Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced in a press release that it will donate $10 million to intergovernmental and non-governmental groups to provide emergency support to refugees and children.
Binance will distribute the proceeds to UNICEF, UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, iSans, and People in Need. The company already has a relationship with UNICEF.
The gift comes on top of a cryptocurrency crowdfunding initiative called “Humanity First – Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund,” which has a goal of around $20 million. “Please join us in helping the people of Ukraine by donating crypto directly,” Binance added.
Donations can be made in BNB, BUSD, bitcoin, and ether. Additional charities may be added in the future, according to an email from a Binance official. The fund had raised around $5.9 million at the time of publication.
Donated donations will be utilized to support on-the-ground logistics such as food, gasoline, and supplies for refugees in countries bordering Ukraine and elsewhere.
The UNHCR cooperation will provide urgent emergency help, such as food, water, and medical supplies, as well as efforts to improve living conditions in temporary shelters.
Binance will fund the International Strategic Action Network (iSANS), which first established an organization in Poland in 2020, and People in Need, which operates in Slovakia, in order to provide people with another important exit path.
Ukraine Donations
The crypto community has warmly embraced the Ukrainian government’s request for donations to resist the Russian invasion and provide relief to those harmed, with roughly $10 million collected in ether and bitcoin.
According to on-chain data, the effort’s Ethereum wallet has collected $5.2 million.
Tether is worth $1.1 million, and USDC is at $109,000.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried donated $250,000 in Tether, and Chain.com CEO Deepak Thapliyal donated 100 ether (roughly $277,000) according to on-chain statistics.
Ukraine is now holding the cryptocurrency in an ERC20 wallet and has not made a withdrawal, according to data. The Bitcoin wallet in Ukraine has received $4.2 million. The government has already taken $2.9 million out of the pot.
Pussy Riot, a Russian art collective, assisted in the formation of a DAO that raised $3 million in ether for the war effort and humanitarian relief over the weekend.A separate wallet for donations to the Ukraine army, run by the charity Come Back Alive, has raised $6 million since its inception in mid-2021.
