Coinbase Giving, Coinbase‘s charitable arm used crypto to help Haitians affected by earthquakes. The digital funds can be used for goods and services at more than 30 participating merchants in Haiti
Coinbase Contribute $150,000 to Haitians Facing Difficulties
Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange, has given Hope for Haiti a $150,000 donation as part of a trial program aimed at providing financial support to Haitians facing social and economic difficulties.
Hope for Haiti announced on Tuesday that Coinbase would contribute $150,000 to a pilot project with financial inclusion business Emerging Impact and the Celo Foundation.
The project, according to Celo, uses the Celo Dollar (cUSD) and Emerging Impact’s Umoja platform to provide cash-based assistance to mothers who have been affected by some of the Caribbean nation’s traumatic events.
In the last 12 years, Haiti has been hit by four large earthquakes, the most recent of which was a magnitude 5.3 quake on Monday that killed two people and destroyed 200 homes.
However, a magnitude 7 earthquake struck the island nation’s capital city of Port-au-Prince in 2010, causing widespread civil unrest that was partly linked to the current pandemic and the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Mose in July.
Coinbase Giving Leverage Crypto to Promote Giving
Coinbase Giving, Coinbase’s charitable arm, provided the funds to benefit approximately 1,500 Haitian families with children enrolled in Hope for Haiti’s community nutrition program.
The funds should be used for goods and services at more than 30 participating merchants in Haiti, with vendors having the option of cashing out the digital funds using the local money management service MonCash.
“This initiative with Hope for Haiti and Emerging Impact is especially exciting because of how it uses blockchain-based technology to promote more efficient and effective giving, hopefully serving as an inspiration for ideas across the crypto-economy and philanthropic sectors,” said Dominique Baillet, head of Coinbase Giving.
Many people and charitable groups have used cryptocurrency to get money into the hands of those who need it most in the aftermath of natural disasters or in countries facing political unrest.
After typhoon Rai slammed the Philippines in December 2021, many people were displaced or injured, and the play-to-earn gaming organization Yield Guild Games raised $1.4 million to aid sufferers.
In the aftermath of the Texas Winter Storm in February 2021, certain local disaster relief organizations stated that crypto donations will be accepted.
