Cashing out Bitcoin to save a dog’s life from cancer is ‘the moon for us’

April 28, 2022 Coin Telegraph

A Redditor from the United States cashed in on all of their Bitcoin to pay for their dog, Derby’s cancer treatment.

How much is a doggo’s life worth? For one Redditor, “dojeckahedron” saving their pooch from the clutches of cancer is worth their entire Bitcoin (BTC) stack.

In a tearjerker of a Reddit post, the dog owner from the States shared a photo of their pooch, Derby. The message said they cashed in all of their Bitcoin to pay for their “bestie’s radiation treatments.”

Dojeckahedron told Cointelegraph that they are “grateful” that they had Bitcoin to pay for Derby’s radiation treatment. For Dojeckahedron and their family, using Bitcoin as an investment strategy to pay for things was enough:

“This is the moon for us, we’re happy with that.”

The family began accumulating Bitcoin “right at the beginning of the pandemic.” Back in March 2020, when most of the world was locked down at home, many retail investors began to learn about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies–the Dojeckahedrons included:

“I believe we made our first investment in April 2020 and then primarily invested our stimulus checks along with a few smaller buys during some dips.”

Cointelegraph previously reported that Americans investing their stimulus into Bitcoin made $4,500 profit. For Dojeckahedron a Reddit comment revealed that they had “doubled” their initial investment using the world’s most popular cryptocurrency.

The Dojeckahedron family had sadly already lost Derby’s brother to cancer six years prior, so “after weighing all of our options, cashing out [to pay for treatment] was the best way for us to avoid completely depleting our personal savings."

When asked whether they could have taken out a loan against their Bitcoin in order to HODL and still pay for the treatment–like one British engineer did to pay for his Mom’s house–Dojeckahedron said they “did not know that taking a loan against it was an option.”

They added that taking out a loan using Bitcoin as collateral is something they “would have considered that had we known.”

A silver lining for Derby’s parents, the Reddit Bitcoin community was not only compassionate enough to share well wishes but it’s also helped the family to replenish their stack of Satoshis.

Some Redditors agree, selling Bitcoin to save a dog's life might be an exception. Source: Reddit

The Bitcoin address they shared in the subreddit comments has already received 0.0058 BTC ($200) from dog lovers and generous Bitcoiners alike.

It’s not the first time that crypto strangers on the internet have banded together to support those in need. A cancer patient raised funds through crypto Twitter, while crypto donations for Ukraine surpassed $37 million.

For the Dojeckahedrons, while Bitcoin has proved itself as an investment tool; it’s a “hobby” that is, unfortunately, “too unreliable for us to feel comfortable with it being our only safety net.” They summed up their feelings:

“At the end of the day, money is just money. Our dog, Derby, has been our best friend and a very loyal companion for more than 12 years.”

For those concerned about poor Derby’s outcome: “He's otherwise healthy and his prognosis with treatment is very good.”

Here’s to wishing Derby a speedy recovery.

Crypto Exchanges Binance and Whitebit Offer Help for Ukrainian Refugees

April 11, 2022 Bitcoin.com

‘I’ve never paid with crypto before’: How digital assets make a difference amid a war

April 9, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Banks

For many Ukrainians and Russians, digital assets have become the means to support themselves and their loved ones during the crisis.

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has become a stress test for crypto in many tangible ways. Digital assets have emerged as an effective means of directly supporting humanitarian efforts, and the crypto industry, despite enormous pressure, has largely proved itself a mature community — one ready to comply with international policies without compromising the core principles of decentralization.

But there is another vital role that crypto has filled during these tragic events: It is becoming more and more familiar to those who have found themselves cut off from the payment systems that had once seemed unfailing.

Traditional financial infrastructures don’t usually work well during military confrontations and humanitarian crises. From hyperinflation and cash shortages to the destruction of ATMs, crises can disrupt the banking system’s ability to function and threaten the money supply for millions of regular individuals.

