Digital coins supporting real-world causes: The rise of cry

Most people tend to think of crypto as either a form of investment or an alternative payment method that’s becoming increasingly popular with institutions, companies, and consumers worldwide. While these are undoubtedly the most popular practical applications of crypto, they’re not the only ones.

But what can one do with a top cryptocurrency apart from holding it as an investment or using it to purchase certain goods or services, you may wonder. One of the lesser talked about, but no less important, crypto use cases is that of charitable donations. Charity is certainly not the first thing to spring to mind when it comes to crypto, since digital currencies are usually associated with market speculation, financial transactions, and personal gain, rather than altruistic endeavors.

Yet the data reveals that using crypto to support different charitable causes is a practice that has been gaining a lot of ground in recent years. According to The Giving Block, the total value of crypto donations to nonprofits amounted to approximately $1 billion in 2024. Moreover, it’s estimated that more than half of the top 100 charities in the United States now accept donations in crypto.

This shows that crypto philanthropy is indeed a rising phenomenon that’s worth looking into, so let’s take a closer look at the trend and see how crypto has transitioned from a speculative asset to a tool for doing good.  

Organizations that accept crypto donations

Let’s start with a quick overview of the most notable organizations and charities that have decided to embrace digitalization and opened their doors to crypto. Some of them are well-known nonprofits that everyone has heard of, but only a few know they also accept digital assets. 

American Red Cross

One of the oldest humanitarian organizations in the US, the American Red Cross, currently accepts Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash donations. This gives crypto contributors the opportunity to support their efforts in responding to emergency situations around the world, whether they are caused by natural disasters, wars, medical crises, or other factors. 

Médecins Sans Frontières

Partnerships with crypto platforms such as Lyzi and the development of proprietary solutions like Stake2Care allow Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to receive donations in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum and fund critical medical care in certain regions of the world where access to conventional financial services is limited.

Save the Children

A trailblazer in crypto philanthropy, Save the Children was the first nonprofit with an international presence to include crypto in its donation options back in 2013. Their crypto program has expanded since, and now supports contributions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USD Coin.

The Water Project

Another early crypto adopter, the Water Project, is dedicated to providing access to clean water and sanitation for people living in sub-Saharan Africa, and crypto giving plays a key role in achieving these goals.

Rainforest Foundation

The Rainforest Foundation has been on a mission to protect Indigenous Peoples and traditional populations by safeguarding their environment since 1988. The organization started accepting crypto donations in 2015, receiving financial aid in Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDC, and Solana.

The benefits of crypto donations

Although still a relatively new addition, crypto has the power to make a positive impact in philanthropy, as it can benefit both donors and recipients in various ways. First of all, digital currencies are able to address one of the biggest challenges that nonprofits and charitable organizations face, namely, delays in accessing essential resources, which are quite common due to bureaucratic hurdles. Thanks to the enhanced speed and efficiency of its underlying technology, crypto can help bypass the slow processes of traditional banking and ensure near-instant transactions, making giving and receiving a lot easier and faster.

It also has to be mentioned that people have become a lot more comfortable around digital currencies in recent years, and that is reflected in the large number of crypto users, which currently amounts to over 580 million, and will probably increase considerably in the following years. So, by accepting crypto donations, NGOs can tap into a new category of donors, who are often younger and tech-savvy individuals, thus broadening and diversifying their revenue sources.

Another advantage of using crypto for charity is the transparency it offers. Being backed by blockchain technology means all crypto transactions are permanently recorded on a public ledger and cannot be altered or deleted. Since anyone can access and verify the records, donors can easily track their crypto contributions and know exactly where the funds are going.

A lot of benefactors prefer to maintain their identities concealed, either because they want to avoid public scrutiny or for safety reasons. Crypto donations offer more privacy than other charitable methods. Even if the transactions are visible on a public ledger, donors can use a pseudonym instead of their real name and send funds anonymously from their wallet addresses to the charities they want to support. 

Furthermore, donors can enjoy considerable tax savings by using crypto for philanthropy. Those who donate appreciated crypto assets to charity are exempt from paying capital gains taxes on those assets, so they can save money on taxes and donate more to the causes they care about. Therefore, from a financial standpoint, donating crypto is more efficient than donating cash.

Final thoughts

Crypto’s evolution so far has been nothing short of spectacular, not only because of its remarkable price appreciation and its growing integration into the mainstream, but also because of the many different use cases it has developed since its inception, spanning across numerous fields and industries.

Nowadays, crypto’s applicability goes well beyond trading, investing, and payments. The recent rise of crypto donations highlights once again the complexity of innovation, which is not inherently good or bad – its impact depends entirely on how one chooses to use it. Crypto used to be considered a scam and a fertile ground for illegal activities, and now it’s increasingly regarded as a legitimate technological breakthrough that can make giving more transparent, accessible, and efficient.