On June 27 the CEO Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, announced the launch of a new cryptocurrency powered charity called Givecrypto.org. The fund will provide donations made in cryptocurrency to people in need.
Coinbase, US digital currency exchange, is expanding its crypto fund to US-based investors. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced the launch of a new charity fund GiveCrypto fueled by cryptocurrency.
We're live! https://t.co/z74I3TmouB
— GiveCrypto.org (@givecrypto) June 27, 2018
GiveCrypto is a nonprofit that distributes cryptocurrency to people living in poverty.
The goal standing behind the fund is to provide bitcoin and other digital currency directly to people in need. According to Medium post, GiveCrypto’s mission is to financially empower people by distributing cryptocurrency globally. “We will raise funds from cryptocurrency holders, and distribute small payments to people in need around the world — all using cryptocurrency. Initial recipients will be people living in emerging markets, especially those going through financial crisis,” the post reads.
“I started thinking about this last year when I saw all this money people were making in crypto,” Armstrong said. “The goal is to target people in poverty and economic crisis.”
By the end of this year, GiveCrypto aspires to raise $10 million, and grow to a fund of $1 billion in the next two years. With such a view it has already secured $3.5 million, including a $1 million funding from Armstrong himself. Chris Larsen, executive chairman and co-founder of Ripple has also donated more than a million dollars to the fund.
Other influencers in the cryptocurrency industry have as well chipped in donating above $100,000 including cryptocurrency mining giant Bitmain, and venture capitalist Fred Wilson.
“People who invested early in crypto have amassed an enormous amount of wealth in a relatively short amount of time. Yet the reputation of the crypto community has been dominated by images of “bros in Lambos,” whose antics get a lot of attention. This doesn’t represent the best of our community,” Armstrong said. “Most people I respect and know in the crypto ecosystem believe we have a responsibility to help this technology reach a much wider audience,” he added.
While initial donations to GiveCrypto will be used in part for operational overhead, the organization in the future will be structured to let donors have 100 percent of their gift go to needy recipients, according to Armstrong.
Coinbase CEO is well familiar with fraud and people gaming the system, that’s why he admits that distribution will be the hardest part of the project. One of the distribution models the company will experiment with includes partnering with other non-profits within the targeted markets and using a mobile app to streamline the distribution process. Armstrong believes the pilot phase will help them get a clearer picture of how to reach recipients, how they exchange to their local currency and use the funds.
To launch GiveCrypto, Armstrong asked for assistance of Rose Broome, who previously was the co-founder&CEO of HandUp — a platform for donating to people experiencing poverty in the US. Rose believes we need to think as big about new solutions to poverty as we do about artificial intelligence and self-driving cars.
Excited to announce the launch of https://t.co/8t0BaUt9TL a nonprofit I setup with @brian_armstrong doing direct transfers to people in poverty. Share the wealth.
— Rose Bloomin (@rosical) June 27, 2018
Those interested can use wide range of crypto including BTC, BCH, ETH, LTC, XRP and ZEC to donate into GiveCrypto.org.
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