- UNICEF will accept and disburse crypto donations
- The first donations of 1BTC and 100ETH already received
- Crypto donations will introduce an era of transparency
The United Nations’ children agency, UNICEF has unveiled a crypto fund that will enable it to accept and disburse donations through bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) cryptocurrencies. The fund is among several similar efforts by aid organizations experimenting with digital currencies to see their potential in transforming charitable giving and enhance financial transparency.
Receive and Grant in Crypto
UNICEF announced via a press release on Wednesday, October 9, 2019, in what is a first for UN organizations that its Cryptocurrency Fund will henceforth receive contributions in the leading cryptocurrencies and grant them using the same digital currency form. The project is being spearheaded by the United Nations Children’s Fund’s first head of blockchain Christina Lomazzo and the agencies subsidiaries in the US, France, Australia, and New Zealand have signed up to the fund.
According to the announcement, contributions received via the UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund will initially come from the Ethereum Foundation and “will benefit three grantees of the UNICEF Innovation Fund.” The contributions which can be in BTC or ETH will not be converted to fiat and will be channeled directly into the development of blockchain. The crypto fund will be put into innovation projects on the blockchain. UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore stated:
“This is a new and exciting venture for UNICEF […] if digital economies and currencies have the potential to shape the lives of coming generations, it is important that we explore the opportunities they offer.”
Process of Verifiable Donations
The agency has limited donation to a maximum of 1000 ether and 1000 bitcoin and according to them the first donations of 100 ETH and 1 BTC have already been received from the Ethereum Foundation. The Innovation Fund is already supporting six blockchain companies in a portfolio of 72 companies from 42 nations. Ethereum Foundation’s executive director Aya Miyaguchi confirmed they had already sent their donation worth $18,000 to UNICEF via the new partnership and stated:
“Together with UNICEF, we’re taking action with the Crypto Fund to improve access to basic needs, rights, and resources.”
Crypto funds are preferred because of the ability to track them on public ledgers like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The foray by aid organizations into the era of crypto donations will mark the beginning of a process of verifiable donations which should bring total transparency in the way the contributions are used. Commenting, UNICEF head of blockchain Christina Lomazzo stated:
“We’re working on a way to actually have a visual that’s reading from each chain that shows money going in and flowing, so, you no longer have to trust in the organization that the money has gone there. You can actually go ahead and verify yourself.”
