Disaster fund for California wildfire victims begins
The Giving Block – a cryptocurrency that works with non-profit organizations to facilitate donations – has organized a fundraiser for emergency response victims of the wildfires that hit the city of Los Angeles in Southern California.
Ben Pousti, chief operating officer at Giving Block, said the fundraiser has set a goal of raising $2 million, and Jared Isaacman, CEO of Shift4 — Giving Block's parent company — is donating $1 million to the charity.
Its chief operating officer told Cointelegraph that charitable donations embedded in cryptocurrencies offer special benefits. In a written statement, Pousti said:
“Crypto donating can help donors avoid capital gains taxes – allowing them to reduce their full fair market value on taxes and give more to causes they care about.
Organizations like The Giving Block highlight an important use case for cryptocurrencies that makes charitable giving more transparent, cost-effective, efficient and faster than legacy donation systems.
Non-profit organizations working with Grant Block providing California wildfire relief. Source: The issuing block
Related: Saving lives, reducing tax bills through crypto charity: An interview with Joshua Herring
A history of giving block help in times of crisis
In the year Following the August 2023 Maui wildfires that devastated parts of Hawaii Island, The Giving Block launched a disaster relief fund to help rebuild affected areas and help victims of the fires.
The company agreed to match the contributions raised by the fire relief fund to a capital of $500,000.
In the year In 2024, The Giving Block also raised $1 million for relief efforts following Hurricanes Helena and Milton, which caused widespread flooding and damage along the East Coast of the United States.
The company has worked with thousands of nonprofit organizations to lead charitable causes, including the American Cancer Society, animal rights group PETA, and No Kid Hungry.
The 2023 Giving Block Report predicts that it will exceed $10 billion in 10 years and says that the majority of crypto donations made on the platform by 2022 will be in Circle's USDC (USDC) stable coin.
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