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- In charitable support, Dr. Prash Puspanathan will donate three carbon-neutral bitcoins to the gallery
- In charitable support, Dr. Prash Puspanathan will donate three carbon-neutral bitcoins to the gallery
- This is the largest single private donation in the arts center’s 30-year history
Dr. Prash Puspanathan, the founder of Australia’s largest cryptocurrency brokerage firm Caleb and Brown, will donate three carbon-neutral bitcoins to the gallery over the next three years as philanthropic financing. Puspanathan will guarantee a minimum of $140,000 to NCCA, pledging that amount if bitcoins fall in value. This is the largest single personal donation in the history of the humanities center, which spans 30 years.
Views of NCC Director Abazi on Cryptocurrencies
Ultimately, he believes the greatest impediment for galleries to accept cryptocurrencies is an ideological one, NCCA Director Petrit Abazi told ArtsHub. When people are able to remove crypto currencies from the stigma that surrounded the technology in its early years, he believes its use as a vehicle for charitable giving will grow in popularity.
Abazi’s open-mindedness and artistic funding technique have been important in advancing the Centre’s involvement with cryptocurrency since joining the NCCA in April of this year. One of the most difficult aspects of becoming the head of a small arts organisation, according to Abazi, was figuring out what kinds of relationships he could have with people with whom he had previously worked. He has known [Dr Prash] for nearly ten years, and it was via him that he first learned of the term Bitcoin.
Collaboration between Dr. Prash and NCC Director Abazi
The collaboration is a first for Puspanathan, who has been asked by Abazi to serve as NCCA’s monetary advisor for cryptocurrencies, as the gallery has begun to accept and supply Bitcoin. Puspanathan was excited to share this first step: They’re witnessing the art world embrace the crypto world, thanks to the advent of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, where digital art is booming. It was just a matter of time until the world of art charity followed suit.
Puspanathan’s participation is crucial, and Abazi gave some advice to galleries considering accepting bitcoin: He thinks it’ll be smart for galleries to sell the cryptocurrency as soon as they get it because there’s definitely a danger in holding on to it.
Krystian Seibert, Philanthropy Australia’s Appearing Coverage and Analysis Director, also told ArtsHub: It’s an interesting development, and one that they’re likely to see more of in the future. Because it is a growing market, businesses will need to pay more attention to the options related to cryptocurrencies, but also to the risks associated with them.
Dr. Prash sees it from a philosophical standpoint; at its foundation, blockchain expertise is a mechanism for the democratisation of cash, Abazi said. It certainly helps us grow as a tiny organisation with this kind of sponsorship from someone who believes in these idealistic notions. It’s all about the exhibitions, and the victors are, in the end, the artists and visitors. The first exhibition supported by Puspanathan’s initial crypto-donation is Murriny: a narrative of metal from the east, a substantial gift of First Nations artwork. It will be on display at NCCA from August 7 through September 25.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
