The daily news about India’s cryptocurrency legalisation flocks in thousands of investors and traders by the day. Speculations about the Government of India legalising cryptocurrency as a tender is keeping the country on its toes. What follows is a constant debate involving the illegal uses of cryptocurrency that has encircled the verdict for years. However, not all cryptocurrency news in India has been distressing off late.
24th of April 2021, shone a ray of light on the rattling COVID-19 situations in India, as global crypto evangelists and philanthropists gathered to elevate the nation’s widespread COVID-19 catastrophe.
India’s topmost affected cities, namely Mumbai, Delhi and Pune amongst the others have been battling excruciating numbers of cases. Lack of oxygen, beds and crucial medication has caused the situation to further deteriorate. Aid in the form of O2 tanks, PPE gear provision and other forms of assistance have been reaching India nonetheless.
As we compose this article today, it’s an astounding fact that the crypto community has also played an avid role in contributing to the COVID-19 relief efforts. This mode of “instant philanthropy”, has reshaped the cryptocurrency dialogue in India, but this time for the better.
Where It All Started
It was when Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder and COO of Polygon, a crypto startup, a fundraising campaign. Nailwal tweeted on 24th April 2021, initiating the drift, “Can’t take this sitting down anymore, I am going to run a Covid relief campaign in lieu of what’s going on in India. Need help from the Global crypto community. I will take full responsibility for transparency, funds usage and regulatory compliance.”
Co-founder of one of the world’s most popular blockchain Ethereum, also generously donated to the fund in two types of cryptocurrencies. His contribution stood at $600,000 for the cause.
Coinbase former CTO, Balaji Srinivasan assembled to for the cause by donating $50,000 in ETH. Furthermore, he vastly helped in spreading the word by pledging to donate $50 for every retweet.
The process does not stop here. Funds raised in crypto would most likely be transferred either to an overseas or an Indian crypto exchange. The funds would then be converted into a fiat currency, in this case, INR, and diverted to an Indian FCRA-compliant charitable organisation. As per the Indian Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, only certified NGOs make contributions and receive donations internationally for social work in the country.
An Astounding Crypto Community Response
The underlying intent of the fundraising campaign, as explained by Nailwal, is to contribute to the widespread vaccination of the Indian youth. The raging relief fundraised $2.5 million within 40 hours and approximately $6 million during the composition of this article.
Pat Cummins announced a hearty donation of $50,000 towards the PM CARES Fund. Former Australian cricketer, Brett Lee generously donated to the cause to help India’s distressing COVID-19 situation.
“It saddens me deeply to see people suffering due to the ongoing pandemic. I feel privileged to be in a position of making a difference and with that in mind, I’d like to donate 1 BTC (Bitcoin) to Crypto Relief to help with the purchase of oxygen supplies for the hospitals across India,” Brett Lee
The New Angle to Unbound Philanthropy
While the crypto community’s fundraising efforts are testimony enough about the advantages of blockchain and crypto technology, the regulation of these as tenders is amidst talks. In February 2021, the Internet and Mobile Association of India’s (IMAI) blockchain and crypto assets council, submitted a whitepaper to RBI and the Ministry of finance. This included the beneficial use cases of cryptocurrency and highlighted the need for crypto regulation in the country. The whitepaper mentioned various Indian and International firms, CoinDCX and Unocoin to name a few. The spotlight remained on regulation and provided an alternative to the much-debated ban.
Here are some interesting takeaways from the whitepaper:
- The whitepaper drew upon the importance of streamlined yet traceable philanthropy efforts.
- Donor transparency would be maintained as users would be able to monitor the usage of funds which would furthermore increase an inflow of new donors.
- Donors would be able to donate directly to the digital wallets of the organisation or beneficiary without putting the onus on pooling funds through an FCRA compliant NGO if regulated.
- Given the universal characteristics of cryptocurrency, foreign exchange and transaction fees would be minimised. This would enable greater in-hand funds for the beneficiary.
All the above advantages prove to be more cost-effective than traditional modes of transaction. With a raging number of casualties and death, cryptocurrency relief seemed to have transcended as a boon in dire times of need. The magnanimous efforts that would have taken months to reach were, descended in a matter of few minutes and hours.
While countries like China have already begun the process of introducing their digital currency, Yuan, to participate in the global cryptocurrency movement, it is a matter of regulation and initiative for other countries to hop on the blockchain bandwagon.
India’s COVID-19 situation demanded an urgent need for assistance and support and the crypto community came in hot with all digital armours ready to deploy. A smarter, efficient and transparent blockchain led financial infrastructure is en route to becoming a similar case of the Internet 2.0 revolution.
Cofinex is an innovative cryptocurrency exchange with advanced financial services with several million users spread across 100 countries. Cofinex relies on blockchain technology to provide everything you need for wise trading and investment. We stand in support of the Crypto COVID-19 relief fund.