Cointelegraph spoke with some of the people who experienced these disruptions firsthand during the first days and weeks of the war. Some of them didn’t know much about crypto and had to learn fast, while others were lucky to have had some experience with digital assets that they could fall back on.

Some of these people are from Ukraine and have directly experienced the struggles of war, while others are from Russia and had to leave the country as their ordinary lives collapsed overnight. Their stories reveal that when the world comes crashing down, it is ordinary people for whom crypto provides the last line of support, not the corrupt elites.

“Crypto was originally created so that no single government or individual could control it”

Viktoria Fox is a Ukrainian-American entrepreneur who is the founder and CEO of Polaris Capital, a cryptocurrency mining company. Her parents moved from Ukraine to the United States during the tumult of the post-Soviet Union 1990s. When the war broke out on Feb. 24, her U.S. family started receiving uneasy phone calls from their relatives in Ukraine. As Russian troops advanced into the country, the National Bank of Ukraine immediately stopped the circulation of all securities and limited cash withdrawals, creating a nationwide frenzy.

Although the central bank claimed that banking and financial systems remained “resilient” following the Russian invasion, Fox’s relatives told a different story from the ground:

“What I’ve been told is that banks are closed and all ATM machines have no more cash. After two weeks of war, my relatives, like most families, were completely out of cash.”

Since then, Fox has been sending them Bitcoin (BTC), which started to function as a cash substitute for vendors and fellow citizens — a means to pay for almost anything from food to taxis. Viktoria’s uncle used Bitcoin to compensate a driver who traveled six hours to get him from Kharkiv to the Western part of the country.

In Fox’s experience, most Ukrainians prefer to transact via established global exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance, though some rely on Ukrainian exchanges as well.

“I think it’s important to remember that crypto, particularly Bitcoin, was originally created so that no single government or individual could control it,” Fox noted. “While it would be tempting to punish the ‘bad’ Russians and reward innocent Ukrainian civilians, it defeats the whole purpose of a decentralized currency or asset.” She doesn’t believe that tightening government control over crypto would help ordinary people during this or any future war.

“For me, as an anarchist, it was a matter of ideological choice, not of comfort”

Until several weeks ago, “Andrey” lived in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg, where he was born. Andrey is a front-end developer and has some professional experience with blockchain platforms. “I probably couldn’t write a smart contract, but I sure know how to use crypto in daily financial operations,” he said. “I have experience withdrawing USDT here and there, and I never did it through bank cards. For me, as an anarchist, it was a matter of ideological choice, not of comfort.”

As Andrey headed for Berlin on the fourth day of the war, the entirety of his belongings consisted of a laptop, a pair of t-shirts and a hardware wallet holding some hard-earned stablecoins:

“I had to use them to buy plane tickets to travel inside Europe. The last thing I managed to do with my Visa card was to rent a flat on Airbnb for two weeks. I was lucky enough to have a bunch of friends in Europe, and now they help me to pay with cards when necessary. I just send them the coins.”

In the long run, Andrey admitted that he still needs fiat to buy groceries and other necessities. He has yet to learn the peer-to-peer withdrawal tools available in Europe. Still, he regards the decision to get a hardware wallet for crypto as one of the smartest moves in his life. “It’s not like I was preparing for something like this, but, you know, when living under authoritarianism, you’d better be independent of the local banks.”

Andrey admitted that withdrawing crypto in a new jurisdiction could pose a major problem as well. He said:

“Despite my overall knowledge of the industry, right now I’m in a difficult position. In Germany, very stringent requirements are applied to cash withdrawals, and I’m still researching the ways to do it.”

It is not only about personal needs. Andrey is a Russian citizen whose father was born and raised in the south of Ukraine. He doesn’t have a legal way to donate money to support the relief effort for Ukrainian civilians — such an act could be considered a criminal offense or even high treason by the government. Andrey noted:

“Like many others in Russia, I have friends in Ukraine. Some of them are in Kyiv now, sleeping in bomb shelters under artillery fire. My problems are nothing compared to theirs. To help them, I had to find someone on the ground who would agree to exchange my USDT for hryvnias [Ukraine’s currency]. After I made sure my friends’ banking cards worked, I used this opportunity. The sum wasn’t huge, but I hope it was at least some help.”

