UNICEF Australia Turns to Cryptocurrency to Help Rohingya Refugees

UNICEF Australia Turns to Cryptocurrency to Help Rohingya Refugees

May 1, 2018 by Akshay Makadiya

The global humanitarian agency UNICEF has dipped its toe in the crypto ocean to help children in need around the world. UNICEF Australia has commenced a new fundraising initiative, dubbed The Hopepage, which is a platform that mines cryptocurrency using visitors’ computer processing power. People willing to donate can do so by visiting “The Hopepage” website and consent to it using their computer’s CPU power to automatically start mining cryptocurrency.

Also see: Here We Go Again: Warren Buffett Says Bitcoin ‘Not Investing’

Join the Bitsonline Telegram channel to get the latest Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and tech news updates: https://t.me/bitsonline

UNICEF: A Crypto Charity?

Jennifer Tierney, UNICEF Australia director of fundraising and communications, said: “The Hopepage allows Australians to provide help and hope to vulnerable children by simply opening the page while they are online.”

UNICEF is a United Nations program that focuses on assisting mothers and children in developing countries. Generally, mining cryptocurrencies using browser-based scripts had been considered negative due to its wider adoption by sites that do not request user consent.

However, the UNICEF initiative requires users’ consent every time they visit the page. Moreover, visitors can choose how much percentage of processing power they would like to donate. The processing power solves complex mathematical problems to mine cryptocurrencies.   

Mining cryptocurrency using CPU power is not new and is deemed safe. The mined digital currency directly goes into UNICEF Australia’s digital wallet. The humanitarian organization then converts the virtual currencies into fiat money. According to UNICEF:

“Mining is perfectly safe for your computer. If you’re ever worried about power consumption, turn down the amount of processing power you’re donating.”

UNICEF’s Crypto Initiatives

The mining platform will mine Monero leveraging Coinhive’s Authedmine.com. Unlike other browser-based mining approaches, the Authedmin.com will only mine Monero after users consent. The mining script is embedded on the “The Hopepage” website.

“We wanted to leverage new emerging technologies to raise awareness about current humanitarian crises and raise funds to support children caught up in them,” said Tierney.

The website explains that the mined digital currency will help the Rohingya children who have fled Myanmar and found refuge in Bangladesh, with food, water, and vaccines.

Earlier this year, UNICEF called on gamers around the world to lend their powerful CPU power to mine Ethereum in a bid to help children in Syria. The project was called Game Chaingers, which was claimed as the first cryptocurrency fundraiser. The project collected around 1200 USD with over 11,000 donators. It seems the humanitarian organization has found a way people can donate just by lending some of their computer processing power.

Can cryptocurrency transform how charity organizations operate? Share your views in the comments section below.

Images via DFID – UK Department for International Development on Flickr, Pixabay