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Why Crypto Donations Are Rising in 2024
In 2021, the nonprofit sector has quietly become the most crypto-friendly arena in the world. Millions of dollars have been donated, and thousands of nonprofits have launched active initiatives to collaborate with crypto philanthropists.
When cryptocurrency markets crashed in 2022, the nonprofit sector began to think the crypto philanthropy party was over. After a record-breaking 2021 in which my organization, The Giving Block, facilitated $69 million in crypto donations, crypto-based charitable giving slowed with the FTX crash.
Pat Duffy is a founder of The Giving Block, a platform that helps investors donate cryptocurrency to charities, educational institutions, and faith-based nonprofits. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinDesk, Inc. or its owners and affiliates.
Today, market caps are rising again, and in turn, crypto donations are pouring in. We’ve spent the past few months helping crypto investors donate tens of millions of dollars to charities, faith-based organizations, and universities, from ocean conservation charities to refugee relief organizations.
If anyone thinks this is just business as usual, they are sadly mistaken. Crypto philanthropy is back in a big way. And what makes this wave unique is the diversity of ways to donate, driven by much more than the price of BTC, ETH, etc. Web3’s current charitable trends were built during the last bull cycle, battle-tested and optimized through the bear market, and are now coming of age as the market approaches a period that should break previous all-time highs.
Here are some of the little-discussed ways Web3 and the cryptocurrency community are changing the nonprofit world for the better.
When we launched The Giving Block six years ago, we knew that Bitcoin and Ethereum donors were here to stay. The generosity of meme coin holders, however, surprised us.
Last cycle, we thought the rise of Dogecoin and Shiba Inu donors would be a fad, with DOGE becoming the most donated cryptocurrency in the $30 million Team Seas campaign led by Mr. Beast and Mark Rober. But memecoins remain a very valuable source of charitable funding today. This time, some new memecoins have burst onto the charitable giving scene to make a difference.
The Baby Doge team has donated over $500,000 to support animal shelters and other animal welfare programs around the world. Baby Doge is even launching an API to easily enable cryptocurrency donations from their community, as they seem to have made charity part of their DNA. They even set a Guinness World Record for Most of the donated pet food within 24 hours.
Meanwhile, BONK was one of the most donated cryptocurrencies when the price took off earlier this year, as their community immediately turned gains into impact. The BONK community is in the process of developing an on-chain program and decentralized application that allows users to donate cryptocurrency to animal-focused charities that partner with The Giving Block. The application manages the donation process, burns a small percentage of BONK tokens, and matches the donations. We are thrilled that a community that has seen an 8,000% increase in their investment in the last twelve months has been inspired to make a long-term commitment to charity.
We’ve always said that crypto philanthropy is a two-way street. Meme coin projects demonstrate how crypto communities grow by funding social causes, creating a mutually beneficial cycle of growing awareness for the token and the cause they support. But these relationships don’t exist in a vacuum. Some philanthropic strategies coming out of Web3 have a real opportunity to change the way traditional nonprofits systematically raise money, as some organizations have begun to embrace quadratic funding.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is known to have co-devised quadratic financing, which has been called a “mathematically optimal way to finance public goods in a democratic community.” Over time, it has become one of Web3’s favorite ways to fund projects of all kinds.
In December 2023, the Gitcoin community quadratic funding round raised 2,971 donations from 1,058 donors at finance six projects that will help advance the lifesaving work of the American Cancer Society.
For nonprofits looking for ways to engage new donor communities, quadratic funding represents a way forward, a way to break the mold of traditional fundraising methods and embrace innovation.
Similarly, more and more humanitarian organizations have been experimenting with distributing aid via stablecoins, from UNHCR to Mercy Corps Ventures. With each test, the impact sector is getting closer to adopting more promising use cases for cryptocurrency and blockchain.
We are also seeing the legacy of NFT fundraising continue. During the last bull market, innovative projects like Women and weaponswho donated six figures to the Malala Fund, which supports girls’ education, has set the stage for a culture of charitable giving. We’ve even seen major charities and global brands collaborate on NFT initiatives, such as when Stella Artois brewery tapped Gary Vaynerchuk’s Vayner3 to launch an NFT drop in support Water.orga group that promotes clean water and sanitation initiatives
Today, bitcoin-based ordinal projects like NodeMonkes are expanding the boundaries of NFT charitable giving. Creators like Jack Butcher have given collectors the tools to understand the positive impact they have with every NFT purchase.
We have also seen a rise in Web3 influencers asking their communities to donate cryptocurrency for good. One example is the Crypto Twitter personality known as Leap, who raised over $100,000 in Ethereum and Solana donations for cancer care and research.
Billions of dollars have been donated to nonprofits via cryptocurrency, and tens of billions of dollars will be donated as the market matures and donors take advantage of the tax breaks it offers. As a result, cryptocurrency fundraising has become a major focus in the nonprofit sector, and as cryptocurrency continues to grow as a major asset class, nonprofits will continue to bet on cryptocurrency donors as a pillar of their strategies to thrive through the Great Wealth Transfer from older generations to Millennials and Zoomers.
