Gemini-backed Bitcoin Water Trust Sees More Than $1.3 Million in Donations
Cryptocurrencies and philanthropy have long coexisted. The current chapter in the book is focused on The Bitcoin Water Trust, which has garnered over $1.3 million in Bitcoin donations despite its recent launch just weeks ago.
The New York-based trust, which is backed by popular cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, was launched during the Miami 2021 Bitcoin conference. The initiative gained prominence for its “HODL MODL” treasury management method, which involves the non-profit accepting Bitcoin donations that it will not touch until 2025.
As of now, the trust has garnered a total of 32.589 BTC at the time of writing, which is equivalent to $1.3 million at current prices. The charity is seeking to capitalize on possible Bitcoin profits in the foreseeable years.
According to a blog post published on June 14 by Gemini, which is providing crypto custody services for the trust, donations collected by the charity today might have a considerably greater impact if held for some time. The exchange wrote:
“This new charity model — the HODL MODL — creates a new paradigm for charitable giving. It brings the HODL ethos of Bitcoin to charitable giving, and means your bitcoin donation today could make an even bigger impact tomorrow.”
Philanthropy in Crypto
Additionally, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Gemini co-founders, have offered to match the first 50 BTC contributed to The Bitcoin Water Trust.
“We’ve been encouraged by the overwhelming support we have seen already for the Bitcoin Trust Initiative. By establishing this trust, we aim to harness the transformational power of this generational digital technology to make a lasting social impact, and in the process to provide a potential model for other charities who are working to do the same,” said Scott Harrison, CEO of the Charity: Water.
The non-profit has some notable benefactors, including skateboarding superstar Tony Hawk, who has been a supporter for over a decade. Hawk feels bitcoin has the potential to become a vehicle for charitable works.
Charity: water has already attracted 100 donors willing to contribute at least one bitcoin toward the project’s 100 bitcoin goal. Michael Novagratz, Barry Silbert, and Yoni Assia are among the charity’s other notable benefactors.
The cryptocurrency space has no shortage of philanthropists. Last month, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, gave billions of SHIB tokens that had been airdropped to his wallet by the inventors of the meme-coin. The India Covid Relief Fund was a major beneficiary of Buterin’s dog-token cache, obtaining almost $1 billion in SHIB.