“We could not receive international transfers to Ukrainian accounts”

Anna Shakola, a native of Kyiv, began to work as an NFT project manager at Cointelegraph in November 2021, several months before the war broke out. She had not used crypto as a payment method until the crisis began: “Honestly, I had never paid by crypto, except for transacting in NFTs. I used these assets only as an investment tool.”

Shakola had to learn fast, as during the first three weeks of the war, the fiat financial system was partially frozen: “We could not receive international transfers to Ukrainian accounts and had some problems with domestic fiat transfers as well.” After becoming accustomed to performing everyday transactions using digital currencies, she learned about Unchain, a charitable project founded by Ukrainian blockchain activists.

Unchain began to channel donations to Ukrainian civilians on Feb. 27, after a network of local crypto-fiat exchanges supported the initiative. The next step was to issue virtual debit gift cards known as “Help Cards” in cooperation with Kyiv-based Unex Bank and Weld Money. The cards are designed to help families — mothers and children — who might not have the time to learn to use crypto in the middle of a war. Unchain accepts donations in crypto and converts them to hryvnias on the receiver’s end. It plans to finance up to 10,000 Help Cards.

The war has undoubtedly shattered the global economic order, and it has also become a profound stress test for the crypto industry. Despite suspicions that digital assets could undermine the international sanctions regime, they have emerged freshly branded as a resilient, flexible payments system with the potential to help millions of people on their hardest day.

It’s no accident that the Ukrainian government has championed measures that would develop its digital economy after the war. On March 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law to build a legal framework for the country to establish a regulated crypto market. Given the need to rebuild the country once the hostilities are over, the nation’s hard-earned experience with crypto will likely be instrumental in developing a thriving digital economy.

Crypto Allows Ukraine to ‘Operate Internationally,’ Official Says

March 4, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Ukraine’s Cyberpolice Force Starts Accepting Cryptocurrency Donations

March 3, 2022 Bitcoin.com

NBA merch designer turned to blockchain to help end world hunger

February 14, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

“We need to relate and provide products to future generations to continue to tackle the global hunger crisis but at the same time make the products engaging and interactive,” says Shawn Kurz.

When he’s not designing merch for the NBA or supplying coffee for big retailers, Shawn Kurz is fighting world hunger with the help of blockchain technology.

Motivated to mend the shortcomings of traditional charity systems, Kurz founded FoodChain Global (FCG), an organization that uses a blockchain-based ecosystem to support charitable initiatives targeting global hunger.

Enlisting the help of Cody Boyd, a former military systems engineer, to lead a blockchain development team, FCG has launched digital asset products such as FoodChain Global token (FOOD) and nonfungible tokens (NFT) and uses the profits to supply food to food banks.

Kurz told Cointelegraph that the project aims to bring the fight against global hunger to younger generations. The team aims to continuously provide digital products that speak to Millennials and GenZ who are glued to the digital world.

“We need to relate and provide products to future generations to continue to tackle the global hunger crisis but, at the same time, make the products engaging and interactive.”

According to Kurz, many of the current blockchain projects, especially meme coins, have little to no contribution to the real world. He urges the community to move past the fluff and “have strong business leaders showcase the good side of the technology.”

At the moment, FCG has released Polygon-based FOOD tokens, NFTs and crypto merchandise clothing stores. The proceeds were used to supply food to the Daily Bread Food Bank and Haven on the Queensway.

“Most people who donate to charity just donate and never get to see tangible proof of that money being spent,” said Kurz. However, the FCG founder mentioned that people who purchase FOOD tokens can easily track where their money goes through Polygon’s blockchain explorer.

