Binance Charity Fund, charity arm of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, is sending 175 oxygen connectors worth nearly US$200,000 to India in response to a global appeal for help. The East Asian nation is battling what is said to be one of the worst COVID-19 surges so far, with the overall reported death toll exceeding 215,000 on Sunday and the total number of cases reaching more than 19.5 million.
Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, chief executive officer (CEO) of the non-profit organization, said in a tweet the oxygen connectors should arrive at Indian hospitals within a few days and added his group is working to fund another 1,000 connectors to provide relief to the already overwhelmed medical infrastructure of India.
Zhao said in his tweet: “Our charity team Binance BCF have so far located 175 oxygen connectors in available stock in Asia, cost roughly $200k, and it should arrive in Indian hospitals in 7 days. Still working on 1000 more. Our prayers go out to everyone in India fighting this pandemic. Stay SAFU!”
The country of 1.3 billion is reported to be struggling much worse than in previous breakouts, with 3,689 deaths recorded on Sunday, the highest on record since the pandemic. Delhi, the hardest-hit city, extended its harsh lockdown measures by another week on Saturday. India’s eastern state of Odisha was also added to the list of regions placed under lockdown to stop the spread of the virus.
This is not the first time Binance Charity has donated to international efforts. Binance BCF also allocated $1 million in cryptocurrency to the United Nations International Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) global vaccine rollout initiative.
