Ukraine
Vitalik Buterin quietly donates $5M ETH to aid Ukraine as total tracked crypto donations reach $133M
As told by Aid for Ukraine, a joint initiative created by the Ukrainian government, FTX, Everstake and Kuna to rally crypto donations for the country, Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin made $5 million worth of ETH donations to Ukraine in early April. According to the entity, despite the large donation sum, Buterin did not make an announcement regarding the transaction. It was eventually linked to him via the Ethereum Name Service domain name “vitalik.eth,” which served as the origin of the transfer. .@VitalikButerin donated almost $2.5M in $ETH to @_AidForUkraine 2 days ago, and didn’t say a word! He’s also donated $2.5M to @Unchainfund. Thanks for your enormous help, Vitalik, and thank you for creating @ethereum! The #Ethereum community is pic.twitter.com/H...
Electronic Artist Streams Live Modular Synthesis Set From Bomb Shelter In Ukraine
Streaming live from a bomb shelter in the Ukrainian city of Lviv on Saturday, music producer and composer Heinali performed for 30 minutes to raise money for the Ukrainian army and humanitarian aid. During the performance, Heinali performed using a modular system that he saved from his home during an evacuation amid the Russian invasion. “Live from Ukraine team successfully managed to broadcast my fundraiser live set from a bomb shelter in Lviv yesterday, despite the air raid alarm two hours before the performance and a rather wonky 100m ethernet cable made of two 50m cables and a coupler shielded from rain with a plastic bag,” Heinali said in an Instagram post. Heinali, whose real name is Oleh Shpudieko, combines electronic sound design, medieval harmonies and free i...
UN agency accepts first stablecoin donations worth $2.5M to help Ukrainian refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a UN agency for refugees, has accepted its first-ever crypto donations toward humanitarians aid for Ukrainians fleeing the war-torn nation. UNHCR accepted $2.5 million in Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin donations from Binance Charity that would be utilized to rehabilitate and support refugees fleeing to neighboring countries from Ukraine. According to a report from the USA for UNHCR, more than 10 million people have been displaced from their homes in Ukraine, and the agency will use crypto stablecoin charity funds to provide legal and social assistance. Marie Grey, Executive Director and CEO of USA for UNHCR said that the crypto donation will prove vital in its efforts to help as many families as possible. Grey also lauded the global...
Metallica’s Foundation Donates $500,000 to Help Feed Ukrainian Refugees
Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation has donated $500,000 to help feed Ukrainian refugees. The money is going to the World Central Kitchen, which is providing meals for millions of people who have fled Ukraine as the country continues to come under attack by Russia. World Central Kitchen was founded by Chef José Andrés to provide “meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises.” Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich said of the donation, “The work that Chef José Andrés and the dedicated World Central Kitchen cooks do on the frontlines in a humanitarian crisis is nothing short of incredible. We are inspired, humbled, and beyond proud to support their teams currently in six European countries serving the millions of Ukrainians who have been forced to leave their homes.” Adver...
2022 Grammys: President Zelenskyy Says, “Our Musicians Wear Body Armor Instead of Tuxedos”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the Recording Academy at the 2022 Grammys, reminding the international audience that since Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion, “Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos.” Before becoming the face of the Ukrainian resistance, Zelenskyy was a professional actor, writer, and comedian, and last week he pressed the Oscars to allow him to appear. Via The New York Times they balked, telling one of the organizers of the attempted cameo that, “They don’t want to overly politicize the show.” Where the Academy Awards showed a concern for politics, the Recording Academy came through. Zelenskyy appeared in a pre-taped video, speaking as fluently in English as he has often spoken in Ukrainian and Russian. He said, “The war. Wh...
World Cup 2022 Draw: England Get USA in Group Stages
The World Cup draw has been made, and England fans will feel confident after they avoided any big names. However, there is the real possibility of the English having to take on neighbours Wales or Scotland, depending how the one remaining European qualifying place goes. Elsewhere, there were some juicy draws, none bigger than European giants Spain and Germany being pitted together in the same group. Favourites Brazil and France will be confident, although the Portuguese have been drawn in a potentially tricky group. England avoid big guns The draw really couldn’t have been much kinder to England. Drawn in Group B, they first drew USA from the second batch of teams. Iran were then drawn, setting up a politically tense match with the US. It was the final team drawn in the group that provided...
