The United Nations announced that UNICEF will now be open to receive donations in cryptocurrency, on October 9th. Currently, the only two cryptocurrencies available for transaction are Bitcoin(BTC)trade and Ethereum (ETH)trade. As part of the new initiative, UNICEF has launched its Cryptocurrency Fund, the first of United Nations Organizations to take that step.
UNICEF has announced that it will use the Cryptocurrency Fund for the purpose of sponsoring open source technology. The programs will be available for children and young adults in need across the globe. The design of UNICEF’s Cryptocurrency Fund allows for the donations received to stay intact in their digital form and further transferred and disbursed in the same cryptocurrency.
UNICEF’s Executive Director, Henrietta Fore, calls the recent development a new and exciting journey for the organization. Fore says that if digital currencies and economies hold the potential to benefit coming generations and shape their lives then UNICEF must investigate and consider the opportunities they offer.
Fore claims that the organization’s decision to initiate the Cryptocurrency Fund is a significant step in the field of humanitarianism and development work.
First Contribution from the Ethereum Foundation
UNICEF will receive its first contributions for the UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund from the Ethereum Foundation. The Ethereum Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Ethereum platform, an open source blockchain-based digital platforms and systems, and base layer research.
According to UNICEF, the Cryptocurrency Fund will also receive three grantees of the UNICEF innovative Fund and GIGA initiative project that aims to connect schools from across the world to the internet. The Executive Director of Ethereum, Aya Miyaguchi, says that the foundation plans to use this opportunity to demonstrate the power of Ethereum and how advanced blockchain technology is.
Miyaguchi says that by working with UNICEF they are acting with the Cryptofund to increase basic needs, rights and resources. The Ethereum Foundation claims that they aim to support the research and understanding of the Ethereum structure and increase communities that can benefit from growing technology that has the potential to improve countless lives and industries for a long time.
The Foundation will make its official donation through the French National Committee, thanking UNICEF for their leadership efforts in working together and creating real progress. Other than France, currently the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand are among other national committees of UNICEF who have started accepting cryptocurrency donations.
UNICEF confirms further plans of working on blockchain technology, co-lead by UN Innovation Network.
