Blockchain Is Coming for the Charitable-Industrial Complex
Charity Navigator’s COO predicts a ‘revolution’ in poor relief. But will non-profits embrace the change?
In recent years, a number of startups have tried to latch onto a social good angle. Robo advisors have added socially responsible investing options, insurance startup Lemonade will donate money not paid out in claims to charity, and Uber has a community impact initiative. And now, CryptoKitties are being auctioned off for charity.
You read that right. The CryptoKitties game, sometimes referred to as the digital version of collecting Beanie Babies, is holding a charitable auction for a computerized cat. The game took off in 2017 along with the surging interest in crypto assets, and the team raised a slew of funding from investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures as users rushed to collect the “collectible cats.” The company uses Ethereum blockchain technology to create digital cats that users then buy, sometimes for more than $100,000, and then use them to breed and create more cats. The new cat being auctioned, named Honu, will raise funds for charities related to oceans and wildlife.