On Turkey & Syria and the power of crypto communities to help those in need

Watching the news about all that is happening in Turkey and Syria, it is easy to feel helpless. Reports indicate that almost 16,000 have been killed, with thousands more injured. The first thing I want to share is that to help those in Turkey, I am very proud to see the NEAR community stepping up and raising a fund by creating a donation pool for NFTs to raffle. You can donate your NFTs or $NEAR for #NEARTurkeyResponse to: turkishrelief.antisociallabs.near.

It brings me onto a broader topic – which is that crypto is now revealing itself to be a valuable aspect of disaster relief – as a unique means of delivering aid to those in need. It has already been proven that there can be incredible results when communities rally together to support those most in need. For example, when Russia invaded Ukraine, we helped set up Unchain Fund, a DAO for which NEAR raised over $10m to support end-to-end relief operations.?

In times of disaster, banks do not work as infrastructure crumbles. However, with decentralised technology, it is possible to send funds directly to those in need, bypassing intermediaries and reducing the time and costs associated with aid delivery. Access is critical in disaster-stricken areas, especially when physical disruption means people cannot access cash and other financial services.?

Crypto assets can be delivered and airdropped to phones and enable things to keep moving. They can be easily accessed using a smartphone or other digital device, even in areas with limited connectivity. Already, Binance has pledged to airdrop $100 in BNB, Binance’s native token, to its Turkish users, which is an amount worth approximately $5 million.?

Since transactions made using cryptocurrency are recorded on a public ledger, there can be a reduction in fraud risk and certainty that aid will reach the intended recipients. Additionally, cryptocurrency can be sent and received anonymously, providing greater privacy and security for those involved in the transaction.

My heart goes out to all of those in Turkey and Syria right now – it has been a reminder for each of us to do what we can to help those who need it most. This is a time to forget about ‘crypto territorialism’ (as in, my tech is better than yours) and instead, unify our communities to show the true power of what the tech we all believe in can do.?