Why we’re more bullish than ever on crypto for social impact
Over the past 24 hours, on November 26, 2021, the cryptocurrency market cap as a whole, at the time of writing, has decreased by nearly 8%, putting many in a bearish mood. One of the great things about the crypto and blockchain for social impact space, however, is that there is always great progress being made, no matter what’s going on in the markets.
New social impact-driven projects are coming out every day, more non-profits are accepting cryptocurrency donations, and more great people are entering the space and putting their talents to use to make the world a better place.
So today, on Black Friday, I wanted to share three reasons why I’m more bullish than ever on crypto for social impact, and why you should be too.
Non-profit cryptocurrency engagement on the rise
With Giving Tuesday just a few days away, chances are you’ve noticed a massive increase in social media posts related to charitable donations. One thing, however, that is a bit different this year, is the number of them focusing on cryptocurrency donations.
The momentum in the crypto-giving space is unstoppable as more charities sign up each day to accept cryptocurrency donations, and more donors make charitable contributions with cryptocurrency. Today, there are over 700 non-profits accepting cryptocurrency donations via The Giving Block, an online cryptocurrency donation platform. In fact, The Giving Block is on pace to process over $100 Million in crypto donations this year and is projecting $1 Billion in donations to flow through their platform in 2022. A projected 10x increase in cryptocurrency donations in one year is nothing short of extraordinary, and based on the growth we’ve seen in the space lately, I’m confident these projections will be exceeded.
Furthermore, over the past year, we have also seen a number of major gifts made by crypto “whales” including but not limited to:
Vitalik Buterin, Founder of Ethereum, donating $1 Billion in cryptocurrency to help fight COVID-19 in India.
Beeple, one of the world’s most well known NFT artists, recently selling an NFT for $6 million and donating some of the proceeds to the Open Earth Foundation.
Médecins Sans Frontières recently receiving a donation of $3.5 million in what was the world’s largest cryptocurrency donation from an NFT project.
It is clear that crypto giving is on the rise, and I have a sneaking suspicion that Giving Tuesday will be a record-breaking day for donations made via cryptocurrency.
Social impact NFTs and DAOs are growing
One of the most exciting developments over the past year, has been the rapid emergence of mission driven DAOs and NFT projects.
In my recent post, Ten DAOs disrupting the social impact space, I highlighted some of these amazing DAOs including Klima DAO, Vita DAO, Change DAO, and ClimateDAO, among others. In the words of Zach Bronstein, COO of Endaoment:
“DAOs can accomplish even more…by embracing what corporations have only recently made a priority: social responsibility and impact investing. With the members serving as the key stakeholders and decision makers at each DAO, these communities are already primed not just to give back to causes they care about, but also to subsequently create a positive feedback loop.”
We’ve also seen the launch many charitable NFT projects that are pledging to donate a portion of their proceeds to charitable causes. Here are just a few examples of NFT social impact projects:
NFT4Good recently sold NFT trading cards of Asian Celebrities, with the proceeds of $80,000 going to #HateIsAVirus, an Asian American and Pacific Islander oriented anti-racism non-profit.
Floor NFT, an exciting new NFT project with a charitable focus, will be donating $77,777 to a community voted charity upon sell-out of the NFTs.
In an effort to raise funds for the charity Disaster Relief, Charmin, the toilet paper company, sold toilet paper themed NFTs, aptly nicknamed NFTPs.
As Afghanistan suffers through a humanitarian crisis, Care.org has raised more than $200,000 to help Afghans in need through the sale of unique NFT CARE packages.
Impact is a new NFT fundraising platform under development, where 95% of funds support charitable causes, with their first drop happening on Dec 7, 2021.
There is no shortage of new and innovative ways to support social impact causes in the web3 space, and the emergence of social impact DAOs and NFT projects are a great example of this.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain is being recognized as a force for good by major NGO’s and development organizations
One indication that widespread adoption of crypto in the social impact space is well underway, is the number of massive NGOs and development organizations embracing cryptocurrency and blockchain.
UNICEF, for example has launched a Crypto Fund to support the development of innovative humanitarian projects. To date, they have provided over 1325 ETH in investments to start-ups. The World Food Programme, the world’s largest humanitarian organization, on the other hand, is providing 100,000 Syrian refugees, through their Building Blocks program, with the ability to purchase groceries using aid provided by the WFP by simply scanning their iris at checkout. This program is built on a private, permissioned blockchain, and integrated with pre-existing biometrics’ technology utilized by the UNHCR, enabling them to easily keep track of every transaction for monitoring and evaluation purposes.
Oxfam, another large international NGO, launched the “UnBlocked Cash Project” (UBC), which is a blockchain-powered cash transfer solution that helps deliver aid in a way that is more efficient, transparent, quick, and cost-effective. This program has assisted over 35,000 beneficiaries by distributing over $2 million in global aid to 15 partner organizations.
These are just a few examples of many international NGOs that have embraced crypto and blockchain as a force for good and a means to improve humanitarian aid. When it comes to the world’s most significant existential crisis, climate change, blockchain in crypto is also being recognized as a positive force, despite the prevailing narrative of cryptocurrency as an environmental liability. In fact, the United Nations has acknowledged the power of blockchain in combatting climate change, stating that “the UN believes that blockchain, the technology lying behind these online currencies, could be of great benefit to those fighting the climate crisis, and help bring about a more sustainable global economy.”
Conclusion
Crypto for social impact is here to stay. Over the past year, there have been so many positive catalysts, including the rise in charities engaging with crypto, the emergence of mission-driven DAOs and NFT projects, and the adoption of crypto and blockchain by large NGOs, that have turned crypto for social impact into a truly unstoppable force. This short list doesn’t even include some of the other factors that demonstrate a compelling bull case for the symbiosis between blockchain, crypto, and social impact, including:
The massive surge in NFT transactions
The embrace of blockchain and cryptocurrency by the world’s top universities
The truly global nature of cryptocurrency, and the widescale adoption of crypto in the developing world
The massive increase in the number of women involved in the crypto and blockchain space
The growing number of groups promoting diversity in the space
Because of these reasons, among many others, I am more bullish than ever on the potential of cryptocurrency and blockchain to revolutionize the social impact sector.
What are some of the reasons you’re bullish on crypto for social impact? Tweet us at @Crypto_Altruism, we’d love to hear from you!
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