On June 27 Brian Armstrong, co-founder & CEO of Coinbase announced the launch of GiveCrypto.org.
GiveCrypto.org’s mission is to financially empower people by distributing cryptocurrency globally. It will raise funds from cryptocurrency holders, and distribute small payments to people in need around the world — all using cryptocurrency. Initial recipients will be people living in emerging markets, especially those going through financial crisis.
The goals behind GiveCrypto.org are to:
- Help people in need by sending money to them directly
- Advance real-world usage and benefits of cryptocurrency
- Provide universal access to an open financial system
What is GiveCrypto.org?
Today, about 40 million people in the world own cryptocurrency. This is a good start, but the number of people around the globe who are wealthy enough to invest disposable income into risky, new technologies is limited. For cryptocurrency to reach its potential of creating a more open financial system and helping those locked out of traditional financial services, we need to create new use cases and broaden access.
GiveCrypto.org is a nonprofit that will both hold and distribute crypto to those in need. It’s an evergreen structure, meaning it gives away less than the amount that the fund grows each year.
“We’ll start with direct-cash transfers in the form of cryptocurrency. An increasing body of evidence shows direct-cash transfers are a very effective form of giving, as they increase people’s income, boost food consumption and dietary diversity, and are tied to improved school attendance, health care visits, household savings, and investments in productive assets”, – writes Armstrong.
He believes three things will happen when people receive cryptocurrency:
- Cashout to local currency: Some will exchange it to their local currency to buy what they need most in that moment. “This is a great outcome because our primarily goal is simply to help people in need.”
- Hold: The second thing they might do is hold onto the cryptocurrency. In this case they start to benefit from the future potential upside of this technology.
- Crypto-to-crypto transfers. “Finally, if there is enough density in certain regions, we may be able to spark local crypto economies, where people start to transact with crypto-to-crypto payments, especially in places around the world going through financial crisis”.
The first goal of GiveCrypto.org is to raise a $10 million fund. It has gotten about $3.5 million raised so far (including an initial donation of $1 million from Brian Armstrong himself).
After this, the organization will be hiring a small team, and will begin distributing payments via GiveCrypto “ambassadors” (local volunteers they trust in these markets).