Some nonprofits will find the kaleidoscopic diversity of the cryptocurrency donor community daunting. Despite the fact that most of the Forbes top 100 nonprofits are raising money in cryptocurrency today, many small and medium-sized nonprofits aren’t even equipped to accept major assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, let alone things like NFTs and meme coins.
The forward-thinking philanthropists of the Web3 ecosystem will continue to provide incredible opportunities for forward-thinking nonprofits. These efforts will set the stage for some of the most exciting cryptophilanthropy programs in the years to come. But I’m equally excited about the cryptophilanthropists who are slowing down to meet charities where they are.
With more and more nonprofits embracing cryptocurrency, crypto investors who take the time to educate their favorite organizations on the fundamentals of Web3 will play one of the most important roles in driving continued adoption in this space.
Today more than ever there are more nonprofits raising funds through cryptocurrency, but that’s only thanks to the people in the Web3 community who continue to step up and donate and seize the opportunities that draw them to our industry.
The current trifecta of nonprofit adoption, Web3 innovation, and bullish market conditions has set us up for the most exciting chapter in crypto philanthropy yet. And if we continue to be innovative in our philanthropic projects, patient with our philanthropic partners, and generous with our philanthropic contributions, crypto will remain one of the fastest-growing methods of giving in the nonprofit sector.
News
Cryptocurrency Price August 1: Bitcoin Dips Below $65K; Solana, XRP Down Up To 8%
Major cryptocurrencies fell in Thursday trading following the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep its key interest rate unchanged. Overnight, the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate at 5.25-5.5% for the eighth consecutive time, as expected, while also signaling the possibility of a rate cut at its next meeting in September. The unanimous decision by the Federal Open Market Committee reflects a continued wait-and-see approach as it monitors inflation trends.
CoinSwitch Markets Desk said: “Bitcoin has fallen below $65,000 after the US Federal Reserve announced it would keep interest rates unchanged. However, with markets now anticipating rate cuts at the next Federal Reserve meeting in September, the outlook for a Bitcoin rally by the end of the year has strengthened.”
Meanwhile, CoinDCX research team said: “The crypto market has plunged after the Fed decision. Tomorrow’s US unemployment rate announcement is expected to induce more volatility, with the ‘actual’ figure coming in higher than the ‘expected’ one, which is positive for cryptocurrencies.”
At 12:21 pm IST, Bitcoin (BTC) was down 3.2% at $64,285, while Ethereum was down nearly 4.5% at $3,313. Meanwhile, the global market cryptocurrency The market capitalization fell 3.6% to around $2.3 trillion in the last 24 hours.
“Bitcoin needs to clear its 200-day EMA at $64,510 to consolidate further. Otherwise, a retest of $62,000 could be in the cards,” said Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus.
Altcoins and meme coins, such as BNB (3%), Solana (8%), XRP (5.7%), Dogecoin (5%), Cardano (4.6%), Avalanche (4.3%), Shiba Inu (3.8%), Polkadot (3.4%), and Chainlink (4%) also saw declines.
The volume of all stablecoins is now $71.64 billion, which is 92.19% of the total cryptocurrency market volume in 24 hours, according to data available on CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 54.99%. BTC volume in the last 24 hours increased by 23.3% to $35.7 billion.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, opinions and views provided by experts are personal. They do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
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Altcoins WIF, BONK, RUNE, JUP Down 10% While Bitcoin Drops 4%
Altcoins dogwifhat, Bonk, THORChain, and Jupiter have suffered losses of more than 10%, while Bitcoin is down 4% in the last 24 hours.
After a period of relative calm yesterday, July 31, Bitcoin (BTC) price action has seen a drastic change as the cryptocurrency dropped by more than $3,500, bringing its value to $63,300. At the same time, altcoins mirrored this trend, with the total value of liquidated positions rising to nearly $225 million over the course of the day.
Initially, the week started on a positive note for Bitcoin, which reached its highest point since early June, hitting $70,000. However, this peak was short-lived, as it was quickly rejected, leading to a substantial decline, with Bitcoin falling below $65,500.
The cryptocurrency managed to regain some stability, trading comfortably at around $66,800. However, following a Press conference According to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, the value of Bitcoin has fallen again to $64,300, down more than 3% in 24 hours.
BTC Price Chart 24 Hours | Source: crypto.news
The recession coincided with a relationship from the New York Times stating that Iran had called for retaliatory measures against Israel following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, increasing the risk of further conflict in the region.
Meanwhile, on the economic front, the Federal Reserve decided to keep its benchmark interest rates in place, offering little information on a planned September rate cut. Powell also hinted that while no concrete decisions have been made on the September adjustment, there is growing consensus that a rate cut is likely.
Amid Bitcoin’s decline, altcoins have suffered even more significant losses. For example, dogwifhat (Wife) saw a 12.4% drop and (DISGUST) has suffered a 10% drop. Other altcoins such as THORChain (RUNE) also fell by 10%, while Jupiter (JUPITER) and the Ethereum naming service (ENS) decreased by 8% and 9% respectively.
