamborghini or get an alpaca farm. It's a very unusual communication campaign, so we believe it will stand out and attract more crypto donations."
Aid For Ukraine is a charity fund backed by Ukraine-based crypto companies Everstake and Kuna. Since the beginning of the war, it has raised over $60m worth of different cryptocurrencies, of which over $45m has already been spent on first aid kits, ration packs, bulletproof vests, and other non-lethal equipment. The fund is cooperating with the cryptocurrency exchange FTX which converts crypto funds received into fiat and sends the donations to the National Bank of Ukraine.
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"Peace comes at a price, but the first wave of donations has subsided. Cryptocurrencies are free from red-tape hurdles, which makes them the most efficient way to provide fast help. Every crypto contribution, no matter big or small, is another nail in the coffin of totalitarianism. Helping Ukraine fight off the invasion means helping us save the free world from enslavement," said Sergey Vasylchuk, CEO of Everstake. The company and its co-founders have already donated $10m worth of crypto to the Aid For Ukraine.
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From the very first days of the invasion, Ukraine weaponized crypto to bolster its war effort. The Ministry of Digital Transformation raised funds through the sale of war-themed NFTs, announced bounties for any information about the crypto wallets of Russian and Belarusian politicians, and campaigned for donations on Twitter. Aid For Ukraine opened dedicated wallets for 15 cryptocurrencies, plus it ensured that people can donate NFTs as well.
“This is not just the war against the centralized regime, this is the birth of blockchain as a backbone of global security,” said Mike Chobanian, the founder of Kuna exchange, and president of Blockchain Association of Ukraine.
