Four crypto veterans pledge to give at least 1% of their wealth to charity each year

Published at: May 5, 2021

Four crypto and blockchain veterans have joined Founders Circle, an industry group supporting The Giving Block’s new crypto-focused charity drive. 

The “Crypto Giving Pledge” encourages cryptocurrency investors and businesses to donate at least 1% of their holdings to charities each year. The initiative is part of The Giving Block’s mandate of increasing charitable giving and enabling more nonprofits to accept cryptocurrency donations.

The Giving Block assembled Founders Circle to promote the initiative and has invited many industry leaders to join. Over the past week, Founders Circle has welcomed four new members, beginning with Ryan Selkis, the founder and CEO of Messari, on Apr. 27.

Also answering the call is Dan Matuszewski, founder of CMS Holdings and former head of Circle Trade, and Qiao Wang of DeFi Alliance. They joined the Circle on Apr. 28 and 29, respectively.

On Tuesday, Haseeb Qureshi, the managing director of Dragonfly Capital, was unveiled as the fourth member of the industry group. Regarding his decision to join Founders Circle, Qureshi said:

“The crypto community has been incredibly generous to me, and I'm fortunate to be able return some of that generosity. I'm excited to donate to high-impact charities—and as it happens, crypto is the best way to do that.”

The Giving Block will announce new Founders Circle members through May 30 when applications to join the group officially close.

The Crypto Giving Pledge launched at an opportune time in the evolution of digital assets. The cryptocurrency market is currently worth around $2.3 trillion, which means a 1% contribution from all industry members and investors would be equivalent to $23 billion. Growing mainstream acceptance of digital assets is likely to compel more non-profits into accepting crypto donations.

A good example of this trend shift is the Crypto Cancer Fund established by the American Cancer Society and The Giving Block in January. The research fund accepts donations in the form of Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and other cryptocurrencies.

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