An interview with Andrew Elliott, co-founder and CEO of RoundlyX on why the digital asset platform wants its users to donate their spare change to charity.
RoundlyX is a roundup tool and portfolio aggregator that allows you to invest your spare change in cryptocurrencies and other digital assets every time you make a purchase from your debit or credit card. It rounds up your everyday purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the remainder in the digital assets you choose.
We hosted a Twitter Space with Andrew back in May of 2022, which you can listen to here:
What was the initial inspiration for RoundlyX, and what are some of the latest/most exciting updates?
When Will (co-founder) and I started we saw an opportunity to build infrastructure in crypto, an exciting but hyper volatile emerging asset class. So we looked around to see which tools had been built for the traditional equities market and essentially built a platform incorporating all the best tools into a platform devoted to spreading mainstream adoption of digital assets. We landed on a portfolio aggregator that also rounded up spare change into whatever the user wanted. It’s cool knowing that we built something that is fun but also isn’t going to hurt anyone if a crypto asset goes to zero (it’s just spare change). On the flip side, some of these assets have tremendous potential and so it’s been fun watching users build wealth over time in a stress free way. Now with this new charitable giving roundup vertical, we look forward to user’s building their influence over time by supporting all of these amazing non-profits’ missions.
What sparked the idea of using your platform to create crypto giving opportunities? What kind of impact do you hope to make?
A partner platform initially connected the RoundlyX team to Alex and Pat (Co-Founders) at The Giving Block. It didn’t take long for both sides to see the potential in a roundup integration, and so I have to say the idea was mutual. Both teams set out to “connect the dots” on making this happen and here we are!
When you look at how much spare change the average person accrues over the course of just a month, it’s substantial. We saw that as a real donation driver for the nonprofits on the platform and so we hope the impact is substantially furthering the reach of the causes our users care about. At the same time, we think this constant and year round flow of donations is huge for nonprofits since it provides a means for donations after the traditional “Giving Season.” So more donations for longer!
What excites you about donating cryptocurrency?
If you believe in the potential upside of the assets you are rounding up into and then donating, it’s hard not to get excited. A little bit of spare change today into something like Bitcoin, could be a lot more money later and so that’s even more resources for these amazing causes solving real problems in the world. At RoundlyX we’ve started calling it “spare changing the world.”
Crypto users donated upwards of $400 million in crypto donations to charities in 2021. What do you think this kind of generosity says about the crypto community?
To be in crypto you have to believe that this technology is really going to be a game changer in a positive way, no one would stick around through the bear market cycles if they didn’t. And so I think believing in a better future naturally lends itself to generosity.
Are there charitable cause(s) or other social impact-driven crypto/web3/NFT projects that you’re excited about?
I can look at the roundup options available (specifically, charities that use The Giving Block) now on RoundlyX and get excited about a number of causes. I’m a veteran and so those causes are near and dear. As a beekeeper, I love environmental and conservation oriented causes. There is an entire universe of options I can now support with spare change roundups and that is really exciting.
What would you tell crypto/web3 project leaders that want to create some sort of charitable impact?
Start building if you haven’t. Keep building if you’ve already started.The future is bright and your innovation is required to push the space forward.
