Donations
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...
Russian national will use sales of her burning passport NFT to support Ukraine
Olive Allen, a Russian national and artist who has lived in the United States for more than 11 years, has burned her mother country’s passport in the hopes of raising awareness and funds related to the military conflict in Ukraine. Speaking to Cointelegraph on Friday, Allen described herself as “a child of new Russia” and said the country would always be a part of her identity, but she had chosen to cut ties with it based on its recent actions in the Ukraine. Standing in front of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in New York City, Allen burned her Russian passport — which she said was the only copy she had — and planned to auction the video as a nonfungible token (NFT), with the proceeds going to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. “I do not consider Putin’s Russia my home...
Ukraine DAO raises over $6M via NFT sale to aid Ukrainian citizens
UkraineDAO, the decentralized autonomous organization created by Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova, Trippy Labs and PleasrDAO members, crowdfunded 2188 ETH, or $6.1 million, for a 1/1 Ukrainian flag NFT. Proceeds will go to nonprofit organizations in Ukraine that are helping those affected by the Russian invasion. The NFT sale was hosted as a PartyBid auction, allowing people to pool resources and bid collectively for fractionalized ownership of the digital Ukrainian flag. Contributors will receive ERC-20 tokens in the form of LOVE tokens depending on the donation amount. At the time of writing, the NFT has not been fractionalized and the funds have not yet been distributed. 1- $LOVE TLDR (and thread) ✅ Funds (over $6M / 2100ETH) safu in the ukrainedao.eth multisig...
Crypto Biz: Another billionaire admits he was wrong about Bitcoin, Feb. 25–Mar. 3
After spending years ridiculing Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, Wall Street’s billionaire class is finally warming up to the idea of virtual assets powering the digital economy. This week, Citadel founder and billionaire Ken Griffin formally backtracked on his anti-crypto stance as he announced that his firm would begin offering digital assets to its clients. Of course, Griffin isn’t the only wealthy investor to have a change of heart, so we’re not going to bust his chops too much. So, while crypto analysts continue to debate about whether we are in a bull or bear market, institutions, venture capitalists and ordinary people continue to adopt digital assets. As we see in Eastern Europe, trustless money like Bitcoin offers a unique value proposition in times of geopolitical uncertainty and conf...
Anti-war Russians start donating crypto to support Ukraine
While the West is growing increasingly concerned over Russia’s potential use of cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions, some Russians are using their Bitcoin (BTC) to help Ukrainian people. Pavel Muntyan, a renowned Russian animation producer and creator of the animated web series “Mr. Freeman,” has called on anti-war Russians to support Ukrainian citizens amid Russia’s ongoing military attack on the country. Muntyan took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce the opening of a cryptocurrency donation address for Russians who want to support Ukrainian people anonymously as Russia has banned its citizens from helping people in Ukraine. On Feb. 27, Russia’s General Prosecutor’s Office officially warned that any assistance to Ukrainians amid Russia’s “special operation” in the country would be conside...
Dogecoin community donates $53K to Ukraine as country hints at upcoming airdrop
With the price of the meme-based token Dogecoin (DOGE) higher than that of the Russian ruble, Ukraine opened to DOGE donations for the first time. Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mikhail Fedorov announced on Wednesday that the token had “exceeded Russian ruble in value” — though the ruble has dropped significantly against the U.S. dollar in the wake of U.S. and EU sanctions, its price has been lower than DOGE’s since January 2021. According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, the price of Dogecoin is roughly $0.13 at the time of publication, having fallen by less than 1% over the last 24 hours. However, Fedorov’s message on Twitter also called for DOGE proponents including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Dogecoin founder Billy Markus to donate to Ukraine’s militar...
