Meet the Faces of Crypto Philanthropy (2023)

Pine

Philanthropist, The Pineapple Fund

In 2017, anonymous bitcoiner “Pine” launched The Pineapple Fund, donating bitcoin totaling about $55 Million in value to 60 charities. For many fundraisers, Pineapple Fund grants were some of their earliest exposure to crypto. This act of radical generosity put crypto philanthropy on the radar of crypto users and the charitable sector alike.

Vitalik Buterin

Co-Founder, Ethereum

Vitalik Buterin isn’t just one of crypto industry’s most prominent figureheads. Vitalik has brought crypto philanthropy to new heights. He’s donated cryptocurrencies to causes such as COVID-19 relief, medical research, and Ukraine humanitarian aid. The value of his crypto giving exceeds $1 Billion.

Chris Larsen

Co-Founder, Ripple

Ripple’s co-founder Chris Larsen is creating a philanthropic legacy that is both local and global. Chris has used crypto donations to fund numerous initiatives for public schools, private colleges, small businesses, refugee aid, and more. He has also helped shape Ripple into one of the most charitable companies in the sector.

Inna Modja

CEO & Co-Founder, Code Green

Inna Modja is an artist and changemaker using crypto as a force for good. As the head of Code Green, a web3-based nonprofit that combines art and tech, Inna has helped direct millions of dollars (in the form of crypto donations) toward charities providing humanitarian aid, addressing climate change, and more.

Ray Youssef

Co-Founder, Paxful 

After co-founding a prominent peer-to-peer crypto exchange, Ray Youssef launched Built With Bitcoin Foundation, a nonprofit that provides clean water, access to quality education, sustainable farming, and humanitarian support—all powered by cryptocurrency. To date, the organization has served more than 100,000 people and built 10 schools and 10 water projects across 10 different counties.

Denelle Dixon

CEO and Executive Director, Stellar

As the head of The Stellar Development Foundation, Denelle plays a key role in transforming how humanitarian aid can be distributed worldwide and supporting the efforts of charities using blockchain to scale impact. She’s also launched numerous public campaigns to educate the public on blockchain’s utility as a force for good, from full-page ads in The New York Times to partnering with Idris Elba to raise awareness.

Jack Butcher

Founder, Visualize Value

Jack Butcher is a designer, creator and innovative fundraiser. He’s become well-known for his digital art, thought leadership, and unique NFT fundraisers that have raised awareness (and crypto) for causes like refugee aid in Afghanistan and child hunger in the United States. He’s raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for organizations like CARE, Doctors Without Borders and Feeding America.

Peter Chasse

President & Founder, The Water Project

Since The Water Project received a bitcoin grant worth $1 Million from The Pineapple Fund in 2018, Peter has fully embraced support from crypto donors. The organization created a report to show the impact of the grant and continues to use cryptocurrency donations to help provide clean water to those in need, even raising $2 Million in crypto donations in 2021, half of its annual operating budget. Peter is well known innovator in the nonprofit sector, and early adopter of crypto, whose technical abilities and forward thinking mindset have helped him grow a small nonprofit into a recognized brand in the sector.

Jared Isaacman

Founder & CEO, Shift4

Jared has been steadfast in his support of crypto philanthropy. In collaboration with The Giving Block, Jared has generously provided matching funds via campaigns like Caring With Crypto and the Maui Emergency Relief Fund. (Note: Shift4 is The Giving Block’s parent company.)

Ettore Rossetti

Head of Web3, Save the Children

The humanitarian nonprofit Save the Children was an early crypto adopter, first accepting bitcoin donations in 2013. It has since received crypto donations surpassing $7 million in value. As the driving force behind these efforts, Ettore has become one of the most influential thought leaders from the nonprofit sector on crypto philanthropy. 

Tegan Kline

Co-Founder & CEO, Edge & Node

Tegan Kline is the CEO & Co-Founder Edge & Node, which developed popular blockchain data indexing protocol The Graph. Tegan’s deep understanding of Web3 has made her an industry leader and forward-thinking visionary. In 2021, Tegan became one of the founding members of The Crypto Giving Pledge, which has raised crypto philanthropy’s profile considerably.

