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Crypto donations amplify speed and global reach during crisis

Crypto donations amplify speed and global reach during crisis


Since devastating earthquakes hit parts of Turkey and Syria in February, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis estimates that around $5.9 million of crypto donations have been made to support relief efforts in the region.

The Turkish Ministry of Interior’s Earthquake Humanitarian Aid campaign, the Turkish Red Crescent, Save the Children and Project Hope have all received cryptocurrency-based donations. In addition, several cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Bitfinex, OKX and KuCoin, donated more than $9 million to support victims in the area.

Cointelegraph reached out to Chainalysis to unpack the methodology used to monitor crypto-based donations supporting disaster relief efforts in Turkey and Syria.

Chainalysis director of research Kim Grauer said the firm uses a combination of human intelligence, gathered by its experts, and proprietary heuristics to identify and monitor flows to cryptocurrency services. This includes organizations accepting donations and scams that have sought to divert donations from unwitting supporters.

Grauer believes that the speed of transactions and the global nature of cryptocurrency transactions are proving to be important means of providing quick monetary support during times of crisis:

“Cryptocurrency is cross-border, instantaneous, and liquid, making it an ideal technology for raising funds and getting them to where they are needed most quickly.”

Grauer also highlights the ability to accurately monitor blockchain data as another strong argument for the utility of cryptocurrencies in facilitating donations and support after disasters and major emergencies:

“The transparency of blockchains is a unique benefit to cryptocurrency, providing opportunities to aid organizations to track donations and for law enforcement agencies to identify and trace illegitimate schemes attempting to capitalize in times of crisis.”

Antonia Roupell, Web3 operations lead at Save the Children, told Cointelegraph that the organization first accepted Bitcoin (BTC) as a donation method in response to Typhoon Haiyan, which ravaged the Philippines in 2013. From 2020 onwards, the charity has raised $7.4 million in cryptocurrency donations.

Related: Ukraine netted $70M in crypto donations since start of Russia conflict

This has continued during the organization’s earthquake relief work in Turkey and Syria. Roupell highlights many benefits of crypto-based donations compared with fiat-based donations.

“The vast majority of our crypto…

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