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In Short
Vitalik Buterin sent around $150,000 worth of ETH to Ahbap, a relief NGO in Turkey
Organisations praised the effort of Ethereum co-founder for the support
Cryptocurrencies have helped the people during calamities before as well
At least two significant donations from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin have been made to aid those harmed by last week's deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
In the early morning of 6 February, an earthquake of 7.8 magnitude was recorded due to which the deathtoll surpassed the 33,000 figure mark, and thus motivated crypto industry to offer help.
How much has the Ethereum founder donated?
On 11 February, the vitalik.eth address sent around $150,000 worth of ETH to Ahbap, a non-governmental and non-profit organisation dedicated to relief efforts in Turkey.
On 12 February, Buterin made his most recent donation of 50 ETH, or roughly $77,000 to Anka relief. According to blockchain security firm PeckShield, the donations were directed to Anka Relief, a Web3 relief support group that also organised the Ukraine DAO project. The latest donation adds to another 99 ETH that Vitalik sent in support of earthquake victims.
While highlighting the current support by Buterin, Anka praised the efforts of the Ethereum co-founder for his generosity and said “Since day one of the disaster, we have witnessed donations piling in the wallets of a handful of major NGOs. Great that they have attracted and will be attracting more funds.”
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In the wake of continuous help from the crypto industry, a report from Etherscan, a blockchain explorer for the Ethereum network, suggests that the Ahbap wallet contains 409 ETH worth $622,000. It further claimed to have received $4.3 million in crypto donations, with stablecoins topping the chart.
Crypto industry offering help
The Financial Times of London reported late last week that donations in cryptocurrency have been flooding in from all across the world. Companies had sent more than $10 million in cryptocurrency, with Binance alone offering $5 million to help the nation.
Prior to this, cryptocurrencies have also been used for earthquake relief donations and to help with war efforts in Ukraine. The devastating earthquake in Nepal in 2015 marked the maximum support in the form of donations in Bitcoin to relief organisations.