Digital currency exchange Crypto.com has donated $1 million to Water.org, a clean-water initiative co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White in 2009.
The direct donation will go toward supporting Water.org’s mission of ending the global water crisis by providing safe water and sanitation to people in need, the companies announced Monday. The partnership is also aimed at exposing Water.org to Crypto.com’s more than 10 million users, who are also being encouraged to donate to the project.
Damon cited the ongoing financial transformation brought on by cryptocurrency as one of the chief motivations for partnering with Crypto.com. “As our financial solutions and platforms evolve, we can use them for good,” he said. “Crypto.com and Water.org are both working toward positive transformation, and our innovative, financial solutions will help change lives and the world.”
Crypto.com has quickly emerged as one of the fastest-growing digital currency platforms in the world. The company rose to prominence by offering its customers a crypto-focused Visa card that pays out rewards for staking Crypto.com Coin (CRO), the platform’s native cryptocurrency. As Cointelegraph recently reported, the exchange has expanded its insurance program to cover up to $750 million, reflecting heightened consumer protection standards in the industry.
The cryptocurrency industry has ushered in a new era of charitable gifting as its newly rich participants look to give back to their communities. Charity: Water, which has a similar mandate as Water.org, raised $1.3 million in June through a Bitcoin (BTC)-focused trust. Crypto donations platform The Giving Block has also facilitated charitable contributions for dozens of organizations by providing them with the tools and resources to begin accepting crypto contributions.
Related: Charitable sustainable NFTs for the United Nations’ 17 SDGs
Many nonprofits opened their coffers to crypto donations in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August. Crypto donations are also being used to support suicide prevention, ethical journalism and even a universal basic income project.