‘The cryptocurrency world will help in this war’: Kuna CLO breaks down Ukraine’s digital asset law
While many parts of Ukraine are still facing threats from Russia’s military, some residents, industry leaders and government officials are turning to digital assets for help in relocating people, funding humanitarian aid projects and getting supplies to its own soldiers. On Feb. 17, exactly one week before Russian forces began their attack on Ukraine, the country’s legislature adopted the “On Virtual Assets” bill. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later signed the bill into law, establishing a legal framework for Ukraine to operate a regulated crypto market. Ganna Voievodina, chief legal officer of Ukraine-based crypto exchange Kuna and one of the bill’s authors, told Cointelegraph that the ramifications of the legislation came at a critical time when the country needed legal a...
Camila Cabello & Ed Sheeran Perform ‘Bam Bam’ for the First Time During ‘Concert for Ukraine’
Camila Cabello and Ed Sheeran joined forces at ITV’s Concert for Ukraine on Tuesday (March 29) to perform their new collaboration “Bam Bam” live together for the very first time. “We’re all praying tonight for the peace and the safety of the people in the Ukraine,” the former Fifth Harmony member said before surprising the crowd by welcoming Sheeran to the stage, adding, “This is such a full circle moment for me…But, like, literally I cried the first time I met him, I’m like such a huge fan of his.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news From there, the duo wasted no time jumping into the song — which has thus far peaked at No. 23 on the Hot 100 — with Cabello singing, “You said you hated the ocean but you’re surfing now/ I said I love you for life, b...
Russia seeks to eliminate the ‘legal vacuum’ around crypto mining
Russia’s deputy minister for energy, Evgeny Grabchak. proposes the regulation of crypto mining He also advocates for regional authorities to manage mining activities – energy quotas and allocation of sites The discourse around Russia and cryptocurrencies is slowly turning into a never-ending affair. Various matters have come up, from the proposition to ban crypto before the Ukraine invasion to the role of crypto in evading sanctions and, most recently, the introduction of Bitcoin as an option for countries to pay for Russian oil exports. Now, according to a report published by a local news agency Tass, the deputy minister of energy Evgeny Grabchak is proposing introducing a regulatory framework around cryptocurrencies. Regional authorities should determine the location of sites for m...
Crypto.com will air campaign in support of Ukraine during Academy Awards
Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com plans to use its ad time during the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday to air a TV spot regarding the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. In a Wednesday announcement, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek said the exchange had partnered with the International Committee of the Red Cross, or ICRC, to launch a campaign aimed at helping those suffering under war-torn conditions in Ukraine. The CEO did not specify what the campaign would entail, but the platform already allows donations in crypto, fiat and nonfungible token purchases to the humanitarian network Red Cross Red Crescent. The exchange will match up to $1 million in donations until March 31. “The humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict in Ukraine continues to escalate, and I believe it’s our responsibility to su...
Love it or hate it, crypto’s vibe shift is now imminent
Last month, cultural critic Alison P. Davis published an article in The Cut titled “A Vibe Shift is Coming. Will Any of Us Survive It?” The “vibe shift” Davis was referring to had nothing to do with crypto. She was referring to a sea change in pop culture and social trends, particularly in view of GenZ’s ongoing ascendance into trendsetting and cultural relevance. Nevertheless, her positioning caught my eye because she aptly put her finger on something crucial that I’ve also been feeling, particularly as it relates to crypto. The paradigm shift toward the next cultural moment — whatever it is — is perceptible, even if it’s not palpable. We can’t quite make it out, but we know it’s in the room. The concrete conditions haven’t shifted yet, but the vibe most certainly has. In the days followi...
Ukraine launches NFT museum ‘to keep the memory of war’
The Ministry of Digital Transformation in Ukraine has started an online nonfungible token museum aimed at preserving the timeline of major events starting with the Russian military invading the country. In a Friday tweet, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said the government launched an initiative with nonfungible token, or NFT, artwork depicting key moments from the Ukrainian perspective from Feb. 24 onward. The NFTs feature events starting at 5:45 AM local time on the day of the conflict, when Russia announced a “special military operation” in the Donbas region of Ukraine. According to the NFT museum website at the time of publication, 54 NFTs of key moments in the war between Feb. 24 and Feb. 26 will be available starting on March 30, with proceeds of the sal...
