First Organizations to Accept Bitcoin Donations for Typhoon Haiyan in the Phillipines, Red Cross and UNICEF Remain Silent

The Bitcoin community has always reached out to help those struck by calamity in their time of need.  Unfortunate as it is to say, disasters are times when Bitcoin’s function as an international money truly shines.

The disastrous Haiyan Typhoon may be over; however, the clean up and recovery are just beginning and aid is sorely needed.

Earlier this year, following the disastrous Ya’an Earthquake struck Sichuan province, The One Foundation posted a Bitcoin address on their website and within 2 days they had received over 230 BTC in donations from within China but also from all around the world.

While it irks me that the Red Cross, UNICEF and other international relief organizations haven’t seized the opportunity by accepting Bitcoin, members of the Bitcoin community have stepped up to fill the massive void.

Teresa Warmke of Fr33 Aid from New Hampshire, posted earlier today pledging to match Bitcoin donations 1:1 up to 10 Bitcoins to be sent to a trusted individual on the ground in the Phillipine.  As of 3:11 PM EST November 12th, 2013 only 1.684 BTC has been donated.  Fr33 Aid, a registered LLC, previously gained some notoriety in the community by publicly abandoning their IRS application for non profit status and choosing to use solely Bitcoins for their finances.

Also responding to the Bitcoin community’s plea for a legitimate organization to collect Bitcoin donations on behalf of the Red Cross is Coinkite.  Coinkite is a relatively new but much anticipated Canadian Bitcoin service that wants to put Bitcoins in everyone’s wallets, literally, by way of cards.  This call for Bitcoin donations is the first to be met with open arms by the Bitcoin community on reddit and hopefully will provide some real aid to the Phillipines.  Additionally, the Canadian government has announced that they are matching all donations from the Red Cross of Canada, which means Bitcoins donated to Coinkite earmarked for the Phillipines will have their dollar value matched by the Canadian government.

Worldaid.org has partnered up with Coinbase to allow for Bitcoin donations towards their goal of $10,000 to donate; they are $530 along their way.

It is my hope that in the next few days, the Bitcoin community bands together like it did during the Ya’an Earthquakes just half a year ago.  The aggregate amount donated by us as a community must surpass 230 BTC to mirror the growth our community has underwent in the months since April.