The CEO of a San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange is launching a charity to help people in poverty, and is aiming to raise $1 billion in the next two years.
Using Crypto to Raise Funds
GiveCrypto is a new nonprofit charity that distributes cryptocurrency to people in poverty. Launched today and founded by Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, the aim is to financially empower people who need it the most around the world. Cryptocurrencies that the charity accepts include Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Zcash.
Interestingly, while two billion people have a smartphone, over 1.7 billion adults worldwide don’t have access to basic financial services, according to the World Bank’s Global Financial Inclusion Database.
Financial services is something that many of us take for granted, and back in January, Armstrong wrote a blog on how he thought charitable giving could work in the crypto world. At the time, he said that most charities don’t accept digital currency, and those that do often sell crypto donations into fiat to be used straight away. Yet, he believes that due to the wealth cryptocurrency has produced there is a rare opportunity to create a nonprofit fund.
Fast-forward six months and we have the birth of GiveCrypto. By giving donations in cryptocurrency the charity can distribute payments to people all around the world. All that’s needed is a mobile device with an Internet connection. The charity is aspiring to raise $10 million by the end of this year, and $1 billion in the next two years. Armstrong notes that he’s personally donated $1 million to the project.
“I’m passionate about unlocking the potential in cryptocurrency,” he wrote in a blog today. “When I first read the Satoshi Nakamoto white paper for bitcoin, I realized it represented an opportunity to bring economic freedom to people all over the world.”
Direct Cash Transfers
Unlike traditional charities, which use large resources to cover overheads, Armstrong points to research that suggests direct cash transfers are an effective way of giving and ending poverty. Additionally, when distributing aid to foreign countries, high fees and corruption are unfortunate occurrences he states. Cryptocurrency, however, is a way of solving these problems.
According to Armstrong, there are three things likely to happen once a person receives a donation: they will either cashout to their local currency to buy what they need; hodl their coins to reap future benefits; or undertake crypto-to-crypto transfers to initiate local crypto economies.
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