The ether beat Bitcoin as most donated crypto currency in 2021 with $30.79 million in volume of donation, acc. to data from The Giving Block, a crypto philanthropy platform for organizations & individuals.
Bitcoin: Historically the crypto with the highest annual donation volume came to $25.88 million in the second last year.
Stablecoins have also seen significant donations, according to The Giving Block’s year-end report released on Wednesday. In sum, 85% of all donation volumes were made up of bitcoins, ethers & USD coin.
The platform has seen people donate over 70 cryptocurrencies as new options have been added throughout the year. For example, the Shiba Inu meme token was introduced in November and was already the fourth most donated cryptocurrency a month later.
For the year, total donation volume increased 1,558% over the previous year to $69.6 million. The average cryptocurrency donation size was $10,455, a 236% increase from 2020.
The platform has attributed to the increase in three-factors: the bullish performance of the crypto market, which led to an increase in the value of many crypto assets; the diversity of donated assets, reflecting the evolution of the digital asset ecosystem; and the deadline to be eligible for the tax benefits of donating cryptocurrencies.
Nonprofit have also become more open to accepting digital assets. The Giving Block said more than 1,000 organizations would accept cryptocurrencies by the end of 2021.
“Many nonprofits have viewed cryptocurrency as the logical next step in fundraising innovation,” the report said. “For many organizations, crypto philanthropy addresses more specific challenge of creating sustained & meaningful engagement with young donors & taps into a [powerful tax] incentive to donate.
NFT projects also donated $12.3 million in 2021, becoming as major force in crypto charitable donations. According to the report, one donation was valued at $3.5 million at the time of the donation.
Founded in 2018, The Giving Block is an organization dedicated to promoting crypto philanthropy. Currently, the platform allows more than 1000 organizations, charities, universities & religious organizations of all sizes to accept donations in cryptocurrencies.
