The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) will now accept, store and disburse funds in the form of cryptocurrencies. The announcement stated that UNICEF seeks to fund open source technology to children and young people across the globe. 

Ethereum Foundation became the first crypto donor to the UNICEF which will benefit three of its grantees, namely, Prescrypto, Atix Labs and Utopixar, and will be used in the GIGA Initiative to connect schools across the world to the internet. 

Ethereum Foundation’s Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi in this year’s DevCon event said that the foundation will send 100 ether worth USD 18,000 to UNICEF as per the new partnership. The foundation will make this donation through the French National Committee.  Miyaguchi spoke about how using crypto funds will make widespread access to basic needs, rights and resources possible. 

Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director, said:

““This is a new and exciting venture for UNICEF [..] If digital economies and currencies have the potential to shape the lives of coming generations, it is important that we explore the opportunities they offer. That’s why the creation of our cryptocurrency Fund is a significant and welcome step forward in humanitarian and development work.”

As previously reported by bitcoinnews.com, UNICEF is actively exploring the innovative gateway of blockchain to pioneer cutting-edge ideas and transform the way assistance can be extended to the deprived areas of the world. Last year, UNICEF invested USD 100,000 into six blockchain companies and 20 other startups to leverage technology for the development of transformative solutions to social problems and help bridge the UN Sustainable Development Goals funding gap in innovative ways.

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