RIYADH: The Binance Charity Foundation has announced a donation of $2.5 million in cryptocurrency for the UN Children’s Fund, known as UNICEF.
The money will be used to finance the organization's efforts in Ukraine amid escalating hostilities with Russia that threaten a number of children and their parents, Bitcoin.com reported.
“Humanitarian needs are increasing by the hour,” UNICEF said in a statement.
UNICEF noted that the cryptocurrency donation comes at a time when the fund needs to expand its activities in Ukraine and neighboring countries that accept refugees.
It also aims to reach every child in need of protection, and the number of children in Ukraine is 7.5 million.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, announced last week a series of humanitarian activities and the donation of $10 million to Ukrainians.
US Executive Order
US President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday that sets out a national policy for digital assets.
The order is “the first-ever, whole-of-government approach to addressing the risks and harnessing the potential benefits of digital assets and their underlying technology,” the White House said.
“We welcome this approach and are ready to collaborate with agencies on behalf of the industry,” the Blockchain Association, which has 80 member companies, said.
Jerry Brito, executive director of DC-based think tank Coin Center, sees the executive order as “a good signal to serious people who’ve been holding back from getting involved,” according to Bitcoin.com.
“The message I take from this EO is that the federal government sees cryptocurrency as a legitimate, serious, and important part of the economy and society,” Brito said.
Jake Chervinsky, a well-known lawyer in the crypto space, agreed with Brito’s assessment, saying: “Despite a few loud voices in government relentlessly attacking crypto in recent months, the EO is balanced and constructive.”
“Anyone worried that President Biden’s executive order would spell doom and gloom for crypto can fully relax now. The main concern was that the EO might force rushed rulemaking or impose new & bad restrictions, but there’s nothing like that here. It’s about as good as we could ask,” Chervinsky added.
Daily trading
Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency internationally, traded lower on Thursday, falling by 7.47 percent to $39,053 at 2:00 p.m. Riyadh time.
Ether, the second most traded cryptocurrency, was priced at $2,591, down by 6.07 percent, according to data from Coindesk.
