# Helperbit raises Bitcoin donations for Italian earthquake relief

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/03/10/helperbit-raises-bitcoin-donations-italian-earthquake-relief/
- Published: 2017-03-10T07:57:33+00:00
- Author: Melanie May

**Bitcoin charity platform Helperbit has conducted its first charity trial, helping
those affected by last August’s earthquake in Italy.**

 

[Helperbit](https://helperbit.com/) partnered with Italian charity [Legambiente](https://www.legambiente.it/)
to raise funds to support reconstruction efforts following the earthquake.

## Advertisement

 

As well as helping with traditional fundraising in euro, Helperbit provided the 
infrastructure to create a multi-signature Bitcoin wallet for the charity, with 
the aim of providing an international tool with greater transparency than traditional
fundraising methods. The wallet is a secure technology for managing Bitcoin with
three keys managed by Legambiente and a backup key managed by Helperbit.

 

The wallet verifies the amount raised and also notifies donors how funds have been
spent. The document certifying the request for funds and the transaction are linked
in the platform’s public register, enabling the verification of the sender, the 
recipient and the reason for the request.

 

Donations to the Bitcoin Italian Earthquake Relief Fund included five Bitcoin from
Swiss Re. The first beneficiaries were the owners of Società Agricola Etiche Terre
S.S.: local producers of saffron, garlic and black truffle who lost everything in
the earthquake. The service enabled the farmers to ask for funds by uploading Helperbit’s
first invoice onto the platform, which activated a refund request to Legambiente.

 

Legambiente was able to verify the request through the platform, and then transferred
an amount in Bitcoin equal to the value in € of the refund. The operation was visible
in the public Blockchain, and also showed proof of expenditure, with a cryptographic
reference to the invoice.

 

According to Helperbit, Legambiente is the first major non-profit organisation in
Italy to accept donations in Bitcoin as well as the first NGO in the world to autonomously
use Helperbit’s multi-signature wallet to manage Bitcoin.

 * **[Sam Smith donates his birthday to War Child through Facebook](https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/05/15/sam-smith-donates-birthday-war-child-facebook/)**(
   15 May 2018)
 * **[Bowie tribute concert live stream to raise funds for charity](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/04/01/bowie-tribute-concert-live-stream-raise-funds-charity/)**(
   1 April 2016)
 * **[The Silver Line asks people to be #SilentFor7 on social media](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/12/01/silver-line-asks-people-silentfor7-social-media/)**(
   1 December 2016)

![Loading](https://fundraising.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/page-views-count/ajax-loader-
2x.gif)