By going through the publicly available transactions on Polyscan, anyone can see the movements of assets within FCG’s ecosystem. With this, people can track the amount that goes to charity. Kurz said that this allows the public to hold the company accountable.

Meanwhile, crypto charities dedicated to various causes are on the rise. Many blockchain-based projects have contributed to philanthropic initiatives, raising millions of dollars. Crypto donations platform The Giving Block reported in February that crypto donations multiplied by 16 times in 2021.

NFT philanthropy demonstrates new ways of giving back

January 31, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Analysis

Organizations and artists are using NFTs to give back to children in need, demonstrating new potential for nonfungible tokens.

NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, have created a wealth of opportunities over the last year. Data from market tracker DappRadar found that NFT sales reached $25 billion in 2021. Artwork NFTs in particular have seen impressive growth. Financial services firm FinancePR recently determined that 257 artists generated at least $1 million in the past 30 days from selling NFT artwork. It’s also notable that NFT transactions have continued to increase, despite recent slumps in the crypto market.

Yet with so much revenue being generated over a short period of time, some may be wondering how NFT creators are applying these new streams of income. While this is a tough question to answer, industry experts believe that NFT philanthropy is becoming a major trend as sales from nonfungible tokens increase.

Alex Wilson, co-founder of The Giving Block — a nonprofit crypto fundraising platform — told Cointelegraph that the rise of NFT philanthropy has mirrored general growth across the NFT sector. Wilson said that NFT philanthropy started taking off about six months ago, noting that The Giving Block has already seen over $12 million in cryptocurrency, or 30% of its donation volume, come from NFT-giving initiatives:

“In most cases, creators are selling their NFTs and then have a portion (or all) of the proceeds donated to their favorite crypto-friendly charity. Since most NFTs are sold for ETH, many of the NFT-related donations have also come in the form of Ethereum.”

Given the amount of interest in NFT philanthropy recently, Wilson stated that The Giving Block is currently working with a number of major NFT platforms to make crypto donations easier by integrating the concept into their core product. “For example, we are working with NFT platforms to ensure that when someone is setting up an auction, they can select a charity from a dropdown and then have the proceeds automatically sent there,” he said.

In addition to initiatives from The Giving Block, Graph Blockchain, a decentralized finance and altcoin company, announced on Jan. 24 that the company has entered a share exchange agreement with Niftable, a charity-focused NFT company. This agreement would essentially allow Graph Blockchain to own Niftable after the acquisition is closed.

Paul Haber, CEO of Graph Blockchain, told Cointelegraph that focusing expertise on NFTs in the charity space offers a number of benefits. He added that most charities today rely on volunteers and lack expertise in the emerging NFT world.

Betting big on NFT philanthropy

While emerging solutions from The Giving Block and Graph Blockchain could be game-changers for NFT philanthropy, artists and organizations have also begun using their own resources to ensure proceeds earned from NFT sales go to good causes. Many of these initiatives are focused on helping children.

For example, Sheqonomi is a project that uses NFTs to give back to children in need, particularly girls in developing countries. Anu Bhardwaj, founder of Sheqonomi, told Cointelegraph that the rewards-based podcast is designed specifically for low-income populations who don’t have access to streaming media services, like Spotify:

“This podcast was designed for people to listen, learn and earn, especially during COVID-19. We built Sheqonomi on KaiOS, which is a $10 mobile phone that has a partnership with the Indian telecommunication company Reliance Jio. This will incentivize 150 million JioPhone users to listen, learn and earn digital assets and rewards in the very near future.”

Bhardwaj further explained that users listening to the app have the ability to earn reward tokens as an incentive for providing the platform with user-generated data. Listeners are then able to hold these tokens in their virtual wallets or spend them on the NFT artwork soon to be featured on Sheqonomi’s platform. Bhardwaj said:

“On March 8, 2022, which is International Women’s Day, we will have an NFT gallery where people can purchase artwork NFTs with their tokens. Proceeds from each sale will be donated to participating charities on our platform. For instance, a minimum of 25% of NFT sales will be given to The State of Women Institute, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization championing the stories and issues faced by young women and girls.”

