A noble move is unfolding on Twitter since April 24. Crypto donations are pouring in from noted personalities. As India’s health infrastructure witnesses a major crisis in tackling the second wave, the crypto community has joined hands to support the Covid-19 Relief Fund Campaign. Till now, an approximate amount of 1.9 Million Dollars have been raised. The united action came in response to Sandeep’s appeal to the community.
On April 24,2021, Sandeep Nailwal, Co-Founder & COO at Polygon tweeted:
Can’t take this sitting down anymore, I am going to run a Covid relief campaign in lieu of what’s going on in India. Need help from the Global crypto community. I will take full responsibility for transparency, funds usage and regulatory compliance….
Can't take this sitting down anymore, I am going to run a Covid relief campaign in lieu of what’s going on in India. Need help from the Global crypto community. I will take full responsibility for transparency, funds usage and regulatory compliance If you want to donate.. 1/n — Sandeep – Polygon(prev Matic Network) (@sandeepnailwal) April 24, 2021
With every number of tweets, he tried to reach out to major Indian crypto exchanges, namely WazirX, CoinDCX, Bitbns, for help regarding the conversion of the raised money into fiat for giving it to the frontline organizations helping to fight against coronavirus, along with providing essential equipment to the needy. He even reached out to Indian projects and founders for support.
Sandeep got a ping on the regulatory regime to which he replied :
Our Hows should not affect our Why
I already got a few people pinging me that Regulatory things would be tough on this, it's not easy to give money, even for social causes. My Answer "Our Hows should not affect our Why" Whatever happens we will handle it, lets not let it stop us from doing what is right 6/n — Sandeep – Polygon(prev Matic Network) (@sandeepnailwal) April 24, 2021
As per his tweet update, Vacpad offered to ‘lead the regulatory and audit part for the campaign’ along with finance teams ‘volunteered to manage the accounting and publishing a transparent document for the initiative.’
Arguably India's top CA in Crypto @Vacpad has agreed to lead the regulatory and audit part for this campaign Support is pouring in from everywhere. Indian Crypto founders are personally reaching out to help. Next step is to deploy the funds on the group. Ppl need help RIGHT NOW — Sandeep – Polygon(prev Matic Network) (@sandeepnailwal) April 24, 2021
@shaktigoap @denverjude from @Devfolioco and @keyur12392 ex-@0xPolygon finance team have volunteered to manage the accounting and publishing a transparent document for the initiative 🙏🙏 — Sandeep – Polygon(prev Matic Network) (@sandeepnailwal) April 24, 2021
The Covid-19 Relief Fund Campaign attracted donations from notable personalities, including Balaji Srinivasan, Vitalik Buterin, Justin Sun, Nikhil Chinapa, Nischal Shetty, and many more. Vitalik contributed 100 Maker (MKR) tokens to the campaign as well.
I’m in! I have donated 2 million #TRX to the India Covid relief campaign lead by @sandeepnailwal. Join me, @VitalikButerin, @balajis by donating at the addresses below. Pease help spread the word. For every RT, I'll donate another $100 to the fund, up to 100k. #cryptovscovid — Justin Sun 🅣🌞 (@justinsuntron) April 25, 2021
.@VitalikButerin just donated $600k+ to India Covid Relief Campaign ! Truly humbled and grateful for this gesture! A huge thanks to him, the #Ethereum community as well as the larger crypto community on behalf of people of India who are going through this difficult time 🙏🙏 https://t.co/TLtoOzH4La — Sandeep – Polygon(prev Matic Network) (@sandeepnailwal) April 24, 2021
If you’ve been fortunate enough to do well this year, consider joining me and @VitalikButerin by donating at the addresses below. But if all you have is Twitter, help spread the word. For every RT, I’ll donate another $50 to fight COVID in India, up to $100k. #cryptovscovid https://t.co/eKlOlccelv — balajis.com (@balajis) April 25, 2021
I’ve seen @sandeepnailwal’s effort lead to donations from @VitalikButerin, @wheatpond, @akothari, @surojit, and even @justinsuntron. I do have my own opinion on TRON but I’m glad to welcome Justin’s help on this important cause. Matching contributions work, as do matching RTs. — balajis.com (@balajis) April 26, 2021
Day 907 WazirX will donate Rs. 8 CRORE for Covid relief I request every startup in India to contribute. Crypto community should help as much as possible. Please suggest where we should donate these funds We’re in this together 🤝#IndiaWantsCrypto #IndiaFightsCOVID19 — Nischal (WazirX) ⚡️ (@NischalShetty) April 26, 2021
Amidst the donations constantly pouring in, some are still in speculation of legal circles of the country in and around cryptocurrencies. India already has an uneasy relationship with crypto. Cryptocurrencies are seen as a risk in funding as it is not regulated and tracked by any nation, which becomes very necessary in the case of funding for a cause, where accountability is also a question.
I’ve done my bit. I encourage you to do yours in whatever way, manner or means you can. #IndiaFightsCOVID19 #IndiaTogether https://t.co/BBzWys6xKC pic.twitter.com/vgnJ6LsVay — Nikhil Chinapa (@nikhilchinapa) April 25, 2021
Just the initiative I was looking for. I will match @balajis donation of $50/RT up to $100k to help India fight the COVID tragedy. Thank you. 🙏 https://t.co/gsHsvEWYRA — dharmesh (@dharmesh) April 25, 2021
The current problems seem to lie in the very characteristics of the way cryptocurrencies function. As the cryptocurrencies are not regulated and remain anonymous and are backed by blockchain following no boundaries. Also, one expert said:
It is viewed as any venture capital (VC) or private equity (OE) supporting Covid cause but in this case, stands out for no traceability of the source. Source: Financial Express
With the nation planning to propose a law on banning cryptocurrencies, however supporting the technology behind it, wherein March 2020, the Supreme Court struck down the restrictions imposed earlier by the Reserve Bank of India, it became possible for crypto exchanges to operate in India and procure a bank account thereafter. The central bank has been planning to launch its own digital currency.
Also, on the other hand, cryptocurrencies have deemed to perform a rapid action in response to the reaction for the cause, as a huge sum of money was raised globally within a day, barring geographical boundaries.
Taking inspiration from @balajis @akothari, to help fight Covid in India I will be donating Rs 50 for every retweet on this post upto Rs 50K I will additional be doing the same on IG and LI aswell, donating upto 1.5L in total I urge more people from India pick this up 🙏 — Vaibhav Sisinty (@VaibhavSisinty) April 26, 2021
For the next 30 days, @DirectRelief will designate all crypto donations for COVID relief support in India. Donate here and get an automatic tax receipt: https://t.co/4jWocJZbY2 — The Giving Block (@TheGivingBlock) April 25, 2021
There is still no clarity if India will be open to cryptocurrencies in the future or not. However, this is one noble cause where cryptocurrencies are taking part in nation-building, where the centralized authority seems to abstain from using it.
As of Monday, 26 April 2021, India has reported more than 350,000 new covid cases — its fifth straight day of at least 300,000. It reported 2,800 covid related deaths. The government also ordered Twitter to remove posts critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as India struggles to get on a new wave of COVID-19 cases. This order comes at a time when social media platforms are flooded with requests for oxygen, intensive care unit (ICU) beds, and blood plasma amid the deepening COVID-19 crisis. Right now, less than 2% of India’s population is fully vaccinated.
Please visit CryptoRelief to donate and help India fight the Covid-19 crisis.