UNICEF adopts cryptocurrency with fund launch
Melanie May | 9 October 2019 | News
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 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 they are given in.
The Ethereum Foundation is donating the first contributions, which will benefit three grantees of the UNICEF Innovation Fund 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:
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“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.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.