Ukraine accepts Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT donations to fund ongoing war
Within the first week of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Ukrainian government has reached out to the crypto community on Twitter for raising funds to support its civilians and troops. Ukraine has now started accepting Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Tether (USDT) as donations. As Russia threatens to take over Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv, the government of Ukraine sought help from numerous international organizations to overpower the imminent threat. However, considering time is of the essence, the official Twitter account of Ukraine extended its call for help to Crypto Twitter. Stand with the people of Ukraine. Now accepting cryptocurrency donations. Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT. BTC – 357a3So9CbsNfBBgFYACGvxxS6tMaDoa1P ETH and USDT (ERC-20) – 0x165CD37b4C644C2921454429E7F9358d1...
Where do crypto donations go? Here are six charities that have benefited, as told by The Giving Block
Charities and donations have been a trending topic in the cryptocurrency realm as of late. And it’s not simply an act of giving. In countries such as the United States, the country’s revenue authority provides generous tax deductions for those who donate their crypto to registered charities. One company, The Giving Block, provides such crypto-fundraising onboarding solutions to more than 1,000 nonprofits. But just how does investors’ money make a difference? In a series of case studies provided to Cointelegraph, The Giving Block illustrated how six such charities benefited as overall donations volume on its platform surged over 1,000% year over year in 2021. As told by Tammy Tibbetts, co-founder and CEO of She’s the First, a charity organization helping gender equal...
Bitcoin set to help communities — Latinx nonprofit now accepts crypto donations
An organization that supports communities in times of need employs the helping hands of crypto to open the doors for a “broader swath of philanthropists.” Powered by charity provider The Giving Block, Corazón Latino is set to accept Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), and many other cryptocurrencies to help its goals of reconnecting communities with the environment and providing quick responses to places affected by disasters like the COVID-19 pandemic. The nonprofit consistently runs initiatives focused on eco-tourism, conservation and climate resilience. Apart from these, Felipe Benitez, the founder and executive director of Corazón Latino, says that the organization has “provided rapid response mobilizations to support communities” during emergencies. Arizo...
Crypto donations jumped nearly 16x in 2021, new report says
2021 was not just the year of institutionalization of crypto and new all-time highs; it also turned out to be the biggest year for crypto philanthropy. According to research data from The Giving platform, crypto donation volume rose to $69.6 million in 2021 compared to $4.2 million in 2020. Crypto donation volume spiked 1,558% or nearly 16x over the same period. The average crypto donations also saw a 236% increase, rising from an average of $3,109 in 2020 to $10,445 in 2021. The data further revealed that the average crypto donation size was 82x larger than an average cash donation. The average donation in crypto was estimated at $10,455 compared to $128 in cash. The monthly donation data revealed several interesting aspects about crypto donors. The report highlighted that the crypto...
Wiki continues to accept crypto donations despite pressure to stop
Following a proposal from users to stop accepting crypto donations to Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit confirmed that it would proceed with crypto donations. Contributors banded together to urge the foundation to disable the option to donate in crypto because of environmental concerns. However, while the organization will continuously monitor the conversations around crypto within its communities, it will not budge on accepting crypto donations. Elise Flick from the Wikimedia team told Cointelegraph that Wikimedia’s fundraising approach is meeting donors where they are. Flick mentioned that the foundation aims to “provide the most desired payment options in different parts of the world.” This includes catering to the requests that the foundation received from donors requesting to b...
Spreading holiday joy through charitable giving with cryptocurrency
The holidays are the perfect time of the year for giving back, and the rise of cryptocurrencies has created even more opportunities for charitable initiatives. This was highlighted during Giving Tuesday 2021, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving which saw over $2.4 million raised in cryptocurrency from the nonprofit fundraising platform The Giving Block. As crypto philanthropy becomes a new subsector of the cryptocurrency economy, some in the industry believe that crypto donations will only continue to increase. Alex Wilson, co-founder of The Giving Block, told Cointelegraph that last year the organization raised about $4 million in crypto donations, noting that this year, over $100 million in crypto donations will likely be received. According to Wilson, this growth is partly due to the fact th...
