# UNICEF adopts cryptocurrency with fund launch

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/10/09/unicef-adopts-cryptocurrency-fund-launch/
- Published: 2019-10-09T10:00:00+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**UNICEF has launched a fund that enables it to receive, hold and disburse donations
of cryptocurrencies ether and bitcoin.**

In what it says is a first for United Nations organisations, [UNICEF](https://www.unicef.org)
will use cryptocurrencies to fund open source technology benefitting children and
young people around the world. 

Under the UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund, contributions will be held and granted out
in the [cryptocurrency](https://fundraising.co.uk/tag/cryptocurrency/) they are 
given in.

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The [Ethereum Foundation](https://ethereum.foundation/) is donating the first contributions,
which will benefit three grantees of the [UNICEF Innovation Fund](https://unicefinnovationfund.org)
as well as a project coordinated by the GIGA initiative to connect schools across
the world to the internet. The Ethereum Foundation will make its initial donation
through the French National Committee for UNICEF.

Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director, said:

> “This is a new and exciting venture for UNICEF. If digital economies and currencies
> have the potential to shape the lives of coming generations, it is important that
> we explore the opportunities they offer. That’s why the creation of our Cryptocurrency
> Fund is a significant and welcome step forward in humanitarian and development
> work.”

Aya Miyaguchi, Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation commented:

> “Together with UNICEF, we’re taking action with the Cryptofund to improve access
> to basic needs, rights, and resources. We aim to support the research and development
> of the Ethereum platform, and to grow the community of those that benefit from
> a technology that will better countless lives and industries in the years to come.”

The fund’s launch is part of UNICEF’s ongoing work with blockchain technology. With
WFP, the charity co-leads the UN Innovation Network, which researches the potential
and pitfalls of blockchain and other emerging technologies.
  

 * **[JustGiving announces acceptance of more than 60 forms of cryptocurrency](https://fundraising.co.uk/2024/11/19/justgiving-announces-acceptance-of-more-than-60-forms-of-cryptocurrency/)(
   19 November 2024)**