Crypto donations hit records: Season of Generosity
The top cryptocurrency donated on Crypto Giving Tuesday 2021 was ethereum
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Donating cryptocurrencies to charitable organizations is on the rise in this holiday season of generosity, according to numbers from crypto donation platform The Giving Block.
The platform, founded in 2018, fields donations from crypto investors to their choice of more than 1,000 nonprofits, such as Operation Smile, Catholic Charities U.S.A. and People for the Ethical Treatment Animals.
Catholic Charities distribute warm about 300 pre-Thanksgiving meals to people in need at the PEPCO Edison Gallery on Nov. 23, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The Giving Block's biggest fundraising event of the year, Crypto Giving Tuesday held on Nov. 30, absolutely shattered last year's event by raising $2.4 million in the 24-hour period — that's up 538% from the one-day event last year.
The Number One crypto donated via the site was ethereum at more than $1.2 million, followed by bitcoin at over $885,000. Donors gave roughly $294,000-worth of USD Coin, nearly $9,000 in uniswap and another $5,000 in tezos.
Ethereum (iStock / iStock)
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Like other charitable donations, giving via digital assets comes with its own tax benefits. The Giving Block asks donors, "Why give your crypto to the IRS when you can give it to a charity instead?"
"For nonprofits, crypto users are one of the hottest donor demographics," co-founder Pat Duffy told FOX Business. "For crypto users, donating crypto to nonprofits is one of the hottest ways to reduce tax liability. But they didn't have a moment dedicated for them to meet one another. That's why we started Crypto Giving Tuesday."
The group has set a goal of processing $100 million in donations to non-profits through its platform by Dec. 31. If reached, The Giving Block says, it "will have helped put $30 million in the hands of charities that would have otherwise gone to the IRS."
This April 13, 2014, file photo shows the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) headquarters building in Washington. (AP Photo/J. David Ake, File / AP Newsroom)
The concept is appealing to more and more investors, as the digital market is up roughly 1,300% from just over the past two years — and Uncle Sam will come for his cut. Crypto is considered property by the IRS, and can be subject to capital gains or even regular income taxes.
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Donors can give crypto to a non-profit rather than the government through The Giving Block, share the tax receipt with their accountant and get it appraised. Then, donors are able to secure their tax write-off and capital gains exemption.
As for reaching the $100 million mark in donations this year, Duffy says it's going to be tight, but there are still a few days left of the campaign, which ends at midnight on Friday.
"So much of it depends on the donations that come in this week," he noted. "Let's hope the whales come out in full force this week!"