Coinbase kicked off the second day of their “12 days of Coinbase” announcements with a gift to help the distressed families in Venezuela.
To help these families Coinbase is donating $10,000 Zcash (ZEC) to GiveCrypto.org, a nonprofit organization that distributes cryptocurrency to people living in poverty.
Per Coinbase’s recent blog post on the matter:
At Coinbase, we’re dedicated to creating tomorrow’s open financial system, not only by allowing people to buy crypto, but also to use it. GiveCrypto.org takes some of the best parts of that system — cross-border accessibility, ease of small payments, and real-time transfers — to empower those who don’t have enough in our legacy economy.
Coinbase Helping Those in Need
Coinbase is using their 12 Days of Christmas promotion as an opportunity to help those in need and support GiveCrypto.org’s pioneering work. The $10,000 ZEC donation will support GiveCrypto.org’s project in the Venezuelan border town of Santa Elena de Uairen.
With the donation, the nonprofit organization will put $1.00 USD worth of crypto into the crypto wallets of over 100 families in Santa Elena every day for 3 months. The recipients will come from families registered in GiveCrypto.org’s program and they can spend it through Bonnum, a mobile wallet and crypto ecosystem designed to bank the 1.7 billion unbanked.
In the border town of Santa Elena there are local stores who accept crypto and sell basic supplies and food. The $1.00 USD worth of crypto a day will allow families to buy 1 – 2 kilos of protein or 2 kilos of starches and vegetables every day.
Why Give Crypto Rather Than Cash?
For the uninformed, the Venezuelan economy has been in turmoil for some time now with the country’s national currency, the Venezuelan Bolivar dropping 96%. The people of Venezuela have lost their savings and their native currency is essentially useless.
Many families do not have reliable access to bank accounts, and even if they do, their currency is far too volatile and essentially useless. It takes a wheelbarrow full of cash just to buy a small meal for their family.
Therefore, in Venezuela’s case, Cryptocurrency is far more useful than cash as it provides a direct and relatively stable line of support, especially with the help of GiveCrypto.org’s network of vendors.
Do you think Venezuela could be the first country to widely adopt cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comment section below.
