The essence of humanity is to come forward in times of crisis, and now the world is also realising the immense potential cryptocurrency has in combatting such disastrous situations. Recently, Bitcoin has launched a crypto relief fund to help restore normalcy in Beirut after an explosion occurred on August 4.
Lebanese capital’s port was rocked by two enormous explosions on August 4, killing at least 135 people, injuring at least 5,000 and left dozens missing. Some 300,000 other people have been displaced from their homes.
Crypto Disaster Relief Fund
Lebanese expats in Europe have joined hands to create the Crypto Disaster Relief For Beirut Explosion fund, which is accepting eight different cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and others. The tagline ‘Embracing Cryptocurrency services to bypass Lebanon’s corrupted financial system’ has already gone viral across social media platforms and is winning the hearts of global citizens.
Bridging Gaps with Bitcoin
The one of its kind endeavours requires manual liquidity, and takes the help of over-the-counter traders on the ground to create sponsorship opportunities for local non-profit organisations like Beit el Baraka and Baytna Baytak, which are both helping victims of the blast with basic amenities like food, shelter and medicines.
Saifedean Ammous, an academician and writer from Palestine who is a long-time resident of Lebanon, is also fundraising for Beit el Baraka as well as the Lebanese Red Cross. He is auctioning 6 copies of The Bitcoin Standard to raise funds for the two organisations, and the man’s persistent efforts have raised Bitcoins worth thousands of dollars so far. The nonprofit ‘ Kilna Ya3ne Kilna’ (which means “All for All”) is also crowdfunding with Bitcoin for relief efforts, delivering food and hygiene kits to the blast victims.
Banking on Bitcoin
Lebanon has been grappling with an economic downturn for a while now, which took a serious turn with the ongoing but political turmoil and of course, Covid-19. With apprehensions about defaults and the devaluation of the Lebanese pound looming large, citizens are now showing increased interest about Bitcoin. This newfound inclination towards cryptocurrency is primarily due to the fact that not only are they comparatively less expensive, but also way more easily accessible in comparison to the battered banking infrastructure.
Cryptocurrency Crisis
One of the biggest advantages offered by cryptocurrency, especially during a disaster, happens to be superfast, hassle-free transactions which can be sent from anywhere across the world. For instance, the Human Rights Foundation too, accepts Bitcoin, Ethereum, ZCash and Monero for donations without requiring the donor to disclose his identity or personal details. In all such cases, donated digital money is converted into fiat currencies and then shared with the concerned organisations. Earlier in June, Unicef additionally introduced its biggest cryptocurrency funding investment of start-ups wherein 8 corporations in seven countries are currently making use of the organisation’s crypto fund to develop prototypes, pilot, or scale their technologies.
