Vitalik Buterin donates over $200,000 for earthquake relief in Turkey and Syria

Vitalik Buterin, the famed co-founder of Ethereum, has made two donations in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria last week.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6 has exponentially increased the death toll, which now stands at thirty-three thousand. The earthquake has been recorded as one of the worst earthquakes in the world in decades. Over the past week, Buterin has been actively donating Ethereum to help those affected by the earthquake in Turkey. His most recent donation was on February 12, when he donated about $77,000 (50 ETH) to the charity Anka Relief.

🇹🇷 We want to thank @VitalikButerin for donating 50 ETH ~$75k to Anka Relief, a crypto aid fund & community to support Türkiye after the recent earthquakes. https://t.co/kGwXSGWL8J

Dive into the thread below to better understand our mission and ops👇

🔗 https://t.co/92CkxevI5e

February 12, 2023

The organization thanked the Ethereum co-founder for his philanthropic actions and revealed that crypto-currency donations have been offered to him since day one. According to a statement, a handful of major NGOs have accepted donations in their wallets from several people around the world.

Anka also provided a list of crypto wallets that can be nominated for donations. The Web3 relief organization has also led the DAO Ukraine venture to collect crypto-currency donations to provide relief and support in the troubled country.

Vitalik’s most recent donation resulted in a total of ninety-nine ETH offered in support of the bereaved families and victims by the cryptocurrency mogul. February 11, The vitalik.eth address sent about $150,000 worth of ETH to Ahbapa non-governmental, non-profit organization engaged in relief efforts in Turkey.

Ahbap has also listed several crypto-currency addresses for tokens that can be accepted in donations.

At present, the NGO has been able to raise $4.3 million in crypto-donations, with stablecoins being the most preferred token choice. Ahbap’s wallet currently has 409 ETH worth $622,000. Last week, the Financial Times of London noted that crypto-currency donations have reached relief organizations around the world. More than ten million crypto coins have been donated by companies, with Binance alone donating $5 million to support relief efforts in Turkey.

Binance also declared $100 BNB airdrops to people in the hardest-hit areas. On February 7, a day after the catastrophic earthquake, the Web3 community was seen working together to organize and offer cryptocurrency donations to NGOs. However, this is not the first time donations for earthquake relief have been organized by the crypto community. Bitcoin donations were sent to support organizations in Nepal after the devastating 2015 earthquake.

Local Turkish crypto exchange Bitci dispatched a truckload of aid to the earthquake zone while stating that all proceeds collected for the entire month of February will be donated to Ahbap on behalf of the Kahramanmaraş-centric earthquake. In addition, BtcTurk said that not only did it donate 6 million lira to Ahbap and Akut, but it also sent clothing aid worth 1.2 million lira to the area in association with the regional administration.