Donation in Devastation – How The Crypto Community Unites for Humanity

What happens when an earthquake devastates not 1 but 2 countries, kills more than 12,000 people and renders millions homeless? While governments all over the world rush relief supplies at the earliest, two most unexpected forces join hands – a Turkish rockstar and the world of crypto. While world citizens were glued to television visuals of little children being pulled out of the debris they once called home, one man took on the mission of seeking help for his country from the crypto community labelled “notorious”, and banned by his very own government!

This article is a shout-out to unsung heroes – Haluk Levent, Binance and the entire crypto community that has raised a whopping $12 million dollars (and counting) in less than 72 hours for the victims of the earthquake that has brought unbelievable death and destruction to Turkey and Syria!

THIS is the unbridled power of cryptocurrency put to use for the sake of humanity, and THIS is the side of crypto the global community needs to sit up and acknowledge – not everything about the lesser-known world of crypto is dark or full of scamsters.

A number of crypto exchanges have made big pledges with Binance showing the way – BNB worth $100 have been airdropped to all of its users in the most ravaged regions of Turkey i.e. almost $5 million dollars. And another $4 million has been pledged. Justin Sun, the founder of Tron has pledged 1 million dollars in TRX for the Houbi Global Exchange.

Interestingly, following in the footsteps of many other nations, in April 2021, the government of Turkey had banned cryptocurrency. However, rock-star Haluk Levent managed to get an exemption to raise funds via a trio of multi-sig wallets, that have raised $2.7 million dollars, including $1 million from the Avalanche foundation in AVAX. 

They are:

1) Ethereum/ERC-20 tokens:

0xe1935271D1993434A1a59fE08f24891Dc5F398Cd

2) BNB/BEP-20 tokens:

0xB67705398fEd380a1CE02e77095fed64f8aCe463

3) Avalanche AVAX tokens:

0x868D27c361682462536DfE361f2e20B3A6f4dDD8

Levent’s not-for-profit organization “Ahbap” will supervise the collection and distribution of the money raised. Ahbap enjoys the reputation of being “the most trusted organization in Turkey ” as per Baki Er, the co-founder of Web3 Analytics platform Lyter.io.

Haluk Levent has been a magnanimous example of celebrityhood put to good use for the sake of society, but without the support of the crypto-community, raising $12 million dollars in less than 72 hours would have been beyond anyone’s imagination – celebrity or not. Thanks to borderless, cheap, and quick transactions, Levent has been able to stand by his nation in it’s darkest hour.

For those interested in contributing, other legitimate donation addresses include Humanity Check, by artist and Visualize Value founder Jack Butcher. All proceeds raised on this platform are sent to Doctors Without Borders via crypto charitable donations firm The Giving Block.

https://app.manifold.xyz/c/humanitycheck

“The most important, helpful thing at this moment is money. There are non-governmental organizations and charities and governmental organizations all powering-in now to help. What they need not just now, but for years ahead, is cash.”, said Lucy Easthope, co-founder of the After Disaster Network and an international adviser on disaster recovery, on the BBC World News. 

Cryptocurrency, which began with Bitcoin as a bank-free, cross-border payments tool, can step into the shoes of disaster management fast enough for governments and organizations to swing into immediate action.

Binance, the world’s largest exchange said it was basing the donations on Proof of Address completed before February 6. In its announcement, Binance said that “in the aftermath of natural disasters, people often lose access to traditional banking at the exact moment when extra funds are needed to help cover medical supplies, food, and other essential needs.” It added: “Crypto transfers are now increasingly being used to deliver financial aid to disaster victims as they provide fast, low-cost, borderless and transparent transactions.”

In this hour of adversity and the entire nation in dire straits, has the Turkish government found a friend in an otherwise perceived stealthy foe? Is it time for governments globally to mull over and acknowledge this facet of cryptocurrency as a powerful enabler, instead of banning it? Can cryptocurrency be an ally to rebuild a nation and help its people heal? Is it time to create awareness instead of fear? 

We will leave you with this food for thought.