- The death toll nears 8,000 in the devastating quake, which hit Turkey and parts of Syria.
- Binance has set up a relief fund accepting BTC, ETH, BUSD, BNB, and XRP.
Two earthquakes that swept the South of Turkey and Syria on February 6 have left a trail of destruction, claiming more than 8,000 lives. In response, crypto exchange Binance has announced plans to airdrop up to $5M (or $94,000,000 TRY) to its users in the most affected regions.
Eligible beneficiaries – those living in the affected regions of Kahramanmaras, Adana, Kilis, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Malatya, Hatay, Sanliurfa, Osmaniye, and Adiyaman – each will receive $100 worth of BNB. The recipients would be identified through Proof of Address (POA) completed before February 6 in the ten cities.
Besides, the top crypto exchange by trading volumes has also set up an earthquake relief appeal through its philanthropic arm Binance Charity, where donations are made in BTC, ETH, BUSD, BNB, or XRP, per the announcement released on Feb. 7. At press time, the fund had raised 0.69 BTC, equivalent to $15,963.
See Related: Crypto Airdrops Definition
The Growing Importance Of Crypto Donations
Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the CEO, and co-founder of Binance, while unveiling the rescue plans commented on the growing importance of crypto donation in the face of such a disaster, which usually affects access to banking services. Crypto donations are fast, cost-effective, transparent, and cross-border, CZ said, asking industry peers also to assist the victims.
‘‘The earthquake in Turkey has had a devastating impact on so many people and communities. We hope that our efforts will bring some relief to those affected. We are also calling on our industry peers to once again come together to offer support in these times of crisis,’’ CZ said.
One such organization, also in the crypto ecosystem, that is stepping up to help the victims is Bitget. The derivative exchange and social trading platform has committed to donating 1 million Turkish Lira.
