UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, has launched a cryptocurrency fund to support open-source technology “benefiting children and young people around the world.” According to the official announcement published on Oct. 8, UNICEF thus became the first U.N. organization “to hold and make transactions in cryptocurrency,” namely Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore added: “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. That’s why the creation of our Cryptocurrency Fund …

ConsenSys, a blockchain startup founded by Ethereum’s (ETH) co-founder Joseph Lubin, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have jointly launched the Impactio platform to bring transparency into philanthropy. Per an announcement made on Sept. 24, a new partnership between ConsenSys and the WWF resulted in an Ethereum blockchain-based platform dubbed Impactio designed to supervise and fund projects within nongovernmental organizations and standalone companies. The impetus behind the initiative is to trace how companies’ funds are spent within social impact projects. What does Impactio solve? Individuals and companies who utilize Impactio should submit their projects, providing clear objectives for aspects such …

Tron founder and CEO, Justin Sun, says he’ll reschedule his charity lunch with Berkshire Hathaway chairman and billionaire Warren Buffett “very soon.” The CEO announced the news during a live stream on Tuesday, Sept. 24. An open invitation to the leader of the free world As reported, Sun had won a charity auction on eBay in June to have lunch with Buffett and his own choice of guests, with a winning bid of $4,567,888 — the highest bid in the event’s 20-year history. Yet just days ahead of the much-anticipated event, the Tron CEO was forced to postpone due to …

On the lighter side of things in the cryptosphere, some Bitcoin (BTC) owners have been donating altcoins to the TOR Project — a nonprofit organization primarily responsible for running “The Onion Router.” For some Bitcoiners, the trend is a way of killing two birds with one stone — supporting the TOR Project and getting rid of “shitcoins.” As for the latter half of the equation, Bitcoiners appear keen to extend the running gag of altcoins being worthless. “Donate shitcoins, stack sats” Earlier in September, Bitcoin maximalist and co-host of the “Tales from the Crypt” podcast Matt Odell posted a tweet …

Binance Charity, the philanthropic wing of major cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has begun a campaign to help support victims of Hurricane Dorian. On Sept. 5, Binance Charity started accepting cryptocurrency donations for a campaign that will help provide food and aid for hurricane victims through local organizations in affected areas. On the campaign website, Binance states that donations in Bitcoin (BTC), Binance Coin (BNB) and XRP will be distributed to the Hurricane Relief Project. At press time, the campaign has received 14 donations for a total of 0.558 BTC ($5,852.90). None of the funds have been distributed yet. According to Binance …

Rainforest Foundation US is a New York-based, non-profit NGO working in Central and South America, which is now hoping to support anti-deforestation efforts with crypto and blockchain tech. Deforestation and fires in the Brazilian Amazon On Sept. 4, the Rainforest Foundation — which was founded in part by musician Sting — reached out to the crypto and blockchain community to ask for their support to fight against deforestation and forest fires in Brazil. The post on the foundation’s website states: “Since Bolsonaro took office in January, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is up 75% and forest fires in the Brazilian …

Controversial cryptocurrency payments processor BitPay is facing another PR nightmare after the company rejected a $100,000 donation to an Amazon rainforest charity. BitPay leads Amazon Watch to compliance dead end According to a social media complaint by Amazon Watch, an organization which seeks to support the Amazon rainforest’s ecology and indigenous peoples, the payment failed to pass BitPay’s internal checks. The would-be donor was trying to contribute due to the ongoing wildfires in the Amazon, the charity suggests, but could not complete the payment in Bitcoin (BTC). Officials attempted to contact BitPay, but had received no response, they said. “We …

San Francisco-based nonprofit Kiva, a company that crowdfunds loans for financial inclusion, has launched a blockchain platform for credit history with the government of Sierra Leone. According to a Reuters report on Aug. 21, Kiva and the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, jointly launched the blockchain initiative in Freetown, the country’s capital. Biometric data collected by the government, such as fingerprints, will be used by the platform to give lenders a way of obtaining the credit history of loan applicants. Individuals looking to borrow money would have a digital wallet for loans, and their transactions would be recorded …

Independent public charity Fidelity Charitable has received $100 million in cryptocurrency donations, according to its recently published report. In its “2019 Giving Report,” Fidelity Charitable illustrated account development throughout 2018, and provided insights into its growth since its establishment. The number of donors reached 204,292 in 2018, while back in 2009 the company had 51,918 accounts. Eliminating capital gains taxes When it comes to digital currency contributions, Fidelity received $106 million worth of cryptocurrency donations since it began accepting cryptocurrency in 2015, which includes $30 million in 2018. The report further notes: “Though cryptocurrency values cooled off considerably by the …

Volunteer cryptocurrency developers in Iran have created a blockchain platform called IranRescueBit, which allows people to make charitable cryptocurrency donations to aid regions in the country in recovering from destructive flooding. Al Jazeera shared the news in a report on Aug. 14. According to the report, the platform supports donations in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC). The government is reportedly not involved in the project. IranRescueBit reportedly allows donors to dodge American sanctions that have insofar prohibited international donations to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, which is a non-governmental humanitarian society within Iran. According to the report, the …

South Korean holding company SK C&C has unveiled plans for a donation platform that is based on a Ripple blockchain fork. Moreover, the platform will support a stablecoin linked at a 1:1 ratio to the won, as well as a utility token. South Korean news daily Chosun reported about the company’s initiative on Aug. 9. According to the report, the donation platform is still strictly in the planning phase. SK C&C head Lee Sun-min explained that issues with regulation and infrastructure development present barriers to launching their proposed platform: "Since SK is a company, we cannot pursue profits in won …

The Brazilian non-profit Alinha Institute has launched their Alinha Tag, aiming to inform customers of the labor conditions of the workshops that produced their clothes. As Cointelegraph Brazil reports on July 3, the new Alinha Tag is especially concerned with forced labor in Brazil’s fashion industry. According to Brazilian business newspaper Valor Económico, over 81,000 workers in Brazil were rescued from forced labor in 2018. Per the Alinha Institute’s website, brands and apparel producers register for the Alinha Tag, requiring a review of working conditions of workshops further up the supply chain. Valor Económico reports that the Alinha Institute has …