The holidays are the perfect time of the year for giving back, and the rise of cryptocurrencies has created even more opportunities for charitable initiatives. This was highlighted during Giving Tuesday 2021, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving which saw over $2.4 million raised in cryptocurrency from the nonprofit fundraising platform The Giving Block. As crypto philanthropy becomes a new subsector of the cryptocurrency economy, some in the industry believe that crypto donations will only continue to increase. Alex Wilson, co-founder of The Giving Block, told Cointelegraph that last year the organization raised about $4 million in crypto donations, noting that this …

Three embroidery artists — Russia’s Katerina Marchenko, Brazil's Aline Brant, and Ninni Luhtasaari of Finland — announced Thursday that they will be auctioning their nonfungible token (NFT) art pieces to support Hope for the Future, a registered charity based in Austria. Proceeds from the auction will help victims of human trafficking find entry-level work positions after their harrowing experiences. The NFT sale will take place on Orica between Dec. 27-30, with each piece having a floor price of $500. The auction's goal is to raise $10,000 for the employment program. "Even when one offers survivors the possibility to get out, …

Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov has expressed excitement about the Telegram Open Network (TON) technology still developing after Telegram officially abandoned the project last year. “I'm proud that the technology we created is alive and evolving. When it comes to scalability and speed, TON is still years ahead of everything else in the blockchain realm,” Durov said in a Telegram post on Thursday. He noted that the project rebranded from TON to Toncoin. Unlike the original TON, the new project is independent of Telegram. “But I wish its team the same success. Coupled with the right go-to-market strategy, they …

British telco giant Vodafone has reportedly plans to auction the world’s first Short Message Service (SMS) in the form of a nonfungible token (NFT) on Dec. 21. The SMS, that reads “Merry Christmas”, was sent 29 years ago over the Vodafone network on Dec 3, 1992, and was received by Richard Jarvis, an employee at the time. The historic 15 character-long SMS will be auctioned off as an NFT in a one-off sale conducted by the Aguttes Auction House in France, according to Romanian news outlet Ziarul Financiar. By auctioning off the world’s first SMS in the form of NFT, …

The Giving Block, an online platform which allows nonprofit organizations and charities to accept digital asset donations, has launched a service tailored to donors wishing to send large amounts of crypto. In a Wednesday announcement, the Giving Block said it partnered with crypto tax startup Taxbit, New York-based accounting firm Friedman LLP, and Ren to start a service aimed at individuals, institutions, and advisors looking to reduce their tax exposure when donating crypto. Giving Block co-founder Pat Duffy said the Private Client Services streamlines its existing donation process allowing “high-value donors to quickly and securely give large gifts to their …

A popular cryptocurrency trader under the Twitter pseudonym "Sicarious" donated a portion of its crypto profits to buy Christmas presents and other utilities for underprivileged children. The donations included $7,250 worth of livestock, clean water, Bibles, emergency food for Compassion International, a child sponsorship nonprofit, and another $1,500 to purchase and donate toys for kids — who would otherwise do without at Christmas — via Toys for Tots Foundation. Shorting the crypto price declines Sicarious also shared the screenshot of its profits and loss statements that showed that it had made nearly $6,500 and $27,500 in gains by shorting Terra …

This holiday season, fintech provider Unbanked will be enabling crypto donations for Toys for Tots, a program run by the United States Marine Corps that collects toys to distribute to disadvantaged children. In a Dec. 2 announcement, Unbanked said it would be allowing users to donate cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) as part of a fundraising effort for Toys for Tots. Until Dec. 20, good Samaritans can send any amount of money towards the program which has given 604 million toys to 272 million children across the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We are …

With the market capitalization of digital currencies surpassing $2 trillion, there is now record interest in crypto philanthropy. From helping to build a school in Uganda to fundraising for frontline healthcare workers and raising awareness for artists with intellectual disabilities, many nonprofit projects are gaining traction with generous assistance from crypto enthusiasts. But the rewards of giving crypto to charities aren’t limited to the feeling of having accomplished an altruistic task. The Internal Revenue Service currently classifies crypto as capital assets, like stocks. That means an investor can deduct the full market value of the cryptocurrency at the time of …

The amount of cryptocurrencies on the market has skyrocketed from 500 in 2014 to nearly 7,000 only seven years later in October 2021. A reported 14% of people in the United States — which roughly equals 21.2 million people — have purchased some form of cryptocurrency, with more than 300 million crypto owners estimated worldwide. It’s clear: Cryptocurrency is here to stay, and its path to global recognition and success has only just begun. I have shared before how and why innovative sectors of longevity and biotech should cooperate with digital currency visionaries to future-proof their work. Crypto founders, CEOs …

After Thanksgiving Thursday, Black Friday and Cyber Monday comes Giving Tuesday, a day that encourages contributing to charity. 2021 saw a rise in crypto-philanthropy thanks to The Giving Block’s initiative of Crypto Giving Tuesday, which initially began in 2019. The organization that equips nonprofits to accept cryptocurrency donations raised $2.4 million dollars in crypto this year, a 583% increase from Crypto Giving Tuesday 2020. From charities, universities, faith-based to other mission-driven organizations, 1,071 total nonprofits participated. And the average donation size was $12,600. The majority of donations were done in Ether (ETH), with Bitcoin (BTC) and USD Coin (USDC) in …

Engiven, a crypto donation platform that has helped facilitate contributions to the Salvation Army and others, expects religious groups and non-profit organizations will see significant charitable payments in crypto tomorrow for Giving Tuesday. The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States marks a day when people and organizations come together to donate their time and money towards worthwhile causes — but not limited to any single country. Engiven founder James Lawrence said he expects to see more crypto-based donations as part of the global generosity movement, given the increase in prices of Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and other …

Blockchain-based nonprofit organization Endaoment has raised more than $7 million for charities in its first year of operations, marking another major milestone for the rapidly growing cryptocurrency donations industry. Endaoment’s Donor-Advised Funds, or DAFs, have been distributed to more than 100 nonprofits over the past year, the company announced Thursday. Endaoment said it has distributed roughly 60% of donated funds over that period, which is considerably higher than the average of around 22% for traditional DAFs. Endaoment’s president and CEO Robbie Heeger credited the efficiency of on-chain technology as well as best practices for the high distribution rate. He told …