Yam Karkai

Co-Founder & Creative Director, World of Women NFT

Yam has used World of Women’s incredible success to support charitable causes. The NFT project, which has achieved significant mainstream recognition, has donated a portion of its royalties totalling $1.5 Million in value to support nonprofits addressing environmental issues and empowering women and girls. 

Kimbal Musk

Founder, Big Green DAO

What happens when you put donors and the organizations they support on equal footing? You might get something like Kimbal Musk’s Big Green DAO. The rise of Web3’s decentralized autonomous communities (or “DAOs” for short) are a new way to organize communities working toward a shared purpose. Big Green DAO focuses on impacting lives through growing sustainable food, and brings together nonprofits and donors to vote on funding decisions via governance proposals.

The Anonymous Donor

Private crypto donors are a pivotal part of crypto philanthropy. These anonymous donors have made gifts of all sizes, from 10 USDC all the way up to donations valued at $3.5 Million. As long as privacy and security remain core values of crypto community, we look forward to seeing more generosity from the humble anonymous donors among us.

Dan Matuszewski

Co-Founder, CMS Holdings

Crypto industry veteran Dan Matuszewski has helped raise crypto philanthropy’s profile. As co-founder of venture capital investment firm CMS Holdings, Dan is an influential leader in the space—and he’s used his platform to spread the idea of crypto as a force for good. Dan was one of the earliest to take the Crypto Giving Pledge, an ongoing commitment to donate 1% of his crypto to charitable causes.

Gavin Wood

Co-Founder, Polkadot & Ethereum

Gavin has had a leading role in some of the biggest crypto companies. He has also used crypto as a tool for charitable giving. In 2022, Gavin made a large donation to the government of Ukraine in DOT tokens valued at $5.8 Million. (The Polkadot ecosystem also made donations in support of Ukraine.) Thanks to the transparency of the blockchain, these donations are easily verifiable. 

Fereshteh Forough

CEO & Founder, Code to Inspire

Fereshteh was one of the earliest nonprofit founders to go all in on crypto. Code to Inspire, the first advanced computer coding school in Afghanistan, not only accepts crypto from donors, it also uses crypto payments to provide girls with money for expenses.

Gary Vaynerchuk

VeeFriends

Businessman Gary Vaynerchuk (aka “Gary Vee”) is known for being on the cutting edge of tech and social trends, and has emerged as a staunch advocate for cryptocurrencies, NFTs and other Web3 applications in recent years. When Gary launched VeeFriends, his first NFT collection, he announced that a portion of proceeds would support five charities and fund several scholarships. Gary even joined us for a Twitter Space to talk about the importance of philanthropy in the crypto sector. Vayner3, a consulting firm launched by Gary, has helped brands join the Web3 ecosystem. It helped Stella Artois raise over $270,000 for Water.org with an NFT charity auction.

Justin Sun

Founder, TRON

Justin Sun has made one of the largest climate pledges from the crypto community. His $1 Million commitment to Greta Thunberg’s initiative in 2019 was ahead of its time, promoting the adoption of Proof-of-Stake protocols that have reduced climate footprints across a number of blockchains.

Sarah Kershaw

Digital Acquisition Lead, WaterAid

Sarah has been at the helm of crypto fundraising at WaterAid, launching the organization’s first crypto fund in 2022, the WAGMI (“We’re All Going to Make It”) Water Fund. WaterAid has published an annual Crypto Impact Report over the past few years to showcase the impact of crypto donors on their work around the globe. 

AshleyDCan

NFT Creator

Ashley, using the moniker “AshleyDCan,” has launched NFT projects that have shared royalties with nonprofits. One project yielded about $30,000 to support the American Cancer Society, and she has pledged to donate again with proceeds from future projects. Ashley was also one of the first people to launch a peer-to-peer crypto donation fundraiser.

