The Ukrainian government canceled a planned cryptocurrency airdrop as the Russian invasion continues. In the wake of that decision, hackers made another move.
Twitter users flagged newly minted Peaceful World (WORD) tokens distributed from Ukraine’s Ethereum wallet as a potential phishing scam.
Hackers Attempt to Forge WORD Tokens
Ukraine’s Ethereum wallet appeared to be distributing a newly minted token, but suspicions quickly arose that attackers were trying to spoof the token.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, announced the decision on his personal Twitter account today. He wrote:
After careful analysis, we decided to cancel the airdrop. Every day there are more people willing to help Ukraine fight the aggression.
Country Will Support Armed Forces via NFTs
Fedorov said Ukraine plans to issue non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to support its armed forces, but he emphasized that the government itself does not intend to mint such tokens.
The government had officially announced the airdrop on Wednesday but provided no further details, and no additional announcement was made about the event originally scheduled for Thursday.
Intended Goal Was to Reward Crypto Donors
The initial announcement explained that the initiative aimed to reward cryptocurrency donors. Following interference by malicious third parties, the highly anticipated event was canceled.
Crypto Donations to Ukraine Total Around $30 Million
Ukraine has raised roughly $30 million since it began accepting crypto donations about a week ago, according to Fedorov’s latest update posted on Telegram.
Donations came in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polkadot and a variety of altcoins such as Dai, Candle and Dogs of Elon, among others. Funds were also received in stablecoins including Tether and USDC.
Data from Etherscan shows Ukraine’s Ethereum wallet officially received crypto assets valued at more than $15.9 million, with Ethereum (ETH) accounting for about $8.1 million. The remainder consists of stablecoins and the altcoins listed above.
Ukraine Has Led in Crypto Adoption
Even before the invasion, Ukraine was a cryptocurrency pioneer and became the first country to formally request donations in crypto. The hryvnia’s collapse and the invasion have also disrupted electronic payments.