According to Bhardwaj, Sheqonomi uses NFTs for philanthropy since these digital assets represent the voices of women and girls everywhere. “The main thing we want to spotlight is divine feminism in all forms. For instance, one of the NFTs that will be featured in our gallery was created by an eight-year-old girl who wanted to have 50% of proceeds donated to refugees.”

NFT created by eight-year-old Isla Mostaque. Source: Sheqonomi

Moreover, Bhardwaj noted that giving back using NFTs allows Sheqonomi the ability to continually add charities to its platform while letting users understand where exactly those funds are going thanks to the transparency provided by blockchain technology.

This concept also resonated with UNICEF, or the United Nations Children’s Fund. In order to commemorate UNICEF’s 75th anniversary, the agency launched 1,000 NFTs to support digital connectivity among schools in underserved communities. UNICEF partnered with data visualization scientist and artist Nadieh Bremer to create the collection “Patchwork Kingdoms.”

NFT from the “Patchwork Kingdoms.” Source: UNICEF

Chris Fabian, co-founder and lead at Giga — UNICEF’s global school internet connectivity initiative — told Cointelegraph that all of the proceeds from UNICEF’s NFT sale went back to support Giga:

“The entire sale generated 235 ETH worth of revenue. Through the minting of the NFTs alone, we raised 175 ETH. We then had an in-person auction for one unique piece that sold for 40.9 ETH. Finally, royalties from OpenSea allowed us to receive 20% back from secondary sales, where we’ve generated 20 ETH. In total, we’ve raised 235 ETH, all of which was given back to UNICEF.”

To date, Fabian explained that Giga has connected over 3,000 schools to the internet, benefitting over 700,000 children, and mapped over 1 million more to help target investment in connectivity.

He explained that using NFT proceeds has allowed Giga to bring in a new community of donors seeking social good opportunities through cryptocurrency. Moreover, Fabian mentioned that the utility behind UNICEF’s NFTs allows donors the ability to continue giving back to underserved communities. “We have flipped the way of looking at NFT utility, which is refreshing,” he said.

In another example of NFT artwork being used for charity, American entertainment company iNDIEFLIX recently released a documentary entitled Angst, which features a series of film NFTs focused on raising awareness for children’s mental health.

The film will stream until Jan. 31, 2022, on a blockchain network created by digital content management firm Eluvio.

Scilla Andreen, producer of Angst and chief operating officer iNDIEFLIX, told Cointelegraph that the production company wanted to use film NFTs to create a marketplace for creatives to directly connect with the film’s audience. “We wanted to use a story to build community. COVID hit everyone hard, so we pivoted by doing a hybrid approach to deliver content through different models, NFTs being one of those,” said Andreen.

Andreen explained that viewers can easily claim a free NFT by creating an Eluvio digital wallet from the film’s event page. There are three community NFTs featured, each containing a supply of 10,000 unique nonfungible tokens with a specific theme related to the film:

“The NFTs are meant to symbolize three stages of anxiety: revelation (to normalize and address our most common fears), action (tips and tricks to help children hack their brain to create calm), and change. A special thank you NFT will also be airdropped to the community following the event. Each NFT is linked with metadata that contains video clips from Angst.”

While the NFTs from the film are given to viewers for free, Andreen shared that a “special film” NFT will be available for purchase. She said that 50% of the proceeds from this sale will be given to the organizations Jack.org and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, both of which focus on children’s mental health.

Michelle Munson, co-founder and chief operating officer of Eluvio, told Cointelegraph that her firm has spent years working on incorporating blockchain technology with digital media content. For instance, in August of last year, Fox Corporation made a strategic investment in Eluvio to help develop Fox’s NFT business model. Munson explained that NFTs have opened a mechanism for value and engagement to occur through film content:

“NFTs are a new form of digital identity that can help reach youth. The backstory, though, is that NFTs can also be very profitable. NFTs can be viewed as a way to eventually provide a new type of equity finance, working as blockchain equity through NFTs. This is a huge area that our company believes will accelerate fast. Many projects are using NFTs to engage with an audience while funding their own work and charitable initiatives.”