Brian Armstrong

Founder, Coinbase & GiveCrypto.org

Under Brian’s leadership, Coinbase has supported the rise of crypto philanthropy. Brian himself has donated millions to charity, and has taken the Giving Pledge, becoming the first crypto billionaire to commit to donate most of his wealth to charity. He also created GiveCrypto.org, a nonprofit that distributes cryptocurrency to people living in poverty.

David Mitchell

Cryptocurrency & Digital Partnership Manager, The Edinburgh Dog & Cat Home

David leads The Edinburgh Dog & Cat Home’s crypto and digital fundraising partnerships program. After the organization made history by receiving the largest cryptocurrency donation in Scotland’s history, it doubled down on the potential of crypto philanthropy. David has empowered numerous NFT projects and crypto enthusiasts to make a difference in the livelihoods of Scotland’s dogs and cats.

Jason Lau

Chief Operating Officer, OKCoin

Jason Lau, Chief Operating Officer of OKCoin, is a founding member of the Crypto Giving Pledge. Several years ago, Jason provided some much-needed visibility to crypto philanthropy just as the movement was nearing a tipping point in nonprofit adoption. For example, he joined the “”Crypto vs. COVID”” charity poker game hosted by The Giving Block and Cointelegraph, which raised more than $130,000 in crypto donations for charitable organizations.

Rainn Wilson

Actor

Rainn Wilson is an actor, producer, director and crypto philanthropy advocate. Rainn has helped publicize the Mona Foundation’s embrace of crypto donations, and he also signed the Crypto Giving Pledge, a long-term commitment to donate a portion of crypto holdings to charity. Rainn has helped raise the profile of crypto philanthropy through his vocal efforts to recruit more crypto donors. 

Mike Novogratz

Founder & CEO, Galaxy Digital

Mike is a Wall Street veteran who believes that Bitcoin is a revolution, a “systems change,” and says he loves Bitcoin for the same reasons he advocates for social justice. Mike  has pledged to donate the majority of his crypto profits to charity when Bitcoin hits $100,000. 

Dave Portnoy

Founder, Barstool Sports

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and CEO Erica Nardini decided to fundraise crypto as part of its 2020 relief fund (“The Barstool Fund”) to support small businesses impacted by COVID-19 shutdowns. The turn to crypto was prompted by Anthony Pompliano, one of the most notable people in the crypto sector, who was going back and forth with Portnoy on twitter about the need to open the fundraiser up to crypto donors. The move paid off, as the Barstool Fund conducted one of the most fruitful crypto fundraisers in history, raking in $1.36M in crypto donations.

Meltem Demirors

Chief Strategy Officer, CoinShares

“Meltem, who serves as the Chief Strategy Officer at CoinShares, is one of the most widely-recognized figures in the crypto industry. Meltem is a pivotal figure in crypto philanthropy. Recognizing the potential for crypto as a force for good, Meltem was one of the visionaries that each donated 1 BTC to charity:water in 2021, and one of the first signatories of the Crypto Giving Pledge.

Erick Calderon (aka “Snowfro”)

Founder, Artblocks

The founder of Artblocks, Snowfro has ensured that giving back is a part of Artblocks’ DNA. Through his innovative Squiggles NFT charity auctions, Snowfro has had a major impact on the NFT and crypto philanthropy space, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for organizations like The ALS Association.

Alex Gladstein

Chief Strategy Officer, Human Rights Foundation

To Alex Gladstein, Bitcoin is more than a cryptocurrency. It’s a tool for freedom, especially for the 4.2 Billion people living under authoritarian regimes worldwide. According to Alex, for billions of people around the globe, Bitcoin provides a way for individuals to save and transact without fear of persecution. Alex rose to be a prominent voice for the humanitarian value of Bitcoin. He’s a phenomenal advocate for the technology, and for the people it serves and protects.

