Cryptocurrency investors are ending the year with some eye-popping gains, and some may be wondering how to minimize their upcoming tax bill — but many are unaware of one such option that could also help make the world a better place.
More than half (55%) of crypto investors said they weren’t sure whether they could donate crypto assets to charity, according to a survey conducted this past summer by Fidelity Charitable, a provider of donor-advised funds, a popular charitable giving tool. Of those crypto investors who had donated digital currencies, 44% said the process was challenging.
Those are disappointing stats to people like Anne Connelly, a blockchain investor and author of “Bitcoin and the Future of Fundraising: A Beginner’s Guide to Cryptocurrency Donations.” She says crypto represents “a revolution on many levels” for philanthropy and nonprofits because it makes transferring funds faster, more secure and cheaper.
It’s especially useful for humanitarian aid organizations working in places without viable banking systems, or in countries where it’s difficult for certain groups, like women, to access resources. For example, the United Nations World Food Program uses blockchain technology to make it easier for people living in refugee camps to receive money for food.
One of Connelly’s favorite examples of a charity using crypto is Code to Inspire, a computer coding school for girls and women in Afghanistan that accepts cryptocurrency donations and uses it to pay students for coding work.
“It makes the process much cheaper and enables microtransactions in a way that isn’t necessarily possible using credit cards, and it just gives people the freedom to donate their money where they want to right on the ground,” Connelly said.
The rise of cryptocurrencies also means there’s a new crop of potential donors sitting on wealth that could benefit charities, Connelly noted.
“There’s generational levels of wealth that have…