Challenges could hamper adoption

While NFTs for charity are certainly a growing sector, challenges remain that could hamper adoption. For instance, as NFT sales gain traction, a number of scams have plagued the space. Therefore, it’s important for both donors and organizations to carefully consider each nonprofit accepting NFT donations.

For instance, Wilson mentioned that The Giving Block has vetted every nonprofit the organization works with, noting that these are all registered charities. In terms of ensuring that donations actually go to the intended recipients, Wilson added that The Giving Block is automating its distribution or payout models. “For example, on some platforms like Foundation, you can set a payout address so that a portion (or all) of the proceeds are automatically sent.”

Technical challenges aside, Munson pointed out that she believes the biggest challenge surrounding NFT philanthropy is awareness. “We need to educate the world on the possibilities. There is a real need to keep amplifying what is possible with NFTs.”

Even with the present challenges, NFT philanthropy is poised to be an ongoing trend. Alex Salnikov, co-founder and head of product at Rarible — an NFT marketplace — told Cointelegraph that there has been an increase in NFT philanthropy efforts lately. Salnikov said that while the number of donation volumes are impressive, the fact that NFT community members are becoming first-time donors is equally important:

“This presents an entirely new audience who might be even more generous than investors across other sectors. This trend is giving rise to a crowd that is just more comfortable with donating via NFTs and crypto, be it for tax reasons or just because they’re more comfortable with on-chain assets as opposed to fiat assets processed by centralized authorities.”

Coinbase joins NGO’s efforts using crypto to help Haitians impacted by earthquakes, civil unrest

January 25, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Business

Affected individuals should be able to use the digital funds for goods and services at more than 30 participating merchants in Haiti, with the option for vendors to cash out.

Major crypto exchange Coinbase has given a $150,000 grant to Hope for Haiti as part of a pilot program aimed at providing financial assistance to Haitians experiencing social and economic hardship.

In a Tuesday announcement, Hope for Haiti said Coinbase would be making the $150,000 contribution to its pilot project with financial inclusion-driven firm Emerging Impact and the Celo Foundation. According to Celo, the project utilizes the Celo Dollar (cUSD) and Emerging Impact’s Umoja platform to provide cash-based assistance to mothers affected by some of the traumatic events in the Caribbean nation.

Haiti has been struck by four major earthquakes in the last 12 years, including a magnitude 5.3 quake on Monday, which reportedly left two people dead and 200 homes destroyed. However, the island nation’s capital city of Port-au-Prince was also significantly damaged by a magnitude 7 earthquake in 2010, followed by prolonged civil unrest that was, in part, connected to the current pandemic and the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in July.

At Least Two Killed In Haiti Quake, 200 Houses Destroyedhttps://t.co/4R5yzdmmrV pic.twitter.com/pgHDEOLIoy
— Channels Television (@channelstv) January 25, 2022

Coinbase’s charitable arm, Coinbase Giving, provided the funds to be used for the benefit of roughly 1,500 Haitian people — those families with children enrolled in Hope for Haiti’s community nutrition program. The impacted individuals should be able to use the funds for goods and services at more than 30 participating merchants in Haiti, with the option for the vendors to cash out the digital funds using local money management service MonCash.

“This initiative with Hope for Haiti and Emerging Impact is particularly 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 cryptoeconomy and philanthropic sectors,” said Coinbase Giving’s head Dominique Baillet.

Many individuals and charitable organizations have employed crypto as a means of getting money into the hands of those who need it most following a natural disaster or are in a country experiencing political turmoil. After many in the Philippines were displaced or injured following typhoon Rai hitting the region in December 2021, the play-to-earn gaming group Yield Guild Games raised $1.4 million to help victims. Similarly, in the wake of the Texas Winter Storm in February 2021, some local disaster relief groups announced they would be accepting crypto donations.

