Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao has commented on feedback following the firm’s large crypto donation for Morocco earthquake relief. In the true nature of social media, the move was criticized by a handful of people.
On September 12, Binance donated $3 million in its native token, BNB, to Morocco’s earthquake relief efforts.
Crypto Charity Conundrum
“Guess what? You can be criticized when you donate $3 million dollars worth of crypto after an earthquake.”
This was an exclamation from Changpeng Zhao on September 18. CZ added that issues raised were typically from traditional charity organizations unfamiliar with crypto.
He went on to list five common issues raised regarding crypto donations.
People need food and water, not crypto, he said, noting that Binance has dual programs. The company has previously donated food, water, masks, and even oxygen tanks, but these take time. Crypto is instant.
One point of contention was that it is not easy to convert BNB into Moroccan Dirham (MAD) in the country. However, CZ disagreed over the difficulty of conversion, saying that crypto can be easily converted into cash.
“A non-crypto person saying crypto is not cash is like a blind person saying lights are useless.”
Donations only help Binance/BNB users and not all people in need, which was another criticism. On that, he agreed, noting that they can only reach their users at speed:
“We are not saying we can solve all problems, but we try to help the little bit where we can. That’s what donations are.”
Another criticism was that some of the users receiving the donations were not in affected areas. CZ said that a tiered system where users closer to the epicenter get more is used.
“We believe the earthquake has a long-term economic impact on the country as a whole. Helping our users can’t hurt.”
It was also asked why Binance doesn’t donate through traditional charity organizations. CZ said that the firm does, but traditional charities have their own issues, and there are traceability problems.
Libya Also Receives BNB Donations
Binance also donated $500,000 worth of BNB to support those impacted by the devastating floods in Libya. Changpeng Zhao concluded:
“With crypto, I can tell you we helped about 70,000 people in Morocco and another 12,000 people in Libya. We believe in direct giving.”
On September 18, Binance published a blog post on “how crypto can transform charitable giving.”
Furthermore, Binance donated $7 million directly to the UN and various humanitarian organizations in its Ukraine Emergency Relief effort.
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