Crypto community pledges help after earthquake
2 min readThe extent of the severe earthquakes in Turkey and Syria is gradually becoming apparent. They have already claimed more than 5,000 lives, reports the daily news. The number is constantly increasing. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 23 million people are affected, and the UN fears thousands of dead children. The international community has already pledged its support. Now the crypto community wants to help too.
Tron founder Justin Sun pledged donations of two million Turkish liras (about $100,000) for reconstruction. Crypto exchange BitGet wants contribute one million Turkish lira. Binance, Gate.io and Bitfinex are currently exploring ways to get help off the ground. It is currently unclear whether donations will also go to Syria, which is plagued by the civil war.
Meanwhile warn Twitter user from alleged scammers who collect crypto donations for Turkey in Telegram groups.
Turkish government’s anti-crypto stance an obstacle
In order for the support to arrive quickly, 40 different crypto companies submitted one petition one that aims to persuade Turkish authorities to set up an official crypto donation address:
In order to get help from all over the world to the people affected by the disaster as soon as possible, we call for the acceptance of crypto-asset-based donations in Turkey, as well as in India during the Covid process or in Ukraine for humanitarian aid.
From the petition
Shortly after the start of the war with Russia, Ukraine introduced comprehensive crypto regulation that, among other things, made it possible to accept donations in Bitcoin, Ethereum and Co. Since then, the country has received millions in grants.
In Turkey, such a step is considered unlikely. Due to the high inflation, the country’s citizens are in principle open to digital currencies, but President Erdoğan is considered a tough crypto opponent.
Nevertheless, the crypto celebrities are not giving up, for example Binance boss Changpeng “CZ” Zhao writes that he and his team are looking for a solution Crypto donations to those affected to allow.
