UNICEF has launched an official cryptocurrency fund to take its acceptance of crypto to the next level. The new fund will not only accept donations in BTC and ETH but will also hold and disburse them where needed in a move that will undoubtedly improve cryptocurrency’s reputation globally. Several UNICEF committees already accept cryptocurrency but the new UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund kicks its integration with digital assets up a gear.
We are the first UN agency to receive, hold and disburse donations in cryptocurrency.
This is why it’s so important for young people and children. ?
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) October 9, 2019
Ethereum Foundation Makes First Contribution
In a blog post announcing the scheme, UNICEF said that it will use the donations to “fund open source technology benefiting children and young people around the world”, with the donations handed out in the denominations received, meaning they will not be cashed out in any way to preserve their value. The first contributions to the UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund will come from the Ethereum Foundation and will be used to connect schools around the world to the internet. Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director said of the new venture:
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 is a significant and welcome step forward in humanitarian and development work.
UNICEF’s Blockchain Boost
UNICEF’s branches in USA, Australia, New Zealand, and France already accept cryptocurrencies, with the French wing of the charity adding DAI to its list of accepted cryptos in January, and it is through the French branch the Ethereum Foundation will make their donation. This first donation will go towards the GIGA initiative, one of UNICEF’s selected grantees from its UNICEF Innovation Fund, a collection of six blockchain-based startups that aim to assist UNICEF in its activities in protecting the rights of children worldwide. Cryptocurrencies have gained traction as a fundraising medium for charities in recent months, with the Bitcoin Reddit community using donated BTC to help buy school supplies for Venezuelan schoolchildren in December last year and Fidelity adding the ability to donate to worthy causes in cryptocurrency through Fidelity Charity.
