Binance donates $2.5 mn stablecoin crypto for relief efforts in Ukraine

The United Nations Refugee Agency, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), has accepted its first stablecoin crypto donation for its relief efforts in war-torn Ukraine from Binance, it said in a statement. 

The cryptocurrency exchange has donated the equivalent of $2.5 million in BUSD through Binance charity. BUSD is a stablecoin developed in a collaboration between New York-based trading and custody platform Paxos and Binance. 

Stablecoins bridge the world of cryptocurrency and fiat currency together as their prices are tied to a reserve asset like the US dollar or gold.  

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"The donation will go towards providing humanitarian, legal and social assistance including psychosocial support and emergency shelter to people in need," the statement noted. 
 
More than 10 million people have already been displaced due to the Ukraine crisis. Four million people have found safety in neighbouring countries like Poland, Moldova, Romania and Hungary, while millions more have been forced from their homes but remain inside Ukraine.   

This is the latest donation following Binance's $10 million commitment to help people impacted by the crisis in Ukraine. 

Through Binance Charity, more than $4.5 million has already been donated, bringing the total amount to $7 million including the funding to USA for UNHCR. The remaining $3 million donation is being finalised and will be announced shortly.  

"In addition to the $10 million commitment, Binance Charity launched a crowd-funding platform, which has raised approximately $900K USD from the crypto community. This money will also be allocated to humanitarian efforts," the statement added. 

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Commenting on the development Anne-Marie Grey, Executive Director and CEO of USA for UNHCR, said, "Binance Charity's commitment to the families fleeing the war in Ukraine shows the innovative philanthropic power of crypto in action." 

"This generous support will make a life-changing difference for families forced to flee, and more importantly, it shows families that a caring and committed global community is stepping forward to help during their darkest times," she added. 

Meanwhile, Helen Hai, Head of Binance Charity, said, "We are proud that we've been able to work with UNHCR to deliver its first BUSD crypto donation. UNHCR's tireless efforts and second-to-none experience in assisting refugees, makes them an obvious choice to support as part of our $10 million USD in crypto donations."

Binance Charity's donation comes at a time when the UNHCR is working with US government authorities in Ukraine, other UN agencies, local community groups and other partners to provide humanitarian assistance.