Green and gold: The crypto projects saving the planet

January 11, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Charity

While the world argued about the ethics of crypto, these projects changed the world for the better during 2021.

It seems as though the potential benefits of cryptocurrency are often overshadowed by the technology’s inherent vulnerability to exploitation.

And it’s true, crypto adoption does come with risks. Over the past year, governments from around the world have raised concerns that crypto could be used to finance terrorism or other illicit activity like money laundering. There have been prohibitive measures everywhere from China to Nigeria, with many crypto exchanges forced into a legislative chokehold.

While crypto has its challenges, it has also become a tool for policymakers and activists wanting to make the world a better place.

The climate crisis

During 2021, public scrutiny of Bitcoin (BTC) energy-intensive mining practices dominated headlines all year long — and for good reason. According to Digiconomist, Bitcoin mining consumes a similar amount of energy to an entire small country like the Netherlands or the Philippines.

However, many environmental activists are already using the very same technology as a tool in the fight against climate change. For example, smart token contracts have allowed charitable institutions to raise funds in a way never seen before.

Many of these “charity tokens” have a tax system that charges a fee with every transaction, which can then be wired to a charity of choice. For example, the World of Waves (WOW) token is on a mission to restore the planet’s oceans and combat climate change.

In 2020, world's oceans may have stored up to 1 sextillion more joules of heat energy than in 2019. Warmer water contributes to melting sea ice. Seas may have absorbed enough heat last year to boil 1.3 billion kettles of water. Buy $WOW & support climate conservation efforts. pic.twitter.com/4ehOOc2iq0
— World of Waves (Official) (@World_Of_Waves) November 13, 2021

The project has a transactional tax of 11% that is redistributed back to all holders, 3.3% to the liquidity pool and 4.4% to the WOW charity wallet. As the charity wallet grows, funds are extracted monthly for donations towards nature conservation activities and the preservation of wildlife. According to the project’s Twitter page, over $49,000 has already been donated. WOW chief operating officer Kristijan Tot told Cointelegraph:

“It's all about making a positive impact on causes around the world while shining the spotlight on NGOs and creators.”

In this way, charitable giving is hardwired into the token’s underlying algorithm. Not only that but holders are also incentivized to invest and stay invested in the project.

WOW isn't the only crypto project using this type of technology to raise funds for an environmental cause.

Solarcoin distributes tokens as a reward to people who install solar arrays in their homes or businesses. The theory is that when the price of the coin exceeds the energy production cost, solar will effectively become free. The project’s website states:

“As of today, cryptocurrencies are worth over US$2 trillion. Most of that value was distributed in exchange for carbon-intensive crypto mining. What if it was given out to people who produced energy for free?”

Black Lives Matter

Of course, environmental conservation isn’t the only issue crypto projects have attempted to tackle over the past year. In June, the world watched in outrage as George Floyd was murdered by a police officer. His death sparked renewed momentum for the Black Lives Matter movement — and no shortage of controversy in the crypto community.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, a group attempted to cash in on the turmoil by releasing a George Floyd token, a project rife with shaky tokenomics and an unclear payment system. It was also reported that a person attended the protests holding a sign claiming “Bitcoin will save us.”

Despite the obvious bad taste of these isolated instances, the wider community mainly rallied for the cause. For example, the Giving Block introduced a solution for their users to specifically donate to nonprofits supporting the Black Lives Matter movement such as the Chicago Community Bond Fund, Movement for Black Lives and the Bail Project.

Back in 2020, the crypto fundraising platform partnered with Gitcoin to launch its #CryptoForBlackLives campaign. Initially, Gitcoin matched donations up to $25,000 through a community grant. However, that tally was boosted to over $100,000 by the campaign’s completion.