Among the largest-cap cryptocurrencies, the biggest losers are Solana (SOL) with a decrease of 8%, (Exchange rate risk) down 6%, Cardano (ADA) down 4%, and both Ethereum (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE) recording a decrease of 4.4%.
Data from CoinGlass indicates that approximately 67,000 traders have been negatively impacted by this increased volatility. BTC positions have seen $61.85 million in liquidations, while ETH positions have faced $61 million. In total, the value of liquidated positions stands at $225.4 million at the time of writing.
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Riot Platforms Sees 52% Drop in Bitcoin Production in Q2
Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms has released its second-quarter financial results, highlighting a decline in cryptocurrency mined due to the recent halving.
Colorado-based Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Riot platforms revealed its second quarter financial results, highlighting a significant reduction in mined cryptocurrencies attributed to the recent halving event that took place in early April.
The company reported total revenue of $70 million for the quarter ended July 31, a decline of 8.7% compared to the same period in 2023. Riot Platforms attributed the revenue decline primarily to a $9.7 million decrease in engineering revenue, which was partially mitigated by a $6 million increase in Bitcoin extraction income.
During the quarter, the company mined 844 BTC, representing a decline of over 50% from Q2 2023, citing the halving event and increasing network difficulty as major factors behind the decline. Riot Platforms reported a net loss of $84.4 million, or $0.32 per share, missing Zacks Research forecast a loss of $0.16 per share.
Halving increases competitive pressure
The Colorado-based firm said the average cost of mining one BTC in the second quarter, including energy credits, rose to $25,327, a remarkable 341% increase from $5,734 per BTC in the same quarter of 2023. Despite this significant increase in production costs, the firm remains optimistic about maintaining competitiveness through recent deals.
For example, following the Recent acquisition Cryptocurrency firm Block Mining, Riot has increased its distributed hash rate forecast from 31 EH/s to 36 EH/s by the end of 2024, while also increasing its 2025 forecast from 40 EH/s to 56 EH/s.
Riot Platforms Hashrate Growth Projections by 2027 | Source: Riot Platforms
Commenting on the company’s financials, Riot CEO Jason Les said that despite the halving, the mining company still managed to achieve “significant operational growth and execution of our long-term strategy.”
“Despite this reduction in production available to all Bitcoin miners, Riot reported $70 million in revenue for the quarter and maintained strong gross margins in our core Bitcoin mining business.”
Jason Les
Following its Q2 financial report, Riot Platforms shares fell 1.74% to $10.19, according to Google Finance data. Meanwhile, the American miner continues to chase Canadian rival Bitfarms, recently acquiring an additional 10.2 million BITF shares, increasing its stake in Bitfarms to 15.9%.
As previously reported by crypto.news, Riot was the first announced a $950 million takeover bid for Bitfarms in late May, arguing that Bitfarms’ founders were not acting in the best interests of all shareholders. They said their proposal was rejected by Bitfarms’ board without substantive engagement.
In response, Bitfarms She said that Riot’s offer “significantly understates” its growth prospects. Bitfarms subsequently implemented a shareholder rights plan, also known as a “poison pill,” to protect its strategic review process from hostile takeover attempts.
News
Aave Price Increases Following Whales Accumulation and V3.1 Launch
Decentralized finance protocol Aave is seeing a significant spike in whale activity as the market looks to recover from the recent crash that pushed most altcoins into key support areas earlier this week.
July 31, Lookonchain shared details indicating that the whales had aggressively accumulated Aave (AAVE) over the past two days. According to the data, whales have withdrawn over 58,848 AAVE worth $6.47 million from exchanges during this period.
In one instance, whale address 0x9af4 withdrew 11,185 AAVE worth $1.23 million from Binance. Meanwhile, another address moved 21,619 AAVE worth over $2.38 million from the exchange and deposited the tokens into Aave.
These withdrawals follow a previous transfer of 26,044 AAVE from whale address 0xd7c5, amounting to over $2.83 million withdrawn from Binance.
AAVE price has surged over 7% in the past 24 hours amid buy-side pressure from these whales. The DeFi token is currently trading around $111 after jumping over 18% in the past week.
Recently, the price of AAVE increased by over 8% after Aave founder Marc Zeller announced a proposed fee change aimed at adopting a buyback program for AAVE tokens.
Aave v3.1 is available
The total value locked in the Aave protocol currently stands at around $22 billion. According to DeFiLlamaApproximately $19.9 billion is on Aave V3, while the V2 chain still holds approximately $1.9 billion in TVL and V1 approximately $14.6 million.
Aave Labs announced Previously, Aave V3.1 was made available on all networks with active Aave V3 instances.
V3.1 features improvements that are intended to improve the overall security of the DeFi protocol. The Aave DAO governance has approved the v3.1 improvements, which also include operational efficiency and usability for the network.
Meanwhile, Aave Labs recently outlined a ambitious roadmap for the projectwith a 2030 vision for Aave V4, among other developments.
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