Virtual Asset Donations Continue Following Earthquake Damage in Turkey

Donation of Virtual Assets Worth 7.2 Billion KRW to Turkey
Started to Help Ukrainian Refugees

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Following the earthquake in T?rkiye, aid efforts from various sectors continue, and the wave of cryptocurrency donations is also ongoing. There is an assessment that donations through cryptocurrencies are gaining ground in the international community.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to cryptocurrency data firm CryptoQuant on the 20th, as of 3:10 PM, the total amount donated for the T?rkiye earthquake through Ethereum, Avalanche, and others was $5,520,829 (approximately 7.15 billion KRW). Among this, donations via the Ethereum blockchain amounted to $4,161,053 (approximately 5.39 billion KRW), and those via the Avalanche blockchain were $1,359,776 (approximately 1.76 billion KRW).

CryptoQuant data shows that donations through cryptocurrencies began to be tracked from the 7th of this month and started to increase explosively from the 7th to the 8th. Ethereum-related donations increased by nearly $2 million during this period, and Avalanche-related donations also rose by more than $1.2 million. Many donations were made in the early stages of the earthquake crisis, followed by a lull. In particular, Avalanche-related donations increased by only $100,000 from the 9th of this month to the present day.

However, these statistics are based on CryptoQuant tracking wallet addresses disclosed by T?rkiye’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and cryptocurrency exchanges, so it is estimated that there are more donations through undisclosed wallets, meaning the total donation amount is likely higher. Binance, the world’s largest exchange, announced that it would airdrop (distribute for free) Binance Coin, its own issued coin, worth $1 million to users in the earthquake-affected areas of T?rkiye. Earlier, T?rkiye’s relief organization Anatolia People’s Peace Platform (AHBAP) requested approval from financial authorities to accept donations via cryptocurrencies and received approval. Additionally, T?rkiye exchanges also disclosed wallet addresses for donations, facilitating international support.

T?rkiye is considered one of the countries with active cryptocurrency trading. According to the cryptocurrency analysis platform Coinhills, as of this date, the Turkish Lira ranked 6th in Bitcoin trading volume by national currency, accounting for 0.69% of the total. It followed the South Korean Won (5.69%), Euro (2.64%), and British Pound (0.88%), ranking higher than the Australian Dollar, which accounted for 0.21% and ranked 7th. It is known that there are six exchanges in T?rkiye where Bitcoin can be traded in Lira, with a total of 1,280.76 Bitcoins traded in the last 24 hours.

Donations through cryptocurrencies existed even before the T?rkiye earthquake. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, coin donations emerged to help the Ukrainian people. The Ukrainian government received support not only in Bitcoin but also in stablecoins, which are designed to be pegged to fiat currencies and widely used as a means of transaction in the cryptocurrency market. Notably, donations were received through stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) and USDC. Furthermore, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) launched a digital payment system last December using the Stellar blockchain to support Ukrainian refugees. Through this system, it is known that USDC was provided to Ukrainian refugees.

Professor Hong Ki-hoon of the Department of Business Administration at Hongik University explained, "Because cryptocurrencies have market value, they are being used as a means of donation. It is very convenient to send coins if you know the wallet address, but caution is needed to avoid sending to incorrect addresses or fraudulent addresses intended for scams."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.