Bitcoin’s value has been rising steadily throughout 2017 with more people using the decentralized currency than ever before. One of bitcoin’s great use cases, which is on the rise, is how easy it is to donate to charitable funds. According to a recent Fidelity Charitable 2017 Giving Report donations to Fidelity Charitable made in bitcoin is growing significantly.
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Fidelity Charitable Sees Significant Growth in 2017 Bitcoin Donations
Just recently Bitcoin.com reported on the CEO of Fidelity Investments, Ms. Abigail Johnson telling the public how much the company liked bitcoin. The company detailed plans to integrate with Coinbase, and Ms. Johnson also revealed Fidelity’s in-house cafeteria accepts the cryptocurrency for food and drinks. Now the company has published it’s annual Fidelity Charitable 2017 Giving Report which details how charitable donations made in bitcoin is on the rise.
Fidelity’s 26-page report details that a lot of people are donating with non-publicly traded assets and a very popular contribution method is bitcoin. In the first six months of 2017 Fidelity Charitable received $9 million in BTC so far and that number has already surpassed 2016’s bitcoin donations by $2 million. The organization has turned over $3.1 billion in non-publicly traded assets like real estate, life insurance policies and even grain. The digital asset bitcoin has been used for Fidelity’s philanthropic funds and grants since 2015.
Bitcoin Currently Being Used to Help Sichuan Landslide Victims in China
Another good example of bitcoin being used for charity is how Chinese investors are using the cryptocurrency to donate to victims of the recent Sichuan province landslide that devastated the local community. On June 24 a landslide in south-western China in the Mao County region destroyed over 40 homes alongside reports of numerous deaths and people missing. According to the regional publication 8BTC a variety of cryptocurrency community members are donating bitcoins to Sichuan landslide victims.
The report reveals that the bitcoin mining device manufacturer, Canaan gave 32 BTC ($81,000) to the to Chengdu Charity Federation for landslide victims. The following day the hosts of a Chinese bitcoin video show, Jin Yangyang and Guo Hongcai, created a cryptocurrency fund for victims as well. The Chinese news outlet details that the donation addresses have seen a significant amount of donations over the past few days. Furthermore, bitcoin has been used in China for disaster relief for quite some time. In 2013 the One Foundation led by the celebrity Jet Li got more than 230 BTC during the earthquake that hit Lushan, Sichuan, China.
What do you think about the rise of bitcoin being used for charitable donations? Let us know in the comments below.
Images via Shutterstock, the Star, and the Fidelity Charitable 2017 Giving Report.
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