The United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) will now be able to receive, hold and disburse donations of cryptocurrencies ether and bitcoin, through its newly-established UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund.
In a first for United Nations organizations, UNICEF will use cryptocurrencies to fund open source technology benefiting children and young people around the world.
Under the structure of the UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund, contributions will be held in their cryptocurrency of contribution and granted out in the same cryptocurrency.
“This is a new and exciting venture for the Fund,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director.
“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.”
The first contributions to the Fund will be received from the Ethereum Foundation and will benefit three grantees of the UNICEF Innovation Fund – and a project coordinated by the GIGA initiative to connect schools across the world to the internet.
“The Ethereum Foundation is excited to demonstrate the power of what Ethereum and blockchain technology can do for communities around the world.
“Together with UNICEF, we’re taking action with the Crypto fund to improve access to basic needs, rights, and resources,” said Aya Miyaguchi, Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation.
“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.
“We’d like to thank UNICEF and the UNICEF family of national committees for their leadership as we create real progress together.”
The Ethereum Foundation will make its initial donation through the French National Committee for UNICEF.
The launch of the Fund is part of UNICEF’s ongoing work with blockchain technology.
UNICEF co-leads the UN Innovation Network with WFP. The network is responsible for researching the potential and pitfalls of blockchain and other emerging technologies.
The creation of the Fund appears to be an endorsement for cryptocurrency considering the fears that have been expressed on it across the world.
Add this to the Libra, Facebook’s Crypto which was recently announced with so much optimism. However, supporters of Libra like Visa & Mastercard are considering their participation while PayPal has completely dropped out.
