From Reader Kenneth

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By Kevin Helms

Cryptocurrencies are being used to help fight the global coronavirus pandemic. Crypto companies are doing their part to provide coronavirus aid to countries, hospitals, and people suffering from COVID-19. A coronavirus relief campaign, a Red Cross bitcoin fundraiser, and an investment fund are some coronavirus relief initiatives involving cryptocurrencies.
Coronavirus Relief Campaign by Binance

The coronavirus pandemic has caused a worldwide panic. Many countries are struggling to come up with an appropriate aid package or a coronavirus relief bill as the number of covid-19 cases spikes. Not sitting on the sideline, crypto companies are doing their part to help.

Blockchain-powered donation platform Binance Charity initiated a $5 million coronavirus relief campaign on Wednesday. At press time, its “Crypto Against Covid” campaign has received 24 donations, amounting to a total of 160.6306 BTC, its website details. A wallet has been set up for public donations, which can be made in BNB, BTC, BUSD, and XRP. Binance explained that it will make an upfront donation of $1 million in BUSD, which will be converted to fiat and used to purchase supplies to send to hospitals in affected countries.

Binance Charity has launched a coronavirus relief campaign called “Crypto Against Covid” with an initial upfront donation of $1 million in BUSD.

Binance is also matching donations up to $1 million. “Your $10 donation becomes $20,” the company tweeted. “Help fight coronavirus worldwide, starting with Italy, the USA, Spain and Germany.” Furthermore, the company will donate $1 for every retweet of its #CryptoAgainstCovid posting, and will donate an additional $1 million if the number of retweets reaches 1 million within seven days.

According to its website, as of March 20, Binance Charity has delivered a number of coronavirus aid products to over 300 hospitals and medical teams in multiple provinces and cities, including Hubei, Sichuan, Guangxi and Shanghai. The items delivered include 366,000 pairs of gloves, 56,800 masks, 9 sterilizers, 173 barrels of disinfectant, 5,280 bottles of hand sanitizers, 20,000 testing kits, 7,850 protective suits, 20,000 pairs of goggles, 388 oxygen concentrators, and 1000 germicidal lamps.

Italian Red Cross Bitcoin Fundraiser

One of the countries heavily hit by the coronavirus outbreak is Italy, where the rapid rise in covid-19 cases has created a national health emergency. Helperbit, a P2P national disaster aid provider, announced on March 12 that the Italian Red Cross’ Colli Albani Committee had launched a bitcoin fundraiser to handle coronavirus emergencies.

The funds raised will be used to “purchase and set-up a second level Advanced Medical Post [AMP] for pre-triage of covid-19 cases,” the announcement details. “The target of €10.000 [$10,972] will be used to purchase the core infrastructure and medical equipment for the project. Any surplus will be used to provide medical staff with the personal protection they need.”

At press time, this Italian Red Cross bitcoin fundraising campaign has received a total of 77 donations, surpassing its original goal of €10,000.

On March 15, the project reached its goal of €10,000. “We don’t stop here, we reopen the fundraising campaign with a new goal: to complete the AMP core structure with the accessories necessary for emergency operations, such as a defimonitor (a defibrillator with vital signs monitor),” the campaign page describes. “Regarding the second level Advanced Medical Post for covid-19 pre-triage, we are proceeding with the purchase of the material to be ready for its deployment in the local area.”

“We need to ease the pressure in hospitalizations, as the number of infected people is increasing and there is a reduced number of available places within hospital facilities,” said Bruno Pietrosanti, president of Italian Red Cross’ Colli Albani Committee. He elaborated:

We believe that an innovative fundraising tool like bitcoin can help us find the necessary economic resources, that are very difficult to obtain in this historical moment.

Corona Fund Index Cryptocurrency

Another example of a coronavirus relief initiative involving cryptocurrency is the Corona Fund Index Cryptocurrency (CFIX) launched by global software company Hashcash Consultants. “Inversely backed by the S&P500 market index, CFIX allows traders to profit even on a bear market,” Hashcash claims, adding that 90% of the CFIX trading fees will go to the company’s Corona Relief Fund. “The proceeds are then donated to nonprofits actively battling the covid-19 crisis.”

Coronavirus Relief: Cryptocurrency Aid Programs Launched to Combat Covid-19 Outbreak

Hashcash Consultants has launched the Corona Fund Index Cryptocurrency (CFIX) to raise funds to help people and organizations affected by the covid-19 outbreak.

The cryptocurrency will be listed on Hashcash’s U.S.-based crypto exchange, Paybito. It is scheduled to start trading against tether (USDT) on April 2. Emphasizing its goal “to prevent the depletion of resources required for the development of advanced treatments, vaccines, and drugs,” the company elaborated:

Hashcash is raising funds to help all those affected by the novel coronavirus across geographies and provide financial aid to nonprofits and research organizations.

Recently, Hashcash Consultants announced that it plans to invest $10 million in the recently revived Indian crypto industry this year. According to its website, the company has a presence in 26 countries and more than 100 enterprises use its products, such as for retail remittances, corporate payments, trade finance and payment processing.