Arthur Hayes

Former CEO, Bitmex

Arthur Hayes is the co-founder and former CEO of BitMEX. In March 2019, Hayes made a $2.24 Million charitable contribution to the Jackie Robinson Foundation (JRF) Scholars program, the largest-ever gift donated by an alumnus of its college scholars program. In April 2020, he announced that BitMex’s operator was donating $2.5 million to four organizations working to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Changpeng Zhao (aka “CZ”)

Co-Founder & Former CEO, Binance

CZ is a co-founder and former CEO of Binance with an estimated net worth of $23 billion as of November 2023. Zhao has said he plans to donate up to 99% of his wealth, following the philanthropic examples of other global business magnates and investors such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

Cameron & Tyler Winklevoss

Co-Founders, Gemini

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are the co-founders of Gemini, one of the world’s first cryptocurrency exchanges. They have donated millions of dollars to charity, including a $10M gift to Greenwich Country Day School, the largest philanthropic alumni donation in the history of the private school. 

Kelsey Driscoll & Ryan Park

Innovation Team, Upbring

As the team driving change at Upbring Innovation Labs, Kelsey and Ryan aren’t just working to improve the livelihoods of children throughout Texas. They are also exploring what is possible at the intersection of social enterprise, new technology and data. Kelsey and Ryan are advocates for crypto philanthropy and using the blockchain to further drive positive social impact outcomes. At Upbring, they have established the first-ever Crypto Endowment Fund to benefit children’s services.

Qiao Wang

Partner, Alliance DAO

Qiao is a partner at Alliance DAO, a leading Web3 accelerator and founder community. As a crypto veteran, Qiao has used his platform to help bring greater awareness to crypto philanthropy. Qiao notably took the Crypto Giving Pledge in 2021, announcing his intention to donate a portion of his crypto each year to charity.

Tony Hawk

Professional Skateboarder

Tony Hawk is a lifelong tech enthusiast and was an early bitcoin adopter. His charity, the Skatepark Project, was one of the earliest to accept cryptocurrency donations. Tony is also a crypto donor himself, notably donating to charity:water ’s charitable bitcoin trust.

Foteini Valeonti & Alex Estorick

Co-Curators, reGEN

As the co-curators of reGEN, a curatorial initiative that supports generative artists in fighting degenerative diseases, Foteini and Alex have raised over $600,000 in crypto donations for organizations like Cure Parkinsons, The ALS Association and Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. Foteini is a Research Fellow at UCL and works with cultural institutions on NFTs and Web3, and Alex is the editor-in-chief of Right Click Save, an online magazine devoted to critical conversations about NFTs.

Adam Cochran

General Partner, Cinneamhain Ventures

Adam is a dynamic figure, well-known for running Cinneamhain Ventures and for his popular research into industry trends. Adam is also a generous donor, having supported charitable fundraising efforts with crypto. Notably, he was part of a crypto community rally to donate $800,000 in crypto to cover hospital bills related to a child battling leukemia. Adam also took the Crypto Giving Pledge, furthering his commitment to crypto philanthropy.

Julius

NFT Mascot, Orangutan Outreach

Julius has the distinction of being the first NFT Twitter avatar to represent a nonprofit. Julius is a Bored Ape from Yuga Labs’ legendary Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection. How did he become the mascot for Orangutan Outreach? After receiving generous donations from the Yuga Labs team, the organization’s founder, Richard Zimmerman, took a deep dive into the world of crypto and NFTs. He realized that to genuinely engage with this donor demographic he had to embrace the community authentically. Recently, Julius has starred in an animated video series that raises awareness for orangutan rescue and rehabilitation. 

Charlie Shrem

Founding Member, The Bitcoin Foundation

Charlie is one of the original Bitcoiners. He is the founder of (now-defunct) Bitinstant and was a founding member of the Bitcoin Foundation. Charlie took the Crypto Giving Pledge and has been an advocate for crypto philanthropy by having us on his podcast and participating in a charity poker tournament that we organized.

Yusuf Nessary

Director of Philanthropy, Built With Bitcoin Foundation

The mission of Built With Bitcoin Foundation is to provide clean water, access to quality education, sustainable farming, and humanitarian support to communities in need. Yusuf is the driving force behind their fundraising efforts.