Black activists have also worked tirelessly to ensure their communities are able to benefit from the monetary gains that crypto has to offer. Founder and lead engineer of Guapcoin (GUAP) Taviona Evans says that her platform was able to accomplish more in 2021 than any year prior. GUAP was created to help close the wealth gap in Black communities and support Black-owned businesses in the United States. She told Cointelegraph:

“We've sparked awareness about crypto among a population with less access and education in crypto and finance — and we continue to do so.”

Improving healthcare

Another area of charitable giving where crypto projects have made a difference this year has been healthcare and mental health. In 2021, the health of many people around the world suffered immensely as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to spread.

Perhaps one of the more unexpected results of the coronavirus was its profound effect on crypto and blockchain, which can be traced to the pandemic’s genesis in late 2019.

From Australia to Mexico, blockchain technology is already being used to verify the authenticity of COVID-19 test results and vaccination certificates.

A number of crypto funds and tokens have also emerged to support communities around the world that have suffered from outbreaks of the virus. In April this year, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal created the COVID-Crypto Relief Fund as a crushing second wave of the virus tore through his home country of India.

The fund was able to raise a whopping $429.59 million by mid-October, with Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, Australia cricketer Brett Lee and Coinbase chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan among its contributors.

#India @CryptoRelief_ @VitalikButerin @RyoshiResearch
The #India #Covid #Crypto Relief Fund donation has been spent! This is good news for everyone! For the ones that supported the donation, and also for the ones that opposed!
What do you think #ShibArmy?https://t.co/dbxNx84bVF pic.twitter.com/fe7w5swdge
— SHIB INFORMER (@ShibInformer) September 26, 2021

Is crypto a force for social good or bad?

If there has ever been a year to prove that crypto is truly morally agnostic, it was 2021. Around the world, the same technology used to finance terrorism was also used to fund healthcare amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While the world argued about the impact that energy-intensive BTC mining projects have on the environment, others created crypto projects and tokens to save our planet.

As we move into 2022, whether crypto is a force for good or bad remains in the eyes of the holder.

NFTs to help brewers and farmers preserve UNESCO Belgian beer heritage

January 1, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Auction

As a part of the partnership, Zeromint will mint and offer exclusive NFTs on the GoChain blockchain, which will be made available for international beer fans via BBA.

Brewers and farmers from Belgian Barrels Alliance (BBA) have partnered with Zeromint to offer nonfungible tokens (NFTs) aimed at preserving the UNESCO recognized Belgian beer culture and heritage.

As a part of the partnership, Zeromint will mint and offer exclusive NFTs on the GoChain blockchain, which will be made available for international beer fans via BBA. Starting today, the organization will run several BBA NFT collection projects around sustainability and the preservation of Belgian beer heritage for the next 14 days.

According to the official statement, the first Belgian Barrels NFT auction will be used to recruit 11 participants for acting in a BBA-produced movie titled Belgian Barrels:

“The aim of the movie project is to further eternalize the Belgian Beer history through a professional cinematic movie production, which BBA plans to promote and distribute globally.”

In addition, the NFT winners will join a whitelist VIP access to all BBA events and access to vintage beer menus and exclusive bottles at BBA clubs. “Eighty percent (80%) of the revenue generated from the NFT auction will go towards a local charity in Belgium,” the announcement stated. Tom De Block, Co-founder of the Belgian Barrels Alliance added:

“Belgian beer is not just beer. It is a rich and complex history about old families and true people that became legends. It is simply an honor to open some of their bottles and to tell their story.”

The Alliance also plans to launch NFTs initiatives to promote tree plantations and learn specialized artisan skills and traditions in addition to building engagement and reward opportunities for beer fans and enthusiasts.

British telco giant Vodafone announced plans to create an NFT of the world’s first Short Message Service (SMS) and auction the proceedings to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (the UN Refugee Agency).

The SMS, that reads “Merry Christmas,” was sent 29 years ago over the Vodafone network on Dec 3, 1992, to Richard Jarvis, an employee at the time.

As Cointelegraph reported, the historic 15 character-long SMS will be auctioned off in a one-off sale conducted by the Aguttes Auction House in France.