Ukraine announces mysterious cryptocurrency ‘airdrop’

Ukraine has received around $33 million worth of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies

Ukraine has raised more than $30 million through bitcoin and other cryptocurrency donations since Russia began its invasion on 24 February, 2022 (Getty Images)

Ukraine has announced a cryptocurrency “airdrop” on 3 March as part of its fundraising efforts towards its defence against Russian invasion.

Crypto airdrops are typically used to send free tokens of a digital currency to people in order to encourage broader adoption, though it is not yet clear what form Ukraine’s airdrop will take.

“Airdrop confirmed,” the country’s official Twitter account stated on Wednesday. “Snapshot will be taken tomorrow, on March 3rd, at 6pm Kyiv time (UTC/GMT +2 hours). Reward to follow!”

Ukraine has already received around $33 million worth of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies after making an appeal over the weekend via social media.

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Ukraine has already received around $33 million worth of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies after making an appeal over the weekend via social media.

Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said the donations will “contribute to the Ukrainian victory as well as support civil people” displaced and impacted by Russia’s military invasion.

“Crypto community continue to support Ukraine,” he tweeted on Tuesday. “We will win – the best people with us.”

Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation did not immediately respond to a request from The Independent for further information about Thursday’s airdrop.

It will be the first time a country has participated in such an event, although El Salvador gifted $30 of bitcoin to residents when rolling out the cryptocurrency as an official form of currency last year.

Cryptocurrency donations can continue to be made via bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT) and Polkadot (DOT) via the crypto addresses in this link.