In his work, Yusuf has fully embraced the crypto community’s support. The organization even partnered with Satoshibles to launch a special NFT fundraiser featuring hand-painted artworks designed by students in Built With Bitcoin schools. Thanks to Yusuf’s unwavering belief in the power of crypto, the nonprofit has been able to build numerous schools and water projects.

Jeremy Allaire

CEO, Circle

Jeremy is at the helm of Circle, which issues one of the most popular stablecoins, USDC. Under his leadership, Circle has used its platform to highlight the use case of crypto in crises and emergency relief situations around the world.

In 2022, Circle made a $250,000 USDC donation to support humanitarian aid in Ukraine. Circle’s generous donation was meant to encourage the crypto and Web3 community to give back. Perhaps not coincidentally, USDC was the most-donated cryptocurrency processed by The Giving Block in 2022.

Lascaux

NFT Creator

The NFT artist Lascaux has been a generous donor to multiple charities. In January of 2023 they donated 75 ETH, collectively, to Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity and Free Arts NYC via The Giving Block. Lascaux is one of a growing list of creators using NFT proceeds to make the world a better place.

Azeem Khan

Head of Impact, Gitcoin

As the Head of Impact at Gitcoin, Azeem has helped distribute tens of millions of dollars to support thousands of projects. In his time there, he has led a pilot with UNICEF’s Office of Innovation and the American Cancer Society on novel methods of community driven capital allocation using Quadratic Funding. While training for the Boston Marathon in 2023, Azeem used The Giving Block to raise donations for the American Liver Foundation, which was their first time accepting crypto.

Tony Sheng

Co-Founder, Cozy Finance

Tony is the co-founder of Cozy Finance, a risk management protocol for DeFi investors. Tony’s purpose for being in crypto is, in large part, due to his wish to make financial opportunities more equitable on a large scale. Tony was a donor to the #CryptoForBlackLives fundraising campaign in 2020, and signed the Crypto Giving Pledge in 2021.

Nyla Hayes

NFT Creator

Nyla is not your average NFT artist. At 14 years old, Nyla has already found massive success with her collection of distinctive hand-drawn NFTs, netting millions in sales from her art. She has used her artwork for good, donating to nonprofits and receiving invitations to participate in NFT charity initiatives with TIME Magazine and Fidelity Charitable.

Keith A. Grossman

President of Enterprise, Moonpay 

Keith is a vocal and passionate advocate for crypto and its role in making the world a better place. Prior to joining Moonpay, Keith served as President of TIME, where he ushered in the company’s first Web3 endeavors including TIMEpieces, a project using NFTs to raise money for charity. Keith is also a Board Member of New York Cares, which he helped launch its first NFT fundraiser.

Deepa Chaudhary

Founder, Crypto Good

Deepa founded Crypto Good as a community-powered knowledge hub with the mission to onboard and equip crypto changemakers. Since 2021, Deepa has used the Crypto Good platform to educate and inspire web3 users to make a difference. She led a team that produced the first comprehensive digital resource on Impact DAOs.

Tjada D’Oyen McKenna

CEO, Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is one of the most innovative nonprofit organizations when it comes to using blockchain for impact. Under Tjada’s leadership, Mercy Corps has pushed deeper into exploring how blockchain technology can be a powerful tool to drive economic inclusion and climate resilience, especially for the unbanked, women and youth and entrepreneurs in emerging markets. 

Ryan Selkis

Founder, Messari

Ryan is one of the leading advocates for crypto’s transformative potential, and his commitment to philanthropy goes back many years. Before founding and leading Messari, Ryan created Good Benefits, a company that managed workplace charitable giving programs. In the crypto space, Ryan has been raising the visibility of crypto donations in numerous ways—from calling for more crypto donations in the political space to joining charity poker games. He was also one of the first people to take the Crypto Giving Pledge, a long-term promise to donate a portion of his crypto to charitable causes.

Haseeb Qureshi

Managing Partner, Dragonfly

As the Managing Partner at Dragonfly, a global crypto investment firm, Haseeb is an influential member of the crypto community. He’s also a passionate advocate for giving back, a philosophy that has led him to donate 33% of his income to charity each year. Following this noble ideal, Haseeb has also taken the Crypto Giving Pledge.

Jeremy Gardner

Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Ausum Ventures

Jeremy is one of the most dynamic investors and founders in the crypto space. He was also an advocate for crypto philanthropy before most. As far back as 2017, he donated $10,000 to the Blockchain Education Network and offered to match donations up to $100,000. Jeremy also took the Crypto Giving Pledge with The Giving Block, pledging some of his crypto profits to help fund charitable causes.

Katie Hultquist 

Director of Leadership Giving, Outright International

Katie is a dynamic fundraiser who has embraced the Web3 community through numerous creative and impactful partnerships. As Director of Leadership Giving at Outright International, Katie is also a leading voice for advancing the human rights of LGBTIQ people around the world. Katie has collaborated with NFT projects including Not Your Bro, Lori Grace Bailey, and Hackatao to unlock meaningful crypto donations.

Tine Ward

Founder & CEO, Rockflower Partners

Tine is a fundraising expert with more than three decades in the charitable sector. As the CEO of Rockflower, her mission is to unlock access to capital to improve the lives of women and girls. Under Tine’s leadership, Rockflower was an early believer in The Giving Block and has embraced the crypto community’s generosity, calling one donation “a moment of great hope.”

Aled Hollingworth

Vice President of Development, buildOn

Aled Hollingworth’s forward-thinking approach to fundraising led buildOn to embrace crypto donors. As a result, the nonprofit organization was able to secure an impactful partnership with CryptoStarship and BSCWIN Bulls that led to buildOn’s first ever cryptocurrency-funded school in Nepal. With construction underway, buildOn remains bullish on the future of crypto philanthropy.

Georgie Smith

Fundraising and Campaigns Manager, Variety – the Children’s Charity

Georgie Smith is a creator and fundraiser with more than 25 years of nonprofit experience. Through her efforts to find innovative fundraising streams for Variety – the Children’s Charity, Georgie discovered the potential of crypto philanthropy. It was clear that crypto donors had a passion for giving back in creative ways, and Georgie has secured impactful donations for Variety from projects like Nouns DAO.

Sara Baumann

Founder, Women & Weapons NFT

“Women and Weapons founder Sara Baumann is a creator who has used her success to empower and uplift others. Not long after launching this NFT project (her first) in October 2021, Sara was able to leave her full-time job to focus on her artistic practice. Fueled by a strong desire to give back, Sara pledged 5% of profits to the Malala Fund and has donated over $100,000 in crypto donations, making her one of the most generous NFT creators in the space.

Varvara Alay

Founder, Flower Girls NFT

Varvara is an award-winning illustrator, art educator and founder of The Flower Girls, an NFT project that’s given more than $500,000 in crypto donations to charitable causes. Another project, Birds of Solis, also launched with a charitable component. Recipients of Varvara’s generosity include nonprofits like Nia Tero, the Malala Fund and Save the Children’s Ukraine Crisis Fund.

Edwin Goutier

CEO, LaunchPath

Edwin played a pivotal role in growing the crypto fundraising program at United Way Worldwide, one of the biggest global charities. As the organization’s Director and then Vice President of Innovation, Edwin helped grow their crypto donation volume by 350% in one year. Today, Edwin continues to embrace crypto philanthropy and is recognized as a thought leader who has been quoted in outlets like USA Today.

Robby Greenfield

Co-Founder, Umoja Labs

Businessman and philanthropist Robby Greenfield is a pioneer in the blockchain for social good movement. As the founder of Umoja Labs and former Head of Social Impact at ConsenSys, Robby has used blockchain to address the needs of underprivileged individuals around the world. Through partnerships with nonprofits like CARE and Hope for Haiti, Robby’s vision to use blockchain to deliver humanitarian aid has come to fruition.