Ukraine has canceled its upcoming airdrop for crypto donors scheduled for today. Previously, as reported by CoinGape, the airdrop event was likely the target of a phishing attempt. The country will instead issue NFTs to thank its crypto donors, at an unspecified time.
Ukraine will issue NFTs to thank donors
The move comes as what appeared to be an early distribution of newly minted tokens by the government turned out to be a phishing attempt via Ukraine’s Ethereum wallet. The cancellation was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov in a tweet-
After careful consideration, we have decided to cancel airdrop. Every day more and more people want to help Ukraine to reduce the aggression. Instead, we will soon be announcing NFTs to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces. We have NO plans to issue replaceable tokens
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) March 3, 2022
The country’s Ethereum wallet appeared to be spreading a newly minted token called Peaceful World (WORLD). But Twitter users were quick to mention the token as it was counterfeit and possibly a scam.
Donations skyrocketed on Airdrop news
The country had announced the airdrop on Wednesday as total crypto donations exceeded $50 million. A snapshot was supposed to be taken at 6 p.m. Kiev time (11 a.m. ET) on Thursday. An airdrop is a promotional tactic used by a blockchain project, where it distributes free tokens to increase engagement with the platform. The tactic had clearly worked for Ukraine, with the country seeing a slew of micro-donations on Ethereum after the announcement.
Ukraine also started accepting several altcoins, including the popular memecoin DOGE. The country’s ethereum wallet is currently valued at around $12 million, according to the latest data from Etherscan.
Crypto Is Central To Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Ukraine was at the forefront of crypto adoption in the wake of the Russian invasion, becoming the first country in the world to officially solicit donations via crypto. Cryptocurrency trading volumes among the population also rose after the hryvnia crashed and electronic payments were halted by the invasion.
But the country has also tried to weaponize crypto against the invading force. Fedorov had recently called on major exchanges to completely block Russian users – a move that has been rebuked by the crypto community. The government had also offered crypto bounties for information on information about the wallets of Russian and Belarusian politicians.
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About the author
With over five years of experience in global financial markets, Ambar plans to leverage this knowledge for the fast-growing world of crypto and DeFi. His main interest lies in finding out how geopolitical developments could affect crypto markets and what that could mean for your bitcoin holdings. When he’s not scouring the internet for the latest news, you can play him video games or watch Seinfeld reruns. You can reach him at [email protected]
This post Ukraine cancels pending airdrop for crypto donors
was published first on https://coingape.com/breaking-ukraine-cancels-planned-airdrop-will-issue-nfts-instead/
