Popular China-based crypto exchange, Huobi has pledged to donate $1 million worth of bitcoin (BTC) and fiat currency to the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). At the time of the announcement, the exchange had already donated $350,000 in BTC to the organization’s crypto fund.
The development comes barely a year after UNICEF expressed their desire to receive bitcoin donations from large donors. Over the years UNICEF’s innovation fund has gained more popularity than its crypto fund which was established about two years ago.
Unlike the innovation fund, donations such as the bitcoins which UNICEF received from Huobi were to be donated to early-stage companies in bitcoin (without converting it to fiat).
Commenting on the non-popularity of UNICEF’s crypto fund among donors, the director of UNICEF’s Office of Innovation, Thomas Davin, said that potential partners are usually surprised that it exists and often express disbelief that UNICEF accepts crypto donations.
So far, cryptocurrency donations received by the non-profit organization were mainly from private individuals and companies. Huobi, however, has changed this narrative as their action could encourage other crypto exchanges to donate crypto funds to the agency.
This action benefits Huobi as well as it could put them on the list of philanthropic crypto companies along with their major competitors, Coinbase and Binance.
Thomas also mentioned that it was a challenge to establish UNICEF’s crypto fund. This difficulty was as a result of the instability and volatility of cryptocurrencies.
“Bringing volatile assets into our organization was a difficult conversation…” with the finance teams, the director said. They, however, decided to continue investing in digital currencies, viewing them “not as a financial instrument” but “as an asset.”
Another benefit is that using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum makes it easier for UNICEF to track the movement of the funds even after beneficiaries receive it.
So far UNICEF’s crypto fund has invested in about twelve different crypto and blockchain-related projects around the world, believing that the industry will do much good to the world.
In another development involving Bitcoin donations to charity last month, Jack Dorsey donated Bitcoin to an African charity organization, Give Directly Africa Response Fund.
