The UNICEF Innovation Fund is investing $100,000 in six companies for developing blockchain projects, according to an announcement published Dec. 10. The UNICEF Innovation Fund was launched specifically to finance early stage and open-source technology that can benefit children. The fund identifies solutions in tech areas like blockchain, machine learning, quantum computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and others. Today’s announcement reads that the Fund will invest up to $100,000 in Argentinian software development firm Atix Labs, Mexican tech companies Onesmart and Prescrypto, Indian startup Statwig, Tunisian apps development startup Utopixar, and web apps development firm W3 Engineers from Bangladesh. The companies …

Crypto-focused institutional asset manager Morgan Creek Digital has issued a $1 million bet against the S&P 500 (SPX) stock market index, a press release shared with Cointelegraph reveals Dec. 6. The crypto fund has issued a wager that its Digital Asset Index Fund –– a basket of ten major crypto assets –– will outperform the SPX over the next 10 years, starting Jan. 1, 2019. The S&P 500 is based on market capitalizations of 500 large companies that have common stock listed on major U.S. stock exchanges, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the Nasdaq Stock Market (NASDAQ). The …

The Bail Bloc initiative has started using cryptocurrency raised through charity to help people get out of U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pretrial incarceration, according to a tweet posted by a Bail Bloc co-founder Nov. 15. ICE is a law enforcement agency of the federal government of the U.S, the mission of which is to monitor cross-border crime and illegal immigration. In 2017, the agency conducted 143,470 overall administrative arrests, 92 percent of which resulted in a criminal conviction or a pending criminal charge. In ICE detention people are required to pay an immigration bond in exchange for their …

International charity Oxfam officially launched its BlocRice blockchain supply chain solution for Cambodian rice Nov. 15, Cambodian daily media outlet Khmer Times reports. BlocRice, which aims to use smart contracts to provide transparency and security between rice growers and purchasers in the Netherlands, has been under development and should expand to 5,000 farms by 2022, the outlet notes. “The project aims to test blockchain technology and its smart contracts, a digital 3-way contract farming arrangement between primary producer, Cambodian rice exporter and retailer in Europe, to improve farmers’ livelihood and their supply conditions,” an information brochure from Oxfam explains. The …

Trading platform eToro has recently announced a blockchain-based social project to create a “non-speculative” cryptocurrency with the aim of paying social interest to those who “have less,” according to a press release obtained by Cointelegraph Wednesday, Nov. 7. The trading platform currently has over 10 million registered users and supports fourteen cryptocurrencies on its platform. The social project, dubbed GoodDollar, had been presented at Web Summit held this week in Lisbon, Portugal. According to the release, eToro has invested $1 million of its funds to the project and is seeking for more partners to join the initiative. As Cointelegraph frequently …

U.S. manufacturer of household cleaning supplies SC Johnson and environmental organization Plastic Bank will open several plastic recycling centers in Indonesia, offering locals tokens for waste collection, according to a press release published Sunday, Oct. 28. SC Johnson, which owns such brands as Glade, Ziploc and Mr. Muscle, has revealed recent scientific data on the plastic pollution of the ocean, stating that five Asian countries — China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand — account for more than 55 percent of the plastic waste leaking into the ocean. With the help of Plastic Bank, SC Johnson will open eight plastic …

The Blockchain Charity Foundation (BCF), a social project of the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance, has introduced its blockchain-powered donation platform, Binance Blog revealed Friday, Oct. 26. The donation project was announced Wednesday, Oct. 24, during the World Investment Forum organized by the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva, Switzerland. At the forum, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao — also known as CZ — took part in the Blockchains for Sustainable Development session. He said that Binance will cover all operational fees on the new BCF blockchain charity website, adding that all donations will go directly to its …

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance has released a report on crypto donations to provide relief for West Japan following devastating floods in mid-July, according to a blog post published Oct. 24. From late June to mid-July, record downpours in southwestern Japan caused floods and landslides, wherein over 8 million people were advised to evacuate across 23 prefectures, and 225 people were confirmed dead across 15 prefectures. The floods damaged around 17,000 houses. Binance subsequently called for donations in digital currency from individuals and industry players to help residents affected by the heavy downpours. Per the post, the exchange managed …

The Ethereum Foundation has announced the fourth wave of grants awarded to 20 different persons and entities working on the Ethereum blockchain, it revealed in a press release Oct. 15. According to the release, the total amount of awards is over $3 million. The biggest grants worth $500,000 were given to Prysmatic Labs and Status. Both companies are working to develop the Ethereum 2.0 ecosystem first announced by co-founder Vitalik Buterin in November 2017. Grant recipients were divided by the manner in which they contributed to the development of the network, such as scalability, usability, and security. Adult entertainment platform …

The CEO of world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance said he “hoped others would follow” his decision to donate all listing fees to charity after a sudden announcement Monday, October 8. According to the announcement, beginning “immediately” meanwhile, Binance will not only donate all such fees to charitable causes for the “greater good,” but also allow developers themselves to name the amount they pay, without demanding a minimum fee. “Binance will continue to use the same high standard for the listing review process,” the announcement continues. “A large donation does not guarantee or in any way influence the outcome of our …

The mayor of Seoul Park Won-soon has introduced a five-year plan for developing the blockchain industry in the city, Korean news agency Yonhap News reports Thursday, October 4. The project entitled “Blockchain City of Seoul” contains a number of measures for promoting and developing blockchain-related initiatives and education in the city from 2018–2022, Park revealed in a speech in the city Zug, Switzerland on Thursday. By 2022, the city plans to set up a public-private fund of 100 billion won ($88.2 million) in order to invest in blockchain startups in Seoul. The fund will acquire 13.6 billion won ($11.9 million) …

Ripple is launching a formal social impact program, dubbed “Ripple for Good,” according to a press release published September 27. The initiative will pool $25 million from the firm together with $80 million in donations to invest in projects focused on education and financial inclusion. The press release states that Ripple is still assessing which projects will form a part of their initiative, but that the choices are likely to focus on educational programs in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and financial technology (FinTech). The firm says it believes education to be “the key driver [...] …