Clean-water nonprofit launches celebrity-funded Bitcoin Water Trust

Charity

The Bitcoin Water Trust currently has collected more than 12 BTC so far, representing a cumulative value of $468,000 at today’s prices.

Charity: water, a New York-based nonprofit with a mandate to bring clean and safe driving water to developing countries, has begun accepting Bitcoin (BTC) donations through a dedicated cryptocurrency fund — a move that could help the organization attract new donors towards its initiative.

The launch of the Bitcoin Water Trust allows charity: water to receive and hold Bitcoin donations to fund global water projects through 2025, the nonprofit announced Friday. The fund’s assets will be held entirely in Bitcoin, with the intended execution of water projects also to be settled in the flagship digital currency.

“We’ve been encouraged by the overwhelming support we have seen already for the Bitcoin Trust Initiative,” said Scott Harrison, founder and CEO at charity: water, adding:

“By establishing this trust, we aim to harness the transformational power of this generational digital technology to make a lasting social impact, and in the process to provide a potential model for other charities who are working to do the same.”

One of the fund’s most prominent donors is professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, who’s backed charity: water for more than a decade. “I’m honored to support the Bitcoin Water Trust, and I believe Bitcoin has serious potential for charitable growth,” he said.

Charity: water has tapped 100 visionaries to donate at least 1 BTC in order to meet its lofty goal of collecting at least 100 BTC. The first 50 BTC in donations will be matched by Bitcoin entrepreneurs Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. The fund’s other preliminary members include some of the most recognizable names in crypto, such as Mike Novogratz, Barry Silbert, Anthony Pompliano, Meltem Demirors, Cory Klipstein, Yoni Assia, Bill Miller, David Marcus and Ayesha Kiani.

Crypto-focused charities have exploded in popularity in recent years, reflecting the mainstream’s growing acceptance of digital assets. The rise of crypto charities was recently on display when two blockchain projects, Elongate and Munch, swiftly raised over $3 million for various charitable causes. Meanwhile, The Giving Block launched a new Crypto Giving Pledge in April to ramp up industry-wide donation efforts. The American Cancer Society has also begun accepting cryptocurrency donations through a dedicated fund established in partnership with The Giving Block.

<div>The Giving Block launches 'Crypto Giving Pledge' to ramp up crypto donation efforts</div>

Charity

“Crypto Giving Pledge” is the organization’s most ambitious fundraising initiative yet.

The Giving Block, a leading cryptocurrency donations platform, has launched a new initiative with the stated goal of making crypto the most charitable industry in the world.

The “Crypto Giving Pledge” encourages digital asset investors to pledge at least 1% of their holdings to charities each year and for cryptocurrency companies to contribute 1% of their revenue toward similar causes. Users can join the initiative anonymously and without having to disclose their contributions.

If everyone in crypto donated 1% of their holdings to charities, they could collectively raise $20 billion, based on the current market capitalization of digital assets.

Alex Wilson, co-founder of The Giving Block, said the new initiative “will transform the way the world views cryptocurrency and create the largest influx of charitable giving that the world has ever seen.”

Pat Duffy, the organization’s other co-founder, said the initiative will do three things that “everyone in crypto wants to see happen”:

“One, it will generate a ton of money for amazing causes in critical need of this support. Two, for pledgers in the US in particular, the donations made through this pledge will erase millions of dollars in crypto tax burdens for donors. And third, it will put to bed this idea that crypto is bad, which we believe is the primary barrier slowing the mainstream adoption of crypto.”

“Crypto Giving Pledge” is launching in collaboration with Founder’s Circle, an industry group that will promote the initiative. The Giving Block has already sent open invitations to prominent industry voices like Michael Saylor, Elon Musk, Brain Armstrong, Joseph Lubin, Barry Silbert and others. Although their participation has not been confirmed, other industry leaders have already signed up, and their commitments will soon be reported by Cointelegraph. As a media partner, Cointelegraph will announce the Founder’s Circle members as the campaign proceeds and provide other updates on the initiative as they unfold.

TAKE THE CRYPTO GIVING PLEDGE HERE

The Giving Block has made significant headway in promoting crypto-based donations. In January, the organization joined forces with the American Cancer Society to establish a new Cancer Crypto Fund with the stated goal of raising at least $1 million.

The Giving Block also partnered with Cointelegraph to host the first “Crypto’s Biggest Brain” charity trivia contest in December 2020.

Crypto Giving Pledge