UNICEF Australia has launched a cryptocurrency mining program to raise funds for its humanitarian activities. The aid organization is utilizing the computing power of website visitors to mine cryptocurrency. UNICEF is part of the UN but receives its funding from external charitable donations.
Crypto Mining for Charity
The Hopepage is the name of the initiative created by UNICEF Australia to raise funds for relief programs across the world. The project is a web-based cryptocurrency mining platform that utilizes a portion of the site visitor’s CPU to mine cryptocurrency. UNICEF Australia converts proceeds from the mining to fiat money. The funds are then used to procure relief materials, such as potable water, food, and vaccines.
The program is currently supporting aid efforts for Rohingya refugees. Civil unrest in Myanmar has caused thousands of Rohingya refugees to flee to neighboring Bangladesh.
Speaking on the program, the director of fundraising and communications at UNICEF Australia said that:
We wanted to leverage new emerging technologies to raise awareness about current humanitarian crises and raise funds to support children caught up in them. The Hopepage allows Australians to provide help and hope to vulnerable children by merely opening the page while they are online.
There are already more than 3,559 participants in the project. Visitors to the program website can elect to donate part of their processing power to mine the Monero cryptocurrency. The platform is powered by AuthedMine.com, an online Monero mining script created by Coinhive.
Non-Exploitative Online Crypto Mining
Coinhive mining scripts have a terrible reputation on the internet. They are reportedly the favorite script for cryptojacking attacks. Cryptojacking is when a user’s computer is used to mine cryptocurrency without the express knowledge and permission of the user. In recent times, cryptojacking has even become more rampant than cryptocurrency ransomware attacks.
UNICEF Australia is assuring all website visitors that the program is completely safe. A statement of the program website revealed that site users could choose to opt in or out of using their CPU to mine crypto. The participants can also adjust the processing power that they are donating to the program, ranging from 20% up to 80%. The longer a user keeps the site open, mitigated by the processing power used, the more Monero cryptocurrency is mined.
Do you think crypto mining for charity is a viable idea? Please share your views in the comment section below.
Image courtesy of The Hopepage and Flickr/@DFID – UK Department for International Development, and Bitcoinist archives.