Crypto exchange WhiteBit buys Ukraine's Eurovision trophy in auction for armed forces

Quick Take

Eurovision song content winners Kalush Orchestra sold items to raise money for Ukraine’s army, including their winner’s trophy.
Estonian crypto exchange WhiteBit paid more than $900,000 for the glass trophy, which was in the shape of a microphone.

WhiteBit, an Estonian crypto exchange, paid 500 ETH ($940,000) for the winner's trophy from this year's Eurovision Song Contest in an online auction to raise funds for Ukraine's army.

The glass, microphone-shaped trophy was among several items sold by Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra on Sunday to support the armed forces following Russia's invasion in February. The band had taken the Eurovision title earlier this month for its song Stefania.

"We appreciate each and everyone of you who donated to this auction and a special thanks to the team WhiteBit who purchased the trophy for $900,000 and are now the rightful owners," the band posted on its Facebook page.

The auction of Eurovision memorabilia appears to have raised more money than Ukraine's much publicized sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), known as Meta History: Museum of War. In April, after more than 1,600 NFTs from the collection were listed as sold on marketplace OpenSea, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation told The Block they had raised over $600,000.

Some 1,700 Meta History NFTs are currently listed on OpenSea, with a floor price of 0.075 ETH. That's down about 50% from the 0.155 ETH floor price in early April.

Ukraine's government originally planned to sell 2,182 NFTs for the collection — with images marking key events in the war with Russia — and it appears many